Hamar, Norway -- When she stepped off the ice Saturday in Norway, the alarm on Canadian speed skater Clara Hughes' wristwatch watch began beeping frantically. As she fumbled for it inside her backpack, she explained the racket was actually to remind her of an appointment she had -- last week.

"I can't remember things in my old age," the Winnipeg native said.

But only a few minutes earlier, Hughes showed why, at 37, she is still one of Canada's key medal threats for the Vancouver Olympics.

Skating alongside teammate Kristina Groves at the World Cup in Hamar, Norway, Hughes narrowly missed the podium in the 5000m event with a time of 7:00.24, good enough for fourth place.

"I'm happy about the way that I skated," Hughes said. "I've been working on a lot of technical things in the few weeks that I've been over here in Europe, and it's starting to really come together."

After taking an early lead over the pack, Hughes watched from the sidelines as several of the world's top skaters came later, trying to chip away at her time. Czech powerhouse Martina Sablikova claimed the gold medal with a time of 6:50.07.

A pair of German skaters, Stephanie Beckert (6:52.79) and Daniela Anschutz Thoms (6:59.62) took silver and bronze.

The next two spots were filled by Canadians, with Groves placing just over a second back of Hughes for fifth.

Following a season filled with injury and illness last year, Hughes said it felt good to register a strong performance in the 5000m race heading into Vancouver.

"It's good to see how fast these other girls are. And it's good to get our butt kicked sometimes. It's good motivation," Hughes said, referring to Sablikova's blistering time.

Groves, also one of Canada's top medal contenders in Vancouver, was happy with how she raced. A veteran of two Olympics, including a double-silver-medal performance in Turin, the 32-year-old Ottawa native has been preaching patience this year, not wanting to burn herself out for Vancouver by grasping for the podium too soon.

"If you're in that zone [of the top five or six skaters] you've got potential of being right up there. That's the nature of sport, we're all close enough that we all have the potential to win," said Groves.

"I feel really, really good about the race that I had, technically for sure. The rhythm that I was able to find, especially in the straight-aways, is something that can be elusive, so that felt really good."

Heading into this weekend, Groves' coach Xiuli Wang challenged her to step up her mental game to go with the physical strength she has shown so far this season. Groves is known for being one of the squad's most focused athletes but acknowledges she's been conservative in her approach to races so far.

"She gave me a lecture yesterday. We talked a little bit about it in terms of being okay to go for it now and not be scared and try to be too safe," Groves said.

It was fitting that Hughes and Groves were paired to skate against each other in Norway, since the two have been roommates this world cup season, sharing everything from a hotel room to conversations about home renovations.

"A lot of people don't realize, when we're out traveling, we don't get our own rooms. We're sharing rooms, we're eating together, we're together all the time," Hughes said.

Friendship aside, though, when the two line up against each other it's not hard to bring out the competitive fire, Groves said.

"It's kind of strange to come all this way to race against a teammate, but still when the gun goes off it's a race and you want to win," she said.

Hughes, a five-time Olympic medalist who owns two bronze medals in cycling from the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, and has three speed skating medals, will be looked upon to contend for Canada in the 5000m in Vancouver.

Of her three speed skating medals, two are in the 5000m, including gold at the 2006 Turin Games and a bronze in Salt Lake in 2002.

"I think I definitely do the best when I'm the chaser than if I'm the chased," Hughes said of her finish Saturday. "So I'm definitely chasing some people right now and it's good motivation."