Maltais, Belchos win mass start gold on final day of Canadian long track championships

Valérie Maltais earned her third gold medal at the Canadian long track speed skating championships on Sunday in Calgary.

Maltais won the women's mass start crown for a second consecutive year on the final day of competition at the Olympic Oval with 63 points, finishing ahead of Darby Beeson (40) and Rose-Anne Grenier (20).

"I'm very happy with my race," Maltais said in a release. "I did what I had to do in order to secure my World Cup spot in this distance. I find the mass start quite difficult at the Canadian championships, it's a different dynamic compared to the World Cups.

"When the pack started to pull away, I didn't want to react right away because I thought some other girls would follow, but I also didn't want them to take off without me. I decided to break away before it was too late and I think I made the right move, at the right time."

Toronto's Jordan Belchos, meanwhile, earned the men's title in the mass start.

Belchos broke away from the pack with two laps remaining and held on for the victory, crossing the line in seven minutes and 40.46 seconds.

Wrapping up the Canadian Long Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance with some amazing races! We crowned our mass start champions Valerie Maltais and Jordan Belchos