The speed skating 2015/16 season is already over and even though I was not writing much on my blog, I was training hard and from my point of view the season ended on a good note.

You can read about my changing teams in my last blog post: The road to new opportunities

2015/16 World Cup races

I was able to train with the best athletes in the Czech National Team and got to better my avarage time compared to last year by 15 seconds!

At the end of January 2016 I was put to competition in Norway in the World Cup in two races: 1500m and 5000m.

I'm especially proud of my achievement on the second competition day when I was competing in the 5000m race and finished with my season's best time 6:31:48 and placed 6th in the B group, which was 19th in the World Cup qualifications.

I also had a chance to start against my former teammates and I'm glad to see my improvement as I finished ahead of 4 of them. It means for me that I made the right choice to pursue my athletic career in a different team! In Norway I had to start twice alone in the first pair, because this was my first start of the season and I couldn't be paired up with anyone. I think this had a bit of an impact on my time result, because the starting position always influences how fast you race.

Overall this was a good experience for me, I proved my abilities to my new team and trainer and have gathered enough points to compete in next season's World Cup! 

I'm eagerly looking forward to it, maybe I'll even make the Olympic Team in 2018?

Training preparations

My training does not consist of only training at the ice-rink and ice-skating. :)

As a speed skater you need to work hard to keep in shape off-season and it demands a bit of flexibility in how to use the available facilities. Everyone involved in winter-specific sports is aware of the hardships of training off-season and preparing for the winter season without really being able to train their own winter disciplines.

This year during some snowy days I went out into the mountains to do some ski mountaineering, which I tried out last year and have enjoyed ever since! 

Another great activity to shape your skills off-season is to ride a bike. I usually travel to the southern European countries, where the winter is not as cold as in Poland.

In my 114 active days in 2015 I rode a total of 248 hours and 7,112 km! It wouldn't be possible without my sponsor Grena providing me with a top-notch bike to do all these kilometers! I enjoy the bike training a lot, so that's where my main focus will be in preparation for the next season in 2016!

Just a few days I participated in the official Polish cycling season opening - the "Ślęzański Mnich" race. You can read more about the race here. I won my starting category of amateurs and finished the 54 km race with a time of 01:19:43!

On July 11th, 2015 I took part in a very interesting amateur Road Race Competition in the highest mountains of Poland - the Tatra. The professional organization by athletes who have been in the biking cirlce for years and are still competing in top-class competitions made the Race one of the most difficult you can face in this area.

I competed on the shorter distance of 42km, and won 1st place in my own age category, as well as oll-over male open category with a time of 01:11:15.560! I'm really happy for this achievement as this would not be possible without the help of Grena Ltd. providing me with a fantastic bike which allowed me to train hard all year long!

For the last few months I haven't been able to take part in any of the World Cup Series competitions, but luckily it was not because of an injury. :)

After ending the year 2014 with a good vibe after winning some races during the World University Championship in Almaty, Kazachstan as well as winning 2nd place in the Warsaw Single Distances Championship, I was ready and in good shape to take on new races during the World Cup Competition.

During this time top speed skater and champion Martina Sáblíková and her trainer Peter Nowak reached out to me and invited me to their training camp alongside the Czech speed skating representatives. So this is where I spent the rest of the season, training with Martina and the Czech team. And belive me, it was an intense 3 months!! 

January 2015: Collalbo, Italy (training camp); Hamar, Norway (World Cup 5)

The Czech have their Speed Skating training base in Collalbo, Italy and have come here to train for many years already. The training was very hard for me, but the hardships one endure to get better results...;) After that was Hamar and the next World Cup competition...unfortunately without my participation, even though I felt really good and ready for the race.

February: Inzell, Germany (training camp); Heerenveen, Netherlands (World Cup 6)

Once the competition in Hamar was over we went directly to Inzell, Germany to prepare for the next one.  The training I did was focused on competition races, so I am going to be prepared for the next season. Again, it was very hard training which resulted in two gold medals...not mine of course as I was not to compete.Sáblíková won both the 3 km and 5 km race and became world champion of the female division!

March: Calgary, Canada (2015 World Allround Speed Skating Championships); Erfurt, Germany (World Cup Finale 2014/15)

At the beginning of March, the extreme training continued in Calgary and Sáblíková won the title of World Allround Champion. Next was the Finale of the World Cup 2014/15 season in Erfurt, Germany. Martina Sáblíková won her 9th in a row World Cup in the 3 km and 5 km races.

After the season has ended everyone went home to get some rest and restart the engine for the next season preparations. The time spent with the Czech representatives was a great experience for me. I'm proud to have been able to help out a little bit with tha training of such a talented athlete like Martina.

Even though I couldn't take part in the competiton during these last 3 months I'm happy with how the season turned out and I'm really optimistic about the future!

Now I'm using my time to get a bit in shape before the real season preparations start. I'm swinning a lot and doing some skitouring in the Tatra mountains. I admit the latter has became a great passion of mine recently. I've already registered for the Malinowski Memorial on April 18th and I'm also planning to compete in some bike and roller blades competitions.

Just at the end of 2014, I had an intense competition schedule.

First there was the 2nd World University Championships in Almaty, Kazachstan, held from the 18 - 21 December 2014.

This wasn't my first time there, because I've already been taking part in the World Cup competitions in Alma Ata a few years ago. I knew what to expect and was happy to see that the organization of this event was perfectly excecuted!

This event was an university championship, a kind of event which I really like, because there's always a different kind of atmosphere than at the usual World Cup competitions. I enjoy the feeling when there's less stress and less tension among the competitors.

During the four days of the Championship I had a start scheduled for every day - this was the first time in my carrier that I had so many starts one day after the other!

The first day was team pursuit day - 8 circuits - and we won! This gave me a lot of motivation for the next days.

On the second day of the competition I started in the 5000m race - my favorite distance. Unfortunately I missed by 0.4 second the podium and placed 4th.

Next day was the 10.000m start, when I decided I will totally give my all - and I won! My time was 14:33.52.

The 4th day was a Mass Start of 16 circuits, where I was leading up to the 4 last circuits, but the pursuit team was working together very well and the moment I weakened a bit they got me, so I placed 7th.

Still, two golden medals (one team medal, one individual) had really boosted my motivation and confidence in my future plans.

It was great to meet speed skating university students from all over the world, the charisma and positive energy of the people here were really what I needed.

The last competition of 2014 was being held in Warsaw, Poland on an open-air ice track and it was the Warsaw Single Distances Championship, which was also the qualifications for the European Championship in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

This competition lasted for 3 days and I was starting four times. On the shorter distances of 500m and 3000m I placed 4th and on the longer 5000m distance I got 2nd place! I also took part in both of the 500m sprints and placed 13th.

Even though I did really great in this Championship, it was a bitter-sweet experience. I actually qualified for the European Championship, but because my Association didn't complete the required formalities, I couldn't take part in the competition.

Either way, December was really great for me, thanks to the training I've been doing with the Czech speed skaters during my stay in Holland. I'd also like to say that if it wasn't for the help I've recieved from my general sponsor Grena Ltd. in 2014 I'd probably not be there and couldn't train and win those championships. I'm really grateful for the support!

I'm looking forward to 2015 and new opportunities! My plans are still unfolding, but I will soon let you know what will be going on with me in 2015! 

The ISU Speed Skating World Cup started off in November, with the season opening in Obihiro, Japan.

The next stop was in Seoul, South Korea, where I had my first start in the Male Division B 10.000 m race. The event took place from 21 - 23 November 2014.

I think I did pretty good, taking into account that I'm currently not yet at my top performance level. I placed 12th which got me 3 points in the World Cup classification with the time being 14:09.78.

What hit me after skating at the rink was that it had really the slowest ice I've ever raced on in my life. We call the ice "slow" or "fast" depending on many factors like air pressure, air temperature, humidity, height above sea level.

Apart form the sport event, I really wanted to do some sight-seeing in the city of Seoul, but because of the tight training plan I couldn't do it. The least I could do was watching the city through our bus window on our way from the hotel to the rink. I hope I will get to visit this city again!

As the World Cup qualifications are only days away, I concentrate fully on my training and hope my hard work through summer will pay off!

I'll give you a short report on what it's like to train for the World Cup qualifications!

In September I reduced my bike-training hours to trainings in the gym and on ice. I went with the Polish team to Spała (Poland) - where we did a lot of strenght training and were working ourselves into THE best shape for the coming winter season.

We spent the rest of the month in Berlin and Inzell, Germany, where the training was fully concentrated on the ice-skating practice.

I also had an opportunity to take part in the efficiency research examination done by the Sports Institute in Warsaw. The results are not in yet, but I'm really curious about them!

Luckily, I also got to spend a few days at home beetween training, so I could relax in the mountains and play with my dog - he's really young yet, so he likes to do puppy-things like biting everything into pieces - but either way, I miss him when I'm not home.

In the next days I'm going to have my first test-starts for the World Cup qualifications...

The real deal starts now!! Wish me luck!

On the 31st of August 2014 I participated in the 19. Race around the Tatras, which is a demanding track around the highest Polish mountains and goes also through the Slovak territory.

Near 100 participants of various skill level had gathered at the starting line in Nowy Targ, Poland - so as the race started it was visible that various groups are being formed. 

I started out determined with the first group of around 15 riders. We rode together until the 120 km, when 4 riders (me included) started going faster uphill in Strbske Pleso, Slovakia. We were going like this to around the 200km, but on a small hill in Białka Tatrzańska I decided to go a bit faster and arrived alone on the finish line with the time 05:45:00.

At the finish line I was told that I set a new record for this track: 202 km in 05:45:00 which is 13 minutes faster than the former record. I was really surprised! :)

It was not an easy track, but the satisfaction of finishing 202km in under 6 hours was soothing the fatigue ;)

After the race everyone got a warm meal and we could exchange our opinions on the race. 

It was a great adventure for me and I'm grateful to my general sponsor Grena Ltd. because without the bike they made available for me, I couldn't have made such a progress during the past months!

This was my first start in this Race and I'm sure you will see me there again! :)

As the summer goes by my trainings continue to be as hard and harsh as ever! 

Regardless of the weather, I already rode more than 2500 km on my racing bike, which was bought for me by my sponsor - Grena Ltd.

It's great to be back on track with my team-mates and I really feel I'm making progress thanks to my intense training.

At the end of July our whole team went to Inzell in Germany to train speed skating in a stadium hall ice rink - the Max Aicher Arena. It's a pity we don't have such a facility in Poland, so athletes are forced to train abroad.

After coming back home at the beginning of August I started training with the Sochi bronze medal winning Konrad Niedzwiedzki in Zakopane. It was a great experience to train with an athlete like him! I look forward to our next trainings.

By increasing the amount of my training I realised I need a better diet. Therefore, I started working with a specialised sports nutritionist, who will help me plan balanced meals and will keep an eye on the supplements I need to take. I can't wait to feel the results of this diet!

On August 13th, together with my team-mates we started our team training in Sanok, Poland. We were training on roller blades, bikes as well as on the short track.

Apart from training, I also made time to take part in a competition – the prestigious Tour de Pologne for Amateurs race on the 8th of August. I placed 11th out of 1389 participants who finished the race. I was riding the 31,8km track and finished it in under one hour (0:59:15), which gives an average riding speed of 32,2 km/h.

I'm already planning my start on the 31st of August in  the 19th Race around the Tatras – 205 km track in the highest mountains of Poland! It's going to be fun! This is one of my favourite tracks, so I'm happy I can test my current training preparation in this race.

That's all for now and...let's get back to training! :)

Everything's ready and set!! 

My starting number:

Update: 08-08-2014 14:30

Just got news that Sebastian placed 11th in the general category and was 4th in his own category!
Details, times and photos will be coming soon! 

Update: 13-08-2014 10:00

As mentioned before, I got 11th place in the general ranking with finishing the race with the time: 0:59:15 and avarage speed of 32.2 km/h.

You can find some pictures already in the gallery!

As part of my preparations for the winter season I train a lot on my new bike. The Tour de Pologne for Amateurs is a great opportunity to see how far I've come during this training season.

So keep your fingers crossed for August, 8th!

On the homepage of Tour de Pologne for Amateurs you can find all information about this event and see the route.

The camp on Tenerife was like a introduction to the preparations for the new season 2014/2015. 

There were 4 participants (team members) and the trainer Krzysztof Niedźwiedzki. The other part of the team had their training camp on Mallorca 2 weeks before us.

Let's take a look at the numers: 450 km in 5 days and 7500 m elevation, so really a mountain view.

After a few hours daily on the bike saddle we also had time to relax in the pool or playing billiards and others.

The biggest impression of this trip for me was meeting Chris Froome with his group "Sky" - winner of last years' Tour de France and the front-runner of winning the "Big Loop" - as well as Alberto Contador of Saxo Thinkoff  on a mountain track