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Share your photos, videos and stories about the race on the Skater Network. Texas Road Rash - Marathon Pro Men
Pro Woman (Senior)
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full results (to come) Recap | Mantia didn't want to do it alone: Atom Wheel's Joey Mantia didn't want to skate the whole marathon alone today. "It's a long race," said the 25-year-old world champion from Ocala, FL. So after taking a big early lead, "I basically stood up for 45 seconds to let them catch up. But when I stood up, they took a break themselves." Even standing up, the pack wasn't gaining on him. So I just kept going." Mantia had taken the lead shortly after the start as the pack climbed a long hill. The pack was maintaining "a nice, easy pace" with Bont USA's Justin Stelly in the lead. "Then Justin moved over, and I was in the front and I started skating the pace I wanted to skate and pretty much, from then on, I was on my own." Stelly, 24, of Lafayette, LA, said none of the other skaters "wanted any part" of Mantia's breakaway. "It was too early and it was too cold," said Stelly. Mantia extended his lead to, at one point, five minutes. He said he felt comfortable until the last lap, when he hit "a little wall." But he maintained his pace and finished 5 minutes and 23 seconds ahead of the pack. His time was 1 hour 14 minutes and 46 seconds for the 28.2 mile marathon. Stelly said that after Mantia took off, the pack settled into a slow pace. "(Simmons') Alex Fedak kept going on flyers," he said. But the pack quickly reeled him in. On the straightaway before the final turn, Stelly, Brian Talley and the two Luigino/Atom skaters, Michael Cheek and Harry Vogel, started sprinting. Stelly and Vogel got to the turn first, and Stelly edged Vogel by about two feet. Women's finish Bont USA's Briana Kramer won the women's race, finishing a mere 20 seconds behind Stelly and Vogel. Teammate Sophie Webb finished two seconds later. Both Kramer and Webb managed to stay with the lead chase pack throughout the race. "It was fun — and a little scary — to be in a pack going at that speed," said Kramer, 19, of Kissimmee, FL. "People kept going on breakaways and then the pack would sprint to catch them. ... It was pretty exhausting." Kramer, winner of last year's NorthShore Inline Marathon, is on a break from the Wheels to Ice Program of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "This is the most exercise I've had in a month," she said. Kramer's time was 1 hour, 20 minutes and 30 seconds. 9:30 | Mantia wins: Atom Wheel's Joey Mantia raises his arms in the air as he claims his second victory in the Texas Road Rash. The 25-year-old from Ocala, FL, finishes minutes ahead of the pack. Bont USA's Justin Stelly and Luigino/Atom's Harry Vogel are the next skaters to come into view of the finish line. They battle neck-and-neck down the straightaway until, in the final yards, Stelly pulls ahead to claim second place. Vogel is third. Next come Brian Talley and Micheal Cheek. Bont USA's Briana Kramer wins the women's race, finishing ten feet ahead of teammate Sophie Webb. Minutes later, Lexis Gil, 18, of Houston crosses the finish line to take third in the women's race. Ryan Chrisler wis the master men's race; Bont USA's Norm Kirby is second. 9:15 | Last lap: Atom Wheel's Joey Mantia has extended his lead to four minutes. "He just has his hands behind his back and he's cruising." Simmon's Alex Fedak and Sports Quest's Wesley Gandy have broken away from the chase pack and are about 30 seconds ahead. But they are likely to get sucked back in by the pack as things heat up on the final lap. Among the skaters who will be trying to claim second place are Bont USA's Justin Stelly and Luigino/Atom's Michael Cheek and Harry Vogel. 8:58 | All alone: Atom Wheel's Joey Mantia finishes the fourth lap way out ahead of the lead pack. "He's cruising, " says Bont USA's Debbie Rice. "I'd say about 25ish (miles per hour.). It's a long wait — about three minutes — before the big chase pack appears with Luigino/Atom's Michael Cheek at the front. There are still about 15 skaters in the lead pack, including the two Bont women: Briana Kramer and Sophie Webb. The skaters in the chase pack are standing up. No one wants to lead. It seems unlikely that anyone will chase down Mantia and that the race for second will come down to a field sprint. 8:35 | Second lap: Atom Wheel's Joey Mantia takes off on a solo breakaway on the second lap and finishes the lap a full two minutes ahead of the pack. "He did the same thing yesterday in the elimination," says Bont USA's Debbie Rice. "He's just real strong. And there's no wind, so it's a easy to be on a breakaway." Bont USA's Justin Stelly is leading the chase pack, which includes Michael Stelly and Harry Vogel, both of Luigino/Atom; and the two Bont women. 8:16 | First lap: The leaders finish their first lap of Old Settlers Park. It's a big lead pack of about 30 skaters. Dallas skater Michael Ringer, a former world team member, is at the front of the pack. Behind him is Bont USA's Justin Stelly, Atom Wheel's Joey Mantia and Luigino/Atom's Michael Cheek. The two Bont USA women, Briana Kramer and Sophie Webb, are tucked into the lead pack. 8:05 | They're off: They start them all in one big group. It's a clean start. It's six laps to go for the full marathon. Three for the half. 7:50 | Scene: It's a beautiful day in Round Rock, Texas. "No wind, no clouds, a little chlly but it will warm up," says Bont USA's Debbie Rice. The marathon will be starting in about 10 minutes. There's a good turnout, about 240 skaters. "They're shivering a little bit as they're warming up," says Roger Heaney, an event organizer with the City of Round Rock. "Yesterday, we had the elimination races. And they were very successful," Heaney says. "No one went down; no one got hurt. That's how we like it." Atom Wheel's Joey Mantia won the men's elimination. Bont USA's Justin Stelly was second. Sports Quest's Wesley Gandy was third. Bont USA's Briana Kramer won the women's elimination. Teammate Sophie Webb was second. Brianna Bocox was third.
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