COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE
Rennes sur Roulettes in English
Communiqué du 30/05/2002
Stage 3 of the 2002 French Inline Cup
Stage 3 of the Roller World Cup Grand Prix race series
Salomon’s Briand wins third consecutive Rennes sur Roulettes.
For the 20th edition of the Rennes sur Roulettes International Marathon, the race organizers goal was to achieve the highest quality and diversity of roller events in France. Despite rain and wind, the weekend of the 25th and 26th of May began with a 20 kilometer run on Saturday evening followed by the showcase events of Sunday: a three hour, morning fun run, stage three of the French Inline Cup and the International Roller World Cup Grand Prix.
The center of activity was in the inline village on the Champ de Mars, in the heart of Rennes, Brittany’s capital. Various roller sports were available to watch and/or participate in, including a roller hockey tournament, a Looney Tunes skate park for children, and the incredible demonstrations of street and vert skating put on by Fabrice Lallemand and the Rollerblade team riders.
Sunday morning the 2.5 km circuit was taken over by more than three hundred fitness skaters. Included in this group were many young inline competitors, some wild and wooly speed maniacs and a few families with small children experiencing their first sensations of speed skating. The morning fun reflected the craze for inline skating in the world and attracted skaters aged from 18 months to 71.
The Sunday afternoon competitions were divided into two separate events: the French Inline Cup stage and the Elite RWC marathon. The cadets and cadettes (competitors born in 1985 and 1986) juniors, and the national seniors lined up for the French Inline Cup departure at 1:15 p.m. The men raced a mini marathon of 36km and the women a shorter distance of 26km.
The women’s race was won by an exceptional Héloïse Prével (Salomon Devo) who with a comfortable distance defeated Christelle Boucher (ASTA, Nantes) and Guyzlane Samir (PUC), who respectively took the 2nd and 3rd places. This race demanded super-human effort from the women as the wind was strong and many skaters finished in small separate packs of two or three or, relaying each other against the elements.
The men’s marathon was a tactical race. From the beginning, the national teams worked together, attacking repeatedly and breaking up the lead pack, but only temporarily. The competition was rendered particularly difficult due to the intermittent showers. The bad weather combined with the painted road signs and oil slicks of the city roads provoked many falls. Sébastien Sergent (Rollerblade France) was one of the victims, but, quick on his feet, he came back to escape with Florian Lefevre (Saint Pierre-les Elboefs), who was victorious in the final sprint. Sergent, in second place was able to consolidate his lead in the French Inline Cup general ranking for national senior men. The two escapees were caught a few seconds later by the pack where Thomas Desplanche (Salomon Devo) took third place just in front of Lionel Maillard in fourth.
One hour after the FIC race, the elite men and women took their marks for 60 kilometers for the men and 42 for the women. All the best international teams were present except Hyper (Chad Hedrick, Diego Rosero) and members of the Verducci women’s racing team ( Theresa Cliff, Jessica Smith), and Rollerblade’s Ashley Horgan. The US trials were held during this same weekend requiring their presence in the USA.
The competition appeared to be rude. Would the current leader of the RWC, Pascal Briand, be able to defend himself from the Rollerblade assault led by Jorge Botero and teammate Arnaud Gicquel ? For the ladies, would the Roces team continue to dominate the top spots as in the season debut ?
The women’s race started just 60 seconds after the men. One of the deciding factors for victory were staying on your feet and avoiding a fall. Angèle Vaudan (Roces) in first place on the RWC ranking and one of the race favorites was absolutely eliminated by a bad fall, as was Caroline Bouée of Rollerblade France. The podium was decided at the final sprint on the slight uphill grade of the Boulevard du Colomier. Team Roces’ two excellent sprinters; Alessandra Susmeli and Laura Lombardo achieved the first and second places just ahead of Andréa Haritchelhar of Salomon. Nathalie Barbotin of Salomon took fourth place after a laborious race, where she was seen to have furnished much of the work in the pack.
The first 40 minutes of the men’s ultra marathon were skated at a fast pace but without attacks, probably due to the long distance of the race and the strong wind. With the first downpour, came the first attacks launched by Jorge Botero of the Rollerblade World team, Juan-Carlos Betancur of Salomon and Fabien Delort of Fila. These attacks had the result of propelling the pack, but also instigating falls. Certain champions found themselves embracing the asphalt or at the back during these assaults, which was the case for Wouter Hebbrecht (Belgium) and Kalon Dobbin (New Zealand) of Rollerblade. With the wind and rain, great determination was required to rejoin the now 30 member pack, where Bont, Rollerblade, Salomon, and Verducci team members were regrouping. This was the case for Kalon Dobbin. Many flyaways were carried-out at this point but were quickly reeled in. The teammates of the world’s greatest teams fought hard to protect their top sprinters and allow no flyaways. The winner of this game would be Pascal Briand, finishing the 60K in 1 hour 30 minutes followed by Jorge Botero and Massimilliano Presti of Salomon.
For the official ranking of the French Inline Cup check the “classement” at www.french-inline-cup.com . For the Roller World Cup and Grand Prix rankings check: www.speedskating.com
Stage 3 of the Roller World Cup Grand Prix race series
Salomon’s Briand wins third consecutive Rennes sur Roulettes.
For the 20th edition of the Rennes sur Roulettes International Marathon, the race organizers goal was to achieve the highest quality and diversity of roller events in France. Despite rain and wind, the weekend of the 25th and 26th of May began with a 20 kilometer run on Saturday evening followed by the showcase events of Sunday: a three hour, morning fun run, stage three of the French Inline Cup and the International Roller World Cup Grand Prix.
The center of activity was in the inline village on the Champ de Mars, in the heart of Rennes, Brittany’s capital. Various roller sports were available to watch and/or participate in, including a roller hockey tournament, a Looney Tunes skate park for children, and the incredible demonstrations of street and vert skating put on by Fabrice Lallemand and the Rollerblade team riders.
Sunday morning the 2.5 km circuit was taken over by more than three hundred fitness skaters. Included in this group were many young inline competitors, some wild and wooly speed maniacs and a few families with small children experiencing their first sensations of speed skating. The morning fun reflected the craze for inline skating in the world and attracted skaters aged from 18 months to 71.
The Sunday afternoon competitions were divided into two separate events: the French Inline Cup stage and the Elite RWC marathon. The cadets and cadettes (competitors born in 1985 and 1986) juniors, and the national seniors lined up for the French Inline Cup departure at 1:15 p.m. The men raced a mini marathon of 36km and the women a shorter distance of 26km.
The women’s race was won by an exceptional Héloïse Prével (Salomon Devo) who with a comfortable distance defeated Christelle Boucher (ASTA, Nantes) and Guyzlane Samir (PUC), who respectively took the 2nd and 3rd places. This race demanded super-human effort from the women as the wind was strong and many skaters finished in small separate packs of two or three or, relaying each other against the elements.
The men’s marathon was a tactical race. From the beginning, the national teams worked together, attacking repeatedly and breaking up the lead pack, but only temporarily. The competition was rendered particularly difficult due to the intermittent showers. The bad weather combined with the painted road signs and oil slicks of the city roads provoked many falls. Sébastien Sergent (Rollerblade France) was one of the victims, but, quick on his feet, he came back to escape with Florian Lefevre (Saint Pierre-les Elboefs), who was victorious in the final sprint. Sergent, in second place was able to consolidate his lead in the French Inline Cup general ranking for national senior men. The two escapees were caught a few seconds later by the pack where Thomas Desplanche (Salomon Devo) took third place just in front of Lionel Maillard in fourth.
One hour after the FIC race, the elite men and women took their marks for 60 kilometers for the men and 42 for the women. All the best international teams were present except Hyper (Chad Hedrick, Diego Rosero) and members of the Verducci women’s racing team ( Theresa Cliff, Jessica Smith), and Rollerblade’s Ashley Horgan. The US trials were held during this same weekend requiring their presence in the USA.
The competition appeared to be rude. Would the current leader of the RWC, Pascal Briand, be able to defend himself from the Rollerblade assault led by Jorge Botero and teammate Arnaud Gicquel ? For the ladies, would the Roces team continue to dominate the top spots as in the season debut ?
The women’s race started just 60 seconds after the men. One of the deciding factors for victory were staying on your feet and avoiding a fall. Angèle Vaudan (Roces) in first place on the RWC ranking and one of the race favorites was absolutely eliminated by a bad fall, as was Caroline Bouée of Rollerblade France. The podium was decided at the final sprint on the slight uphill grade of the Boulevard du Colomier. Team Roces’ two excellent sprinters; Alessandra Susmeli and Laura Lombardo achieved the first and second places just ahead of Andréa Haritchelhar of Salomon. Nathalie Barbotin of Salomon took fourth place after a laborious race, where she was seen to have furnished much of the work in the pack.
The first 40 minutes of the men’s ultra marathon were skated at a fast pace but without attacks, probably due to the long distance of the race and the strong wind. With the first downpour, came the first attacks launched by Jorge Botero of the Rollerblade World team, Juan-Carlos Betancur of Salomon and Fabien Delort of Fila. These attacks had the result of propelling the pack, but also instigating falls. Certain champions found themselves embracing the asphalt or at the back during these assaults, which was the case for Wouter Hebbrecht (Belgium) and Kalon Dobbin (New Zealand) of Rollerblade. With the wind and rain, great determination was required to rejoin the now 30 member pack, where Bont, Rollerblade, Salomon, and Verducci team members were regrouping. This was the case for Kalon Dobbin. Many flyaways were carried-out at this point but were quickly reeled in. The teammates of the world’s greatest teams fought hard to protect their top sprinters and allow no flyaways. The winner of this game would be Pascal Briand, finishing the 60K in 1 hour 30 minutes followed by Jorge Botero and Massimilliano Presti of Salomon.
For the official ranking of the French Inline Cup check the “classement” at www.french-inline-cup.com . For the Roller World Cup and Grand Prix rankings check: www.speedskating.com
