Canada's Weidemann skates to 5,000m silver at World Cup stop in Norway

Canadian Isabelle Weidemann kicked off the long track speed skating World Cup stop in Stavanger, Norway, with a silver medal on Friday.

Weidemann, of Ottawa, picked up second place in the women's 5,000-metre race, pushing to the finish line in a time of six minutes 54.953 seconds.

I'm happy with how my race went today, even though I made some mistakes in the crossovers," Weidemann said.

"It's reassuring to be closing the gap with Schouten, who is a very strong competitor.

"I need to go back and make sure I work on the tactical aspects of my race so I don't make the same mistakes over again."

Alongside her on the track was Dutch athlete Irene Schouten, who posted a time of 6:52.837 to capture gold.

Weidemann's fellow Ottawa skater Ivanie Blondin recorded a time of 7:02.978 for fifth place.

WATCH | Weidemann skates to silver in women's 5,000m race:

Weidemann earned silver in the women's 3,000 in the season-opening World Cup in Poland.

The 26-year-old also helped the Canadian women win gold in the team pursuit in Poland.

"I am focused on looking forward and not getting too caught up in the results right now," Weidemann said.

"The season is so long, and I learned the last Olympic cycle to hold back a little bit to make sure that I'm not burning myself out too early.

"I hope there is a lot more left in me."

Four other Canadians took to the ice at the second long track stop of the season.

Valérie Maltais was the only Canadian competing in the women's 1,000-metre race. The skater from Saguenay, Que., finished in a time of 1:18.009 for 20th.

Laurent Dubreuil of Lévis Que., was the highest placing skater in the men's 1,000-metre event. He was 0.54 seconds behind the leader, placing 12th with a time of 1:09.230.

Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu of Sherbrooke, Que., ended in 15th (1:09.469), and Vincent de Haitre from Cumberland, Ont., rounded out the Canadian contingent in 18th (1:10.26.)