Point all noses in the same direction and try to unite the skaters of different commercial teams. National coach Rintje Ritsma completed his first joint training session for the team pursuit on Tuesday morning.

It’s the start of a path that will eventually lead to gold at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan. And not only the national coach is new, but also the driving style on the team side.

Press instead of switching

“Pushing is leading,” says Ritsma. “You have to do that, otherwise you won’t take part in the prizes. Everyone understands that we have to push, otherwise we just won’t make it anymore.”

In recent years, some other countries have skated in a fixed formation, with skaters pushing each other with one hand behind their backs. It earned Norwegian men the Olympic title. The Netherlands still stuck to a tactic in which the riders regularly switch positions, thus taking turns turning their heads.

“Everyone was okay with that,” Ritsma says of the pushing. “For some it was still a bit unfamiliar here, others understood it very quickly. The message was: take it easy, because we are close to the qualifying tournament for the World Cup, but it goes very quickly without you noticing.”

Irene Schouten also had to “get used to it” during the first training session under Ritsma.” “It was a bit of a search, a bit chaotic, but it was good to do it,” the three-time Olympic champion said well that you learn to push and ride in the fight of the other.”

Watch the interviews with Schouten and Patrick Roest here:

The big absentee from the first practice session was three-time Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis. In recent years he has invariably focused on the 1,000 and 1,500 meters, but Nuis has indicated that he also wants to focus on the team pursuit. He trained for this several times last summer with his teammates from Reggeborgh, in the absence of a successor to the previous national coach Jan Coopmans.

“Kjeld didn’t come back from Inzell very fit,” explains Ritsma Nuis’ absence. “Then, of course, his individual trajectory is more important. An annoying moment because I would have preferred to have had him there.”

But Nuis, and none of the other skaters, shouldn’t make a habit of canceling the team pursuit in the eyes of the national coach. “It’s not: stepping in every now and then when there’s a prize to be earned.”

Check out Nuis’ reaction to Ritsma’s appointment and his vision for the team pursuit below:

Ritsma demands commitment from its drivers. Anyone who does not show up for training without a good reason can forget a seat on the train to Milan, said the national coach at the beginning of the month when he was appointed.

Shouldn’t Nuis just have been there? “I don’t think he should have attended, but he could have been part of the preliminary talk,” criticizes Ritsma.

“It’s his decision. I’ll have a coffee with him about it. Kjeld is a top athlete, he chooses for himself first. And many skaters have to live that differently. Fortunately, there are many who do.” see it Kjeld is a type of skater who would fit in very well, I hope he sees that for himself.”