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National Roller Cup
Live Blog: 2012 New York 100K and Skater Marathon
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Sept. 29, 2012
Planet report
11:51 am | Peter Doucet on the lead pack
TISC's Peter Doucet, a veteran of many New York 100Ks, says todays' race was "not a particularly hard one."
"I know," he says, "because I led a couple times, and I led very slowly."
The pace in the lead pack, where Doucet remained throughout the race, was "relatively constant," he says. "There weren't any brutally hard attacks."
The one attack that made a difference was the one launched late in the race by Jérôme Comptois-Urbain.
Comptois-Urbain took a lead of at least 20 seconds. And that got the attention of Bont USA's Justin Stelly
While the rest of the pack waited for Comptois-Urbain to run out of steam, Stelly gave chase.
"He went all in to catch Jerome's breakaway," says Doucet, the webmaster of Speed Skate World. "He basically decided that he was going to lose blowing up or win the race. One or the other."
Stelly, skating in his first ultra-marathon, blew up.
After catching Comptois-Urbain, Stelly slowed down and was passed by the pack.
He ended up finishing a couple minutes back, which cost him the 2012 NROC Pro Open title, which went to the young Canadian Christopher Fiola.
The winner of today's race, Garikoitz Lerga, is a former member of Spain's world team and has finished in the top ten at the World Championships.
11:26 am | Kara Peterson wins
Adam's Kara Peterson won the women's 100K. But here's the sad part. She was the only pro woman left in the race by the finish.
And here's the sadder part, she was only one of two pro women who started the race.
The other was Calvano's Morgane Echardour.
"I am a pack skater. I don't like solo skating," says Echardour, 22, of Missaussaga, Ontario. "Before the race started, I said, 'Are we really we going to race ... just the two of us?' "
Midway through the race, Echardour dropped out. "My feet were just killing me. And I was skating at a snail pace."
But Peterson, a 42-year-old Minneapolis police officer, kept going.
"Kara skated the whole thing on her own," Echardour says. "She's my idol."
Echardour didn't need to finish the race to win the Pro Open women's division in this year's National Roller Cup. She was already leading the Pro Open skaters, and Peterson, the only other pro woman to score points today, competes in the Pro 40 division.
10:40 am | Spaniard wins
At the end of a furious field sprint, Garikoitz Lerga Nikolay, 32, of Spain wins the New York 100K.
MPC's Francisco Ramirez is second; Il Peloton/MPC's Christopher Fiola is third.
Fiola, 15, of Montreal, is the first NROC skater across the line. That makes him the youngest winner ever in the five year history of the National Roller Cup.
Not sure where Bont's Justin Stelly finished.
10:26 am | One lap to go
Jérôme Comptois-Urbain wins the King of the Mountain hill climbing competition.
The pack is back together.
Bont's Justin Stelly and Il Peloton/MPC's Christopher Fiola are looking strong. Twincam's Eddy Matzger and Ezeefit's Juan Carlos Mejia are also near the front.
10:12 am | Three to go
Jérôme Comptois-Urbain is about 10 seconds ahead of the lead pack on a solo breakaway with three laps to go in the 100K.
Comptois-Urbain is a 23 year old from Montreal.
There are 19 skaters left in the lead pack. Bont USA's Justin Stelly was pulling the pack on the last lap.
Adam's Kara Peterson is still out ahead in the women's race. No word on Morgane Echardour.
9:47 am | Six laps to go
Ezeefit's Luis Carlos Mejia leads the men's pack with six laps to go.
9:35 am | Sarmiento on the sidelines
"I started having problems on the lap two or three," says Adam's David Sarmiento. "You have to lean forward on the hill, and my back started having pain and every hill was worse and worse.
"The good thing is that it is the last race of the season, so I can take care of my back now."
Sarmiento dropped out after nine laps.
So far, no one has been able to break away from the lead pack of 20 or 25 skaters, he says.
"This race is about that hill. On the downhill, it's just hanging out and waiting for the next hill. ... There just one hill. But it's really steep."
9:15 am | Luis Carlos
We're not sure who's in the lead right now ... could be Brazil again? But we do know this: Ezeefit's Luis Carlos Mejia is in second place.
That's not too surprising.
Mejia, 51, of Colombia, typically finishes near the front in the New York 100K. And he's as strong as ever this year. Two weeks ago, he finished second in the Northshore Inline Marathon.
9:05 am | Sarmiento out
Adam's David Sarmiento has dropped out of the race. "His back was hurting and he couldn't continue," says Carole Olinger, one of race organizers.
Sarmiento, 30, of Sleepy Eye, Minn., has been struggling with back pain all season.
A win today would have earned him the 2012 NROC title. His two rivals, Christopher Fiola and Justin Stelly, are still in the race.
8:37 am | 40K/100K mix
The leaders in the men's marathon are at the front of the men's lead pack, positioning for the final sprint.
The pack has skated seven laps. The marathon is eight.
Leading the pack is Adiel Fernandez, who is skating the marathon.
The 100K skaters are tucked back into the big pack.
Adam's Kara Peterson is leading the women's 100K. Calvano's Morgane Echardour has dropped back.
7:51 am | Big men's pack
A big men's pack has formed in the first three laps of the race. Juan Brazil (we are not sure about this name) is at the head of the pack. Adam's David Sarmiento is tucked in about eight skaters back. Bont's USA's Justin Stelly is another seven skaters back.
Of course, with 16 laps left to go, it's not too important where you are in the pack, as long as you don't get dropped.
The women's pro pack is small, just four skaters, led by Calvano's Morgane Echardour, the NROC leader.
7:30 am | They're off
The pro men went first. Then the pro women.
7:18 am | About to start
After some delays, the skaters have been called to the starting line. So we're just about ready to go.
It's a cloudy morning, but dry.
Planet preview of the 2012 New York 100K
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