Team Canada - Ted-Jan BloemenTHE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Bloemen wins bronze at speed skating World Cup in Germany

Ted-Jan Bloemen won bronze in the Men’s 5000m in Erfurt, Germany on Saturday for his fifth individual World Cup medal of the season.

Bloemen raced in the final pairing of the Men’s 5000m against Patrick Beckert of Germany. For the first half of the race, the two skaters traded leads but Bloemen picked up the pace in the second half to reach the podium. Bloemen finished with a time of 6:17.12, behind Sverre Lunde Pedersen of Norway who won gold and Nicola Tumolero of Italy who took silver.

Team Canada - Germany Speed Skating World Cup

Winner Sverre Lunde Pedersen of Norway, center, celebrates on the podium besides the second placed Nicola Tumoleroof Italy, left, and third placed Ted-Jan Bloemen of Canada, right, after the men’s 5,000 meters distance at the Speed Skating World Cup in Erfurt, central Germany, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Bloemen set the World Record for this distance just last month with a time of 6:01.86 at the World Cup in Salt Lake City.

This is the final competition for Bloemen before he heads to PyeongChang 2018 where he will be a medal favourite. The competition continues tomorrow with Men’s 500m and 1000m and Women’s 1000m and 3000m races.