Ragne Wiklund (NOR) collected her fourth consecutive long-distance World Cup Trophy after winning the 3000m at this season's last World Cup event in Inzell, Germany. Cherishing the prize, the 25-year-old Norwegian was even happier to skate a track record at the historic Max Aicher Arena.

Earlier on Saturday, Jutta Leerdam (NED) also skated a track record to win the 1000m. She beat Dutch sprint rival Femke Kok (NED) in a head-to-head battle, but it was Kok who walked away with the 1000m Trophy.

Game plan pans out perfectly for Wiklund

Wiklund faced Valérie Maltais (CAN) in the second-last pairing of the 3000m. Up until that moment, none of the previous skaters had managed to break the four-minute barrier, but Wiklund was on a mission.

Starting out fast, she left Maltais behind early on, keeping an eye on the 2024 track record time of 3 minutes and 55.72s set by Joy Beune (NED). Stringing together four sub-31 laps after a 19.53s opener and a 29.68s first full lap, Wilklund saw her lap times going up a little in the last two laps, but she still finished 0.98s faster that Beune's 2024 mark.

Ragne Wiklund (NOR) went out at high-speed and strung together four sub-31s laps to send her on the way to breaking Joy Beaune's track record © ISU 

Wiklund explained her game plan after the race.

"I did the same at Europeans [the European Championships in Poland two weeks ago]. That was a good race, and this is supposed to be a faster track, so why not do it here too?” she asked.

"I have a lot of technical points that I want to check in the last lap, so I think that also makes the speed higher. It's mostly about skating aggressively, to not be scared, and to be bit quick on my feet, especially in the corners."

Asked what meant more to her, the title or the track record, Wiklund didn't hesitate for a second: "The track record. This is an historic track, so that means a lot to me.

"But getting the overall is very important too, because we don't earn a lot of money," Wiklund continued. For collecting the Trophy, Wiklund also took home US$16,000 in prize money.

Being the strongest long-distance skater in four consecutive World Cup seasons makes Wiklund one of the favorites for the 3000m and 5000m at the Olympic Games, which start in Milano Cortina (ITA) in a fortnight.

"I didn't want that position, but I'm afraid to be there anyway. This year, it's been extremely tight in the World Cup, Joy [Beune] has been really, really strong, but other than her, it's been a mix on the podium. Multiple people can win in Milan."

Beune couldn't reclaim her track record from Wiklund in the final pairing but won the silver medal as she tapers towards the Olympics © ISU 

Skating in the last pairing, Beune herself was not able to match her previous track record, but 3:56.96 was still enough to take home the silver.

"I really had to squeeze it out there today," Beune said. 

"I'm pretty tired, because I trained a lot that past couple of weeks to peak at the Olympic Games. This was actually more of an upgraded training race for me. I'm really happy to skate 3:56, because I didn’t really know where I stood.

"The next weeks I'm going to rest a lot, not train as much anymore, just fine-tune everything. My speed is good, but I felt that the fatigue kicked in during these last laps. I hope that I can keep up the pace easier when I'm more rested."

Taking bronze in 3:59.92, Valérie Maltais (CAN), who had taken silver and gold medals at the first two World Cups of the season, also got confirmation of her form in the run-up to the Olympic Games. 

Valérie Maltais (CAN) took a timely bronze medal as thoughts turn towards Milano Cortina © ISU 

"The 3000m has been my focus this season and I'm really happy to be back on the podium, two weeks before the Games,” she said.

"It was a tough race today, because we're not peaking, and I'm sure no one is. We all just finished a big training block in Spain for a couple of weeks, so I didn't know what to expect today. 

"I'm just getting back my feeling, and this weekend gave me confidence that am recovering well."

Leerdam wins 1000m, but Kok takes Trophy

For Jutta Leerdam (NED), beating her own track record in the 1000m was confirmation too. 

"I always seek that super extreme feeling, and it's been OK-ish many times before this season and then this is such a giant step forwards," she said. 

"That gives me confidence, especially because the speed came relatively easy."

Leerdam skated against Kok in the final pairing. She was a bit slower in the opener, but once up to speed, Leerdam was unstoppable. 

Skating a 26.34s second lap and closing her race with a 28.70s lap, Leerdam clocked a time of 1 minute and 12.74s, shaving 0.12s off her previous track record.

Motivated by the challenge of pairmate Femke Kok (NED), Jutta Leerdam (NED, pictured) shaved 0.12s off her previous Inzell track record in the 1000m © ISU 

Her race had been one of her best 1000m performances at a sea-level track, Leerdam said. Skating against Kok had given her just a little extra motivation.

"In the end I always want to be the fastest in every race. Femke is one of the top skaters at this moment. That gives a little extra, also for her when she faces me. It gives a lot of positive energy and it's better than being paired with someone who is not able to push you."

Kok finished in 1:13.43 to take bronze and collect her career first 1000m World Cup Trophy after already having secured her career second Trophy in the 500m on Friday. 

"I'm happy about that, but my race wasn't flawless. After a big training block, I miss a bit of snappiness. To come in third is nice, and it's a good impulse towards the Games." 

Kok's third place was enough to seal her career first 1000m World Cup Trophy to add to the 500m season's prize confirmed on Friday © ISU 

Miho Takagi (JPN) was 0.69s slower than Leerdam in second place. The Olympic 1000m champion was content, but she too is still looking for a little bit extra ahead of Milano Cortina.

"My skating is getting better, but I still don't have enough high speed. That is the last part need to fix. Finding that top-end speed is the biggest challenge for any skater.

"I'm lucky to have some good [male] team-mates in Taiyo Nonomura (JPN) and Ning Zhongyan (CHN) to train at overspeed, so that's what I'll work on the next couple of weeks.