Semirunnii and Marciniak win Polish championship in tandem time trial — Interia Sport

In Poland, speed skater Volodymyr Semirunnii and Eryk Marciniak won the gold medal at the national cycling championship in the tandem time trial. The duo covered the 29-kilometer distance in 33 minutes and 21 seconds at an average speed of 51.8 km/h, finishing 56 seconds ahead of their rivals and setting a course record, Interia Sport reports.

Victory after a training camp

Coach Roland Cieślak said that Semirunnii and Marciniak did not prepare specifically for these cycling competitions. Before the start, they were at a training camp in Font-Romeu, France, and arrived in Poland after completing a full training cycle. The athletes had only one day of rest before the competition.

According to Cieślak, the team held more high-altitude training camps this year. A significant amount of workload that the athletes previously completed during easy skating is now partially transferred to cycling. The coach noted that six- or seven-hour rides with major elevation changes are not a problem for Semirunnii and Marciniak.

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Preparation for the speed skating season

Cieślak also said that Semirunnii entered the new season in better form than in previous years. One of the key changes was the earlier introduction of work at race pace into training. The speed skater has already set a Polish record at the arena in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.

Semirunnii's upcoming scheduled starts include the Polish speed skating championship on October 22–25 and a World Cup stage in Beijing on November 13–15. The coach said that the team is considering the athlete's participation in the 1,000-meter race, as he posted a high result over that distance in a control test in Heerenveen.

In Cieślak's assessment, the main goal of the season is the world championship, although the team also aims to perform successfully throughout the entire World Cup cycle. Semirunnii, according to the coach, has not yet won a medal at these competitions.