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Rain was forecast but the sun was shining this morning before the start of the World Inline Cup races in Rennes, France. That led some skaters to forego rain wheels and use their usual dry-weather wheels. Later, they would be sorry as heavy rain and wind battered the 2.7 kilometer course through the streets of Rennes. In the end, it was the Swiss giant Roger Schneider and German sprinter Jana Gegner who won the day, both using rain wheels. "The people with rain wheels were the ones who were able to survive," said race director Christophe Audoire. The weather was less dramatic during the women's race, although rain fell in both the beginning and middle. Bont's Nicole Begg and Powerslide's Nathalie Barbotin were among the leaders in the early going. Begg remained a contender throughout the race. But Barbotin dropped back into the chase group. After 13 or 16 laps, the leaders were Begg, Zepto's Jana Gegner, Tamara Llorens and Michaela Neuling, both of Rollerblade, and Cado Modus' Hilde Goovaerts. Begg took the lead at the head of the sprint. But Gegner caught her in the final meters. Gegner's time for the 43.2 kilometer race was 1 hour, 21 minutes and 31 seconds. Finishing third was Llorens. Hurricane-like conditions played havoc with the men's race. No rain was falling at the start but a gale-force wind was knocking down fences. Ten minutes into the race, the gale arrived, knocking down the organizers tent and making it almost impossible for skaters who had fallen out of the pack to make headway. Bont-Hyper's Massimilliano Presti took some strong pulls at the front. But as in the women's race, the weather fragmented the pack. After ten laps, only six skaters were left: Presti, TNT's Pier Davide Romani, Athleticum's Roger Schneider and three Rollerblade skaters: Shane Dobbin, Fabien Hascoet and Diego Rosero. With two laps to go Schneider and Dobbin took off, building a lead of more than a minute.
They came around the final turn together. But Schneider, who holds the world marathon record, beat Dobbin to the finish by two meters. His time for the 53-kilometer race was 1 hour 33 minutes and 24 seconds. Presti won the field sprint for third. Next came Rosero and Hascoet. Dobbin's second place finish will likely push him to first place in the overall World Cup rankings. Schneider's win should catapult him from 15th to the top five. Related reading: | ||||||||
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