Nuis and Mulder dominate early stages of European Championships

Nuis - who has won all three World Cup races so far this season over the distance - stopped the clock in 1:08.77 to take the lead, ahead of fellow Dutch skater Kai Verbij in second and Norway's Havard Holmefjord Lorentzen in third, 24 and 46 seconds behind.

In the 500m, it was Ronald Mulder who took top spot on the first day of competition, sealing victory in a time of 34.87 seconds.

Finishing just one hundredth of a second behind, Russia's Ruslan Murashov took second place, with Germany's Nico Ihle occupying third.

Saturday will see the ladies' competition begin, and the start of the all-around competition for both.

This year's European Championships combine a sprint and all-around format for the very first time, with performances in all four distances adding up for the final ranking.