Cogs can think.

And the hangover is finally sliding away. It still feels as if someone stabbed me with a speedskate - right in my heart. That’s how it feels when you’re jumping up and down in front of your TV, cheering the lungs out of your chest, and you see the world’s most beautiful speed skater topple over while doing 60kph on the 500m, ending his dreams of becoming the world champion sprint on the long track in Thialf.

I cursed my way out heaven right there.

Jan Bos, technically probably the best and most gifted speedskater of the world, got caught in a ridge on the ice - at least, that’s what the experts say. Jan himself doesn’t care - “everybody skated across that ridge all weekend.” And didn’t trip, you hear him thinking. His dreams shattered, the crowd in a sudden delusional state, some even crying, right there, grown men and women.

Because of his fall, he slid away into the nether regions of the weekend’s rankings, which meant he had to skate the following 1000m in the 2nd race, while he usually starts in one of the final races of a run. Being the apple of the crowd’s eyes, the crowd went mental before the start, standing up, clapping, cheering, visibly giving Jan a lump in his throat - his lesser adversary hadn’t a clue what was happening. The referee had to ask for silence, but after the gunshot, the crowd went wild again, and it elevated Jan to a higher level, pushing him to skate one of his best 1000m ever - and the realisation it would’ve surely resulted in the title of World Champion Sprint 2008, exactly ten years after winning his first, and only, world championship sprint.

The tears came, the crowd cheered.

But that’s speedskating for you. You go fast, and you don’t fall. Fail either of those, and you lose.