Nesbitt, Junio tune up for World Cup speedskating season with Trial wins

Gilmore Junio claimed top spot in the men's 500 metres at Fall World Cup Long-track Trials in Calgary on Sunday, while Christine Nesbitt won the distance on the women's side.

Junio, racing in his hometown, won both his races and clocked a cumulative time of 69.44 seconds.

Alex Boisvert-Lacroix, from Sherbrooke, Que., took second place in a total time of 69.68, while Edmonton's Jamie Gregg and Laurent Dubreuil of Levis, Que., were tied for third at 69.85.

"I'm really excited by it [placing first] and going to World Cups," said Junio. "It's a pretty good feeling. It's my first win in a long track competition. Both races went by pretty quick. I just thought about executing the points in my head. I had a checklist. Before I knew it [the race] was over."

Nesbitt, the London, Ont., native and reigning world champion in the 1,000 and 1,500 metres, won both 500-metre races in identical times of 38.246 for a cumulative of 76.48.

Danielle Wotherspoon, from Red Deer, Alta., was second in 77.07 ahead of Calgary's Anastasia Bucsis with a two-race total of 77.08.

The trials are used in identifying the teams for the first five World Cups of the 2012-13 season.

The first long-track World Cup will be held Nov. 16-18 in Heerenveen, Netherlands.