Contin earns maiden French victory at ISU World Cup

Alexis Contin earned a first ever French win at the ISU World Cup ©Getty Images

Alexis Contin secured a first ever French win at an International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup as he outsprinted his rivals in the closing stages of the men’s mass start on the final day of competition in Inzell, Germany.

The 25-year-old had battled into the front group following a split in the field which had left Arjan Stroetinga, the winner in Salt Lake City, off the pace.

His fellow Dutchman Jorrit Bergsma remained in contention, however.

Contin, who claimed the overall title in 2012, despite failing to win a single race, timed his finishing effort superbly to overtake Bergsma to earn victory in 7min 33.37sec, with the Dutch skater finishing 0.39 seconds adrift.

Italy’s Fabio Francolini completed the podium, finishing 0.04 clear of Latvia’s Haralds Silovs, crossing the line in 7:34.10.

Stroetinga maintained his overall World Cup lead, despite finishing only fifth, having moved onto 200 points.

He only leads, however, due to his compatriot Bergsma having yet to win a race.

Excellent teamwork from Dutch pair Janneke Ensing and Irene Schouten in the equivalent women’s event eventually resulted in the latter claiming her second consecutive World Cup gold, finishing in 8:18.41.

Canada’s Ivanie Blondin was forced to settle for silver just 0.02 further back, while South Korea's Do-Young Park claimed bronze in 8:18.61.

Schouten’s victory enabled her to extend her overall lead over Blondin to 50 points, moving on to a total of 280.

Russia’s Denis Yuskov won gold in the men's 1,500m event ©Getty Images

After being disqualified in the men’s 1,500 metres event in Salt Lake City, having forgotten to wear a transponder, Russia’s Denis Yuskov made amends by winning in a track record 1:44.21.

The Netherlands’ Kjeld Nuis and America’s Joey Mantia completed the podium positions.

The result saw Nuis move 20 points clear of the bronze medallist in the World Cup standings to lead on a total of 240.

American rivals Brittany Bowe and Heather Richardson-Bergsma continued to dominate the women’s 1,500m competition, the former earning her second victory of the weekend, clocking a time of 1:54.68.

Richardson-Bergsma finished narrowly behind in 1:54.94 to take silver, while the Netherlands’ Marrit Leenstra proved to be the closest challenger to the American duo, posting 1:55.79 to secure bronze.

As a result of her efforts in Inzell, Bowe moved to a total of 280 points for the World Cup season with her team-mate Richardson-Bergsma 20 points further back.

South Korea’s Sang-Hwa Lee forced Richardson-Bergsma to settle for silver again after clocking 37.36 to win the 500m event, while the American skater ended in 37.84.

Canada’s Heather McLean earned her first individual World Cup podium finish, recording 38.02 to win bronze.

Lee leads the overall World Cup on 520 points with Richardson-Bergsma second on 410.