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France's Philippe Boulard pulled ahead of the leaders several miles from the finish and went on to win the New York 100K by more than a minute. In the women's race, Canada's Martine Charbonneau won in even more convincing fashion. She broke away from the small women's lead pack on the second lap and skated the rest of the race alone, finishing 12 minutes ahead of the next woman. Switzerland's Karin Gabriel was second; Marcia Woodfield, third. Men's Race Boulard of the French Levallois team, was one of 13 skaters who formed the lead pack in the early goings of Saturday's race at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Skaters attacked often in the early laps with veteran 100K champion Eddy Matzger often leading the charge up the big hill on the 19-lap loop course.
K2-Empire's Luis Carlos Mejia attacked hard on the seventh lap. Levallois' Matthieu Barrault went with him; and together they established a big lead. Tru-Rev's Julian Rivera launched a counter-attack, and the pack followed. A lap later, they caught the two leaders. Chris Springer of Harrisonburg, VA, fell on Lap 12, taking K2-Empire's Francisco Ramirez with him. The two got back up and caught the pack a lap later. But their efforts apparently sapped their energy: a lap later, they fell behind the lead pack and dropped out of contention. Winning Breakaway With two laps to go, Boulard attacked hard on the big hill. He established a small lead. But Adams Inline's David Sarmiento led a counter-attack that bridged the gap. Still on the climb, Levallois' Julian Levrard, last year's winner, attacked. Sarmiento counter-attacked again and caught Levrard before the top of the hill. But then Boulard charged to the front, went around the weary Sarmiento and took the lead for good. Skating hard for the next three miles, he built a big lead before he reached the long downhill, where the pack would have had a chance to catch him. He won with a time of 3 hours, 8 minutes and 11 seconds. Sarmiento won the field sprint to claim second place; Levrard was third. Boulard is a veteran ultra-marathoner. He won the New York 100K in 1998 and the Swiss Inline One-Eleven in 1998 and 2000. In the 2001 World Championships, he collected the silver medal in the marathon. King of the Hill David Sarmiento won the men's King of the Hill competition. Skaters earned points based on their order of finish on the big hill during laps 3 to 14. Of course, Charbonneau won the women's title. Francisco Ramirez won the sprint championship. In this competition, points were awarded to the first, second and third skaters to cross the finish line on laps 3 to 12. Event Grows The New York 100K is held in conjunction with the New York City Skate Marathon. Last year, the combined events attracted 130 skaters. This year, 350 registered, although 50 of those did not skate. In all, 280 skaters went home with free event jackets, which were given to those who registered before the Sept. 9th early-registration deadline. ... Related reading • More Racing News
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Copyright © 2007 by Robert Burnson | ||||||||||||||
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