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 | Planet Extras! | | Team Rollerblade Looks Tough on the Eve of the 2005 World Inline Cup Additions of Colombians Botero and Rosero Likely to Give Team a Boost By Robert "Pass the Popcorn" Burnson Rollerblade World will The team finished a distant fourth in last year's World Cup, collecting only a third of the points of top dog Fila International. But this year, things may be different. With the addition of The 29-year-old Botero is a former team member who spent last year on Bont International. From a personal standpoint, he had a great year with Bont, finishing fifth in the individual World Cup rankings. (But reportedly Bont was disappointed with the team's third place finish.) Botero's countryman, 25-year-old Diego Rosero is just as impressive. He did not finish quite as In the races he skated, Rosero was a force to be reckoned with, finishing in the top-10 in six of them. With Botero and Rosero on board, Rollerblade World appears to be in a position to challenge for at least third, and perhaps, second place in the World Cup. Botero and Rosero are the kind of racers that can quickly push up a team in the rankings. (Racers in the World Cup earn points based on their finish in each race with the top finisher earning the most points. In top-class events, the winners earn 100 points.) The remainder of the Rollerblade team is made up of holdovers from last year's squad. Among them are two Frenchmen: Fabien Rabeau, 23, who finished 10th in last year's World Cup, and Alexis Contin, 18, who finished 26th. There is no reason to believe that Rabeau won't have another good year. On the other hand, there is some reason to suspect that Contin, the youngest member of the squad, may be ready to move up in the rankings. Contin recently led the Rollerblade Team to a commanding win in the Trois Pistes in France over the Saab-Salomon team. If Contin is ready to lead, there is no telling what Rollerblade World might do this year. The fifth member of the team is the strong New Zealand skater Shane Dobbin. Dobbin, 25, finished 38th in last year's individual rankings. The only thing that may hurt Rollerblade World this year is the loss of Wouter Hebrecht. The 25-year-old Belgian skater was not a big factor at the beginning of the 2004 season. But by the end of it, he was one of the team's best skaters and started finishing near -- or at -- the top in World Cup events. (He finished fifth in the top class Nice marathon and first in the top class St. Moritz marathon.) Hebrecht moved to Bont International this year. Bont also picked up 3rd-ranked Francesco Zangarini, making it perhaps the team with the best chance to halt the Fila juggernaut. But then again, who knows? ... The only thing that seems certain is that Max Presti and the Fila gang will be looking over their shoulders more often this year. (Posted on April 8, 2005)
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... Copyright © 2005 by Robert Burnson | ||
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