Hi Skaters,
Yesterday was the World Cup race in Zurich. Again, as it is every year, it was a hot and fast race. Everyone knows that Zurich often ends in a massive pack sprint, so many of the attempts of skaters trying to get the race to finish on a breakaway didn't come to much. The men's pack is often one of the biggest of the season because everyone show up for this race, even some skaters from outside the WIC.
The race got under way at 4 p.m., a little later than usual because of the Masters World Championships that were held earlier in the afternoon. Often, with the heat in Zurich, parts of the road melt, and you can lose a skate in them, and this leads to crashes galore. So much energy is wasted in staying upright.
Throughout the race many skaters tried to break away, but towards the end all the teams formed up their sprint trains to try and win the massive sprint finish. With about 3km to go, our team's sprinter, Raphael, crashed. That sent our team in all directions so it made things very difficult for us to get any sort of sprint together.
I turned around to see if Raphael was coming back to the pack because, if he was, I was going to try and help him. He had told me he was feeling good during the race; he had some good results in sprint finishes of late; and he crashed last weekend and caught back up, so I believed he could still do OK. Unfortunately he was too hurt to carry on. In the last "U" turn there was a pretty big crash. I didn't go down but I was held up behind it. That pretty much put an end to my race. Roger Schneider was able to finish a solid fifth which saved the day for the team.
Unfortunately the race (mainly the finish) was marred by fighting in the pack. Something needs to be done in the future to clean things up. It quite often means that not always the fastest skater wins; insteadk, the skaters who get the clearest run at the finish often win.
This coming weekend is another "fast" race: the World Cup in Sursee. Two, 21km laps of a lake. I hope things are cleaner this weekend.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Weinfelden Relay and Marathon.
Hi Skaters,
Last weekend was a first-time WIC race in Weinfelden, Switzerland. First off though there was a relay held on Friday night. The relay skaters raced for their pro team. The top eight teams in the WIC went directly into the semi-final, and then the top three teams in each semi went to the final, plus one wild card team that could be added by the WIC organisation, to make — believe it or not — a 7-team final!!!
Needless to say the straightaway where the changes took place was like a battle zone. This was a very high-class relay. There were no less than 10 current and past World Champions spread over the teams. The final was pretty much full-on from the start as all the teams were fighting hard to be near the front to avoid any crashes.
Going into the last rotation of skaters my team, Athleticum-Rollerblade hit the front. Then going into the final lap of the race, my teammate Raphael Pflug put me in first position. I held the lead until the last corner when a flying Jorge Cifuentes (World Inline Center) passed me up the inside for the win.
The results were:
1st Matter World Inline Center
2nd Athleticum Rollerblade
3rd Citius Team Germany
4th TNT
5th Powerslide Phuzion
6th Sportvital Rollerblade
7th Zepto
Saturday was the marathon. It started and finished in the small town of Weinfelden. The 'village' where all the athletes were based was in the car park (parking lot) of the new banked track. The course was two 21km laps with two hills each lap. There were some dodgy turns and some narrow roads that caused a few crashes, but again it was the same senario as all the WIC races. Attack after attack.
In this case I managed to make the winning breakaway. I won't go too much into the actual race report because everyone knows what happened***. Fifth was not a bad result for me — not good, but not too bad.
[***Iguana's race report: The French Yann Guyader (Matter World Inline Center) surprised at the first Weinfelden SsangYong World Inline Cup with a great winning time of 1:01.12,11. The Columbian Diego Rosero (Sportvital Rollerblade) finished just behind Guyader second and Massimiliano Presti (Bont Hyper), the winner of the last stage in Incheon, got third.]
On Sunday there was another WIC race in Dijon France. It was a Class 1 race. I think it awardes 60 points for the win, instead of the usual 125. Our team decided not to go. There were several reasons. We had just returned from Korea so there was still some jet lag hanging around from that, three of us had raced Friday night as well as Saturday. Also the marathon on Saturday finished quite late. Aside from that, this weekend is one of the most important marathons of the season for me and the team, Zurich.
Zurich is always a strange race. It's pretty short at 35km and quite 'easy' because of the huge pack size and flat course. But it is sometimes quite hard. Of course, a lot depends on your role in the race. It's often quite hot there, too.
I will keep you posted on how it goes. In the meantime, I am off training.
Thanks,
Scott
Last weekend was a first-time WIC race in Weinfelden, Switzerland. First off though there was a relay held on Friday night. The relay skaters raced for their pro team. The top eight teams in the WIC went directly into the semi-final, and then the top three teams in each semi went to the final, plus one wild card team that could be added by the WIC organisation, to make — believe it or not — a 7-team final!!!
Needless to say the straightaway where the changes took place was like a battle zone. This was a very high-class relay. There were no less than 10 current and past World Champions spread over the teams. The final was pretty much full-on from the start as all the teams were fighting hard to be near the front to avoid any crashes.
Going into the last rotation of skaters my team, Athleticum-Rollerblade hit the front. Then going into the final lap of the race, my teammate Raphael Pflug put me in first position. I held the lead until the last corner when a flying Jorge Cifuentes (World Inline Center) passed me up the inside for the win.
The results were:
1st Matter World Inline Center
2nd Athleticum Rollerblade
3rd Citius Team Germany
4th TNT
5th Powerslide Phuzion
6th Sportvital Rollerblade
7th Zepto
Saturday was the marathon. It started and finished in the small town of Weinfelden. The 'village' where all the athletes were based was in the car park (parking lot) of the new banked track. The course was two 21km laps with two hills each lap. There were some dodgy turns and some narrow roads that caused a few crashes, but again it was the same senario as all the WIC races. Attack after attack.
In this case I managed to make the winning breakaway. I won't go too much into the actual race report because everyone knows what happened***. Fifth was not a bad result for me — not good, but not too bad.
[***Iguana's race report: The French Yann Guyader (Matter World Inline Center) surprised at the first Weinfelden SsangYong World Inline Cup with a great winning time of 1:01.12,11. The Columbian Diego Rosero (Sportvital Rollerblade) finished just behind Guyader second and Massimiliano Presti (Bont Hyper), the winner of the last stage in Incheon, got third.]
On Sunday there was another WIC race in Dijon France. It was a Class 1 race. I think it awardes 60 points for the win, instead of the usual 125. Our team decided not to go. There were several reasons. We had just returned from Korea so there was still some jet lag hanging around from that, three of us had raced Friday night as well as Saturday. Also the marathon on Saturday finished quite late. Aside from that, this weekend is one of the most important marathons of the season for me and the team, Zurich.
Zurich is always a strange race. It's pretty short at 35km and quite 'easy' because of the huge pack size and flat course. But it is sometimes quite hard. Of course, a lot depends on your role in the race. It's often quite hot there, too.
I will keep you posted on how it goes. In the meantime, I am off training.
Thanks,
Scott
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Incheon
Hi,
Well Inchoen didn't really go according to plan for me and my team, but it was the same for most of the other teams. Most of the skaters were surprised to learn that the fastest finisher in the WIC, Luca Saggiorato, wouldn't be in Incheon due to a training crash a couple of days earlier. However, about 5km into the race, his team captain Massi Presti blew that out of the water. He attacked with a local Korean skater. Most of the other teams thought that the pack would catch them again on the slight downhill before the finish, but they were never seen again. Skaters first tried attacking to bring them back; then with about 20km to go, a teams team time trial of sorts happened on the front. All the big teams left in the pack sent a guy, sometimes two guys to the front. It was one of the most organised chases I have ever seen in a WIC event. However Massi and his Korean friend pulled away from us!!!
About 7km before the finish a group of eight skaters finally got away from the main pack. Our team had Reyon Kay in it. He held on for a good 7th place after quite a fair amount of work before hand. In the end, Massi easily beat his Korean breakaway friend to the finish, and Jorge Cifuentes from Matter came in third to give his team its first podium of the year.
This weekend is something a little different. On Friday evening, there is a relay race for the WIC teams on the new banked track in Switzerland. Then on Saturday there is a brand new WIC marathon, also in Switzerland. I don't know any details about the course, there have been so many stories floating around from "it's an easy course" to "it could be one of the hardest events of the year." So we'll see on Saturday.
Thanks
Scott
Well Inchoen didn't really go according to plan for me and my team, but it was the same for most of the other teams. Most of the skaters were surprised to learn that the fastest finisher in the WIC, Luca Saggiorato, wouldn't be in Incheon due to a training crash a couple of days earlier. However, about 5km into the race, his team captain Massi Presti blew that out of the water. He attacked with a local Korean skater. Most of the other teams thought that the pack would catch them again on the slight downhill before the finish, but they were never seen again. Skaters first tried attacking to bring them back; then with about 20km to go, a teams team time trial of sorts happened on the front. All the big teams left in the pack sent a guy, sometimes two guys to the front. It was one of the most organised chases I have ever seen in a WIC event. However Massi and his Korean friend pulled away from us!!!
About 7km before the finish a group of eight skaters finally got away from the main pack. Our team had Reyon Kay in it. He held on for a good 7th place after quite a fair amount of work before hand. In the end, Massi easily beat his Korean breakaway friend to the finish, and Jorge Cifuentes from Matter came in third to give his team its first podium of the year.
This weekend is something a little different. On Friday evening, there is a relay race for the WIC teams on the new banked track in Switzerland. Then on Saturday there is a brand new WIC marathon, also in Switzerland. I don't know any details about the course, there have been so many stories floating around from "it's an easy course" to "it could be one of the hardest events of the year." So we'll see on Saturday.
Thanks
Scott
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
News.
Hi Everyone,
There has been a bit of down time over the past couple of weeks. We've got two weekends without races. It's been a good chance to get some solid training in before the next block of racing starts.
There has been alot of talk over the past couple of weeks about wheels. My team is sponsored this year by MPC. Last year MPC really burst on to the scene at the World Champs. I know I used them, and aside from Joey Mantia I think they won a large percentage of the medals. Since then they've been working hard on develping wheels. They have released the VT models, which is our wheel of choice for dry marathons. As everyone knows they are also responsible for the famous Storm Surge wheel. In regards to 110mm wheels I have never skated on them, and to be honest I don't think I will this season unless they prove to be head and shoulders above 100mm. Also I have one eye fixed on the World Championships where you can only use a maximum of 100mm. Different skaters are popping up on 110mm set ups all the time and to be honest they have yet to make a huge impact. Powerslide is one company that has invested alot of time into the whole 110mm scene. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 5 or 6 weeks, it could once again lead our sport in a different direction with material.
During the day we often do alot of nothing. Of course training takes up a large percentage of time. Over the next couple of weeks we are blessed with the Giro di Italia (Tour of Italy bike race). Since I am a pretty big cycling fan, most of my afternoons are spent in front of the TV.
Its is also important for us to rest when we can. Rest is often as important as the training itself.
Next Thursday we fly to Incheon. The race is Sunday morning and we leave Monday. There are a couple of talking points about this race, first the prize money. It's noramlly US$10,000 for the win so quite often the race for overall points gets thrown out the window and it's just a race for the money. Second, the hotel. All the WIC teams stay at the Hyatt. It's a 5 star hotel and that's quite a rare thing for most skaters.
Thanks for reading.
Scott
There has been a bit of down time over the past couple of weeks. We've got two weekends without races. It's been a good chance to get some solid training in before the next block of racing starts.
There has been alot of talk over the past couple of weeks about wheels. My team is sponsored this year by MPC. Last year MPC really burst on to the scene at the World Champs. I know I used them, and aside from Joey Mantia I think they won a large percentage of the medals. Since then they've been working hard on develping wheels. They have released the VT models, which is our wheel of choice for dry marathons. As everyone knows they are also responsible for the famous Storm Surge wheel. In regards to 110mm wheels I have never skated on them, and to be honest I don't think I will this season unless they prove to be head and shoulders above 100mm. Also I have one eye fixed on the World Championships where you can only use a maximum of 100mm. Different skaters are popping up on 110mm set ups all the time and to be honest they have yet to make a huge impact. Powerslide is one company that has invested alot of time into the whole 110mm scene. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 5 or 6 weeks, it could once again lead our sport in a different direction with material.
During the day we often do alot of nothing. Of course training takes up a large percentage of time. Over the next couple of weeks we are blessed with the Giro di Italia (Tour of Italy bike race). Since I am a pretty big cycling fan, most of my afternoons are spent in front of the TV.
Its is also important for us to rest when we can. Rest is often as important as the training itself.
Next Thursday we fly to Incheon. The race is Sunday morning and we leave Monday. There are a couple of talking points about this race, first the prize money. It's noramlly US$10,000 for the win so quite often the race for overall points gets thrown out the window and it's just a race for the money. Second, the hotel. All the WIC teams stay at the Hyatt. It's a 5 star hotel and that's quite a rare thing for most skaters.
Thanks for reading.
Scott
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Rennes
Sorry for my late report but I didn't get back to Swiss until yesterday evening, and was really tired from the travel, let alone the race.
As I said before the WIC race in Rennes is famous for rain. The town of Rennes is located on the Western side of France and all sorts of weather gets blown in off the Atlantic. We left very early Saturday morning from Zug. We caught the train to Basel where Reyon and I met up with the rest of the Athleticum team. From there we caught the TGV to Paris, the metro (subway) in Paris to another station, and then another TGV from there to Rennes.
This is the only marathon of the season where the ladies' race is held seperate from the men's. The ladies' race is 40km and started at 1400 and the men's is 53km and started at 1600. It was raining and then it wasn't all morning. It made wheel choice quite a gamble: run with the new Storm Surge wheels in the hope it would rain, but if it dried it would be tough to push them for 53km; or use the 'normal' dry weather wheels, the pink VT's, but if it rained it would turn the course into (pardon the pun) a skating rink. In the end, I settled on the gold Street Fight wheels. It was sort of like having a dollar each way.
The race started under cloudy skies. The race was very fast considering the narrow and technical course. On the second lap there was a huge crash on one of the narrow sections. I crashed here and was just standing up when I was taken down again from behind. Because it was early in the race and as a great show of sportsmanship, the bunch waited for everyone to get going again. Almost straight away it started raining. There was a U-turn and I crashed again just as the winning breakaway took off. While I was unlucky, my teammate Roger Schneider made it. Over the course of the next 20km, the breakaway group steadily built its lead. During this time, we encountered some of the worst conditions I've ever raced in: pouring rain and winds that were strong enough to blow you over. The guys in the breakaway started attacking each other to try and go solo to the finish. Towards the end Roger, my teammate, and Shane Dobbin from Sportvital Rollerblade attacked and got a gap. Meanwhile, in the bunch, I attacked with about 10km left.
In the end, Roger held of Shane for this first big win of the season and the second WIC win for Athleticum in 2 weeks. Massi Presti led home the rest of the breakaway, then I came in for 7th and then my team mate Reyon Kay won the pack sprint for 9th. So it was another good weekend for Athleticum with 3 in the top 10.
Since we've been back in Swiss, it's been cold and wet. I hope it clears soon because I was looking forward to getting some good training in without having races on at the moment. Our next WIC race is at the start of June in Incheon, Korea. Everyone wants a good result there because it's our sport's richest race. So there is that extra motivation.
Thanks for reading.
Scott.
As I said before the WIC race in Rennes is famous for rain. The town of Rennes is located on the Western side of France and all sorts of weather gets blown in off the Atlantic. We left very early Saturday morning from Zug. We caught the train to Basel where Reyon and I met up with the rest of the Athleticum team. From there we caught the TGV to Paris, the metro (subway) in Paris to another station, and then another TGV from there to Rennes.
This is the only marathon of the season where the ladies' race is held seperate from the men's. The ladies' race is 40km and started at 1400 and the men's is 53km and started at 1600. It was raining and then it wasn't all morning. It made wheel choice quite a gamble: run with the new Storm Surge wheels in the hope it would rain, but if it dried it would be tough to push them for 53km; or use the 'normal' dry weather wheels, the pink VT's, but if it rained it would turn the course into (pardon the pun) a skating rink. In the end, I settled on the gold Street Fight wheels. It was sort of like having a dollar each way.
The race started under cloudy skies. The race was very fast considering the narrow and technical course. On the second lap there was a huge crash on one of the narrow sections. I crashed here and was just standing up when I was taken down again from behind. Because it was early in the race and as a great show of sportsmanship, the bunch waited for everyone to get going again. Almost straight away it started raining. There was a U-turn and I crashed again just as the winning breakaway took off. While I was unlucky, my teammate Roger Schneider made it. Over the course of the next 20km, the breakaway group steadily built its lead. During this time, we encountered some of the worst conditions I've ever raced in: pouring rain and winds that were strong enough to blow you over. The guys in the breakaway started attacking each other to try and go solo to the finish. Towards the end Roger, my teammate, and Shane Dobbin from Sportvital Rollerblade attacked and got a gap. Meanwhile, in the bunch, I attacked with about 10km left.
In the end, Roger held of Shane for this first big win of the season and the second WIC win for Athleticum in 2 weeks. Massi Presti led home the rest of the breakaway, then I came in for 7th and then my team mate Reyon Kay won the pack sprint for 9th. So it was another good weekend for Athleticum with 3 in the top 10.
Since we've been back in Swiss, it's been cold and wet. I hope it clears soon because I was looking forward to getting some good training in without having races on at the moment. Our next WIC race is at the start of June in Incheon, Korea. Everyone wants a good result there because it's our sport's richest race. So there is that extra motivation.
Thanks for reading.
Scott.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Rennes.
Hi Everyone.
This coming Sunday is the next World Inline Cup race in Rennes, France. Rennes is famous amoung the skaters for wet weather, and this year it looks like it won't dissapoint. I just checked an online weather report and its saying a 70% chance of rain. We travel very early on Saturday morning on France's TGV train, and arrive in Rennes mid-afternoon. The race is at 2pm (CET) on Sunday. Then we return home early Monday morning.
The race is normally tough. The French skaters are usually quite strong, and the race itself is a little longer than the other WIC races at 53km. The usual wet weather and slippery roads are the icing on the cake.
Yesterday I did a training session on the new banked track in Switzerland. It was a huge training group, and skaters from all over the world were there; New Zealand, Australia, Swiss, Canada, Argentina, and Estonia! It was cool to skate with a big group.
Ok I better go and pack my bags.
Scott
This coming Sunday is the next World Inline Cup race in Rennes, France. Rennes is famous amoung the skaters for wet weather, and this year it looks like it won't dissapoint. I just checked an online weather report and its saying a 70% chance of rain. We travel very early on Saturday morning on France's TGV train, and arrive in Rennes mid-afternoon. The race is at 2pm (CET) on Sunday. Then we return home early Monday morning.
The race is normally tough. The French skaters are usually quite strong, and the race itself is a little longer than the other WIC races at 53km. The usual wet weather and slippery roads are the icing on the cake.
Yesterday I did a training session on the new banked track in Switzerland. It was a huge training group, and skaters from all over the world were there; New Zealand, Australia, Swiss, Canada, Argentina, and Estonia! It was cool to skate with a big group.
Ok I better go and pack my bags.
Scott
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Basel Win
Hi Skaters.
It was a good day for me and my team, Athleticum-Rollerblade International. We won the team time trial in Basel. There was alot of presure on us because we were the defending champions. The offical results were-
1st Athleticum Rollerblade 41:00.95 43.885km/h
2nd Sportvital Rollerblade +10.10
3rd Powerslide Phuzion +45.99
4th Bont Hyper +1:35.90
5th Spirotiger Inline center +1:48.75
For complete results- www.datasport.ch
The race was held on wet roads with the odd rain shower. After the month of amazing weather we've had in Swiss it all went out the door! Both my team and the Sportvital Rollerblade team were racing on the MPC "Storm Surge." I am not normally a strong skater in the rain, but these wheels helped me alot.
It was a hard race mentally also. Especially because of the wet weather this year. Some teams try and race to a set lap time for the 5km lap. Our team though didn't worry too much about it. There is no hiding from how hard it is, so we decided to pretty much go full gas and hope to hold it.
We came home directly from the race last night. It was only about an hour from Basel to Zug (the town where I live). At the moment we are trying to spend as much time at home as we can because in a few weeks time when the bulk of the season hits there isn't much down time. Around the 1st of June we head to Incheon (Korea) and then every weekend from then on is a top class marathon!
Next weekend is the top class in Rennes. There is some exciting news, it is going to be live on the internet. Check out www.inlinetv.net for details.
Also have a look at www.teamrollerblade.com for a detailed race report and some good pictures.
Thanks for reading, I'm off to bed!!
It was a good day for me and my team, Athleticum-Rollerblade International. We won the team time trial in Basel. There was alot of presure on us because we were the defending champions. The offical results were-
1st Athleticum Rollerblade 41:00.95 43.885km/h
2nd Sportvital Rollerblade +10.10
3rd Powerslide Phuzion +45.99
4th Bont Hyper +1:35.90
5th Spirotiger Inline center +1:48.75
For complete results- www.datasport.ch
The race was held on wet roads with the odd rain shower. After the month of amazing weather we've had in Swiss it all went out the door! Both my team and the Sportvital Rollerblade team were racing on the MPC "Storm Surge." I am not normally a strong skater in the rain, but these wheels helped me alot.
It was a hard race mentally also. Especially because of the wet weather this year. Some teams try and race to a set lap time for the 5km lap. Our team though didn't worry too much about it. There is no hiding from how hard it is, so we decided to pretty much go full gas and hope to hold it.
We came home directly from the race last night. It was only about an hour from Basel to Zug (the town where I live). At the moment we are trying to spend as much time at home as we can because in a few weeks time when the bulk of the season hits there isn't much down time. Around the 1st of June we head to Incheon (Korea) and then every weekend from then on is a top class marathon!
Next weekend is the top class in Rennes. There is some exciting news, it is going to be live on the internet. Check out www.inlinetv.net for details.
Also have a look at www.teamrollerblade.com for a detailed race report and some good pictures.
Thanks for reading, I'm off to bed!!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
40km points race!
Yesterday marked a couple of "firsts" for me. It was the first time that I've raced in the tiny country of Liechtenstein, and it was the first time that I (and most of the other racers) have skated a 40km points race.
It was also the first of May, a public holiday in some areas in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which is why there was a race on a Tuesday. Some skaters were tired from the races at Gross Gerau, but most of the skaters were using the 40K as their last hit out for the WIC race this weekend in Basel.
Once again, the weather was really hot for April. The race was held along with a cycling criterium, and on the same course. A 1km lap with a couple of small up and downs, and a tight corner about 150m before the finish. Points were awarded every 5 laps, and there were also a couple of money sprints in there, too.
The race started out quite fast. Kalon Dobbin from Powerslide and Wayne Begg from Bont/Inline Center both scored points early on. Meanwhile, my teammate Roger Schneider was making some strong attacks and putting pressure on others to chase.
I attacked a couple of km before the 4th sprint and held on to win the 3 points awarded. Soon the pack caught me. A couple of laps later I found myself in another breakaway with fellow Kiwi DJ Nation (Spirotiger/Inline Center). There were three sprints left, one money sprint and the final sprint. I won the first 2 sprints, DJ won the next sprint and the money sprint, and then I won the final sprint. Meanwhile back in the pack Kalon Dobbin was picking up the third places. In the end the results went-
1st Scott Arlidge 17 points
2nd Kalon Dobbin 13 points
3rd DJ Nation 12 points
4th Wayne Begg 8 points
5th Mauro Casu 5 points
While its seemed like and all Kiwi affair, there were also skaters from Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy. ... Now it's time for some R & R before Basel.
It was also the first of May, a public holiday in some areas in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, which is why there was a race on a Tuesday. Some skaters were tired from the races at Gross Gerau, but most of the skaters were using the 40K as their last hit out for the WIC race this weekend in Basel.
Once again, the weather was really hot for April. The race was held along with a cycling criterium, and on the same course. A 1km lap with a couple of small up and downs, and a tight corner about 150m before the finish. Points were awarded every 5 laps, and there were also a couple of money sprints in there, too.
The race started out quite fast. Kalon Dobbin from Powerslide and Wayne Begg from Bont/Inline Center both scored points early on. Meanwhile, my teammate Roger Schneider was making some strong attacks and putting pressure on others to chase.
I attacked a couple of km before the 4th sprint and held on to win the 3 points awarded. Soon the pack caught me. A couple of laps later I found myself in another breakaway with fellow Kiwi DJ Nation (Spirotiger/Inline Center). There were three sprints left, one money sprint and the final sprint. I won the first 2 sprints, DJ won the next sprint and the money sprint, and then I won the final sprint. Meanwhile back in the pack Kalon Dobbin was picking up the third places. In the end the results went-
1st Scott Arlidge 17 points
2nd Kalon Dobbin 13 points
3rd DJ Nation 12 points
4th Wayne Begg 8 points
5th Mauro Casu 5 points
While its seemed like and all Kiwi affair, there were also skaters from Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy. ... Now it's time for some R & R before Basel.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Gross Gerau
Hi,
I got home quite late last night from the races in Germany. It was a hard weekend. We left on Friday and the trip took a little longer than normal because of lots of traffic and sections of roadwork on the normally "free speed" sections of the German autobahn.
Saturday was really hot. Especially considering its April. First up was the 500m. I didn't race this. There were 20 heats in total. After four rounds it was won in a tight finish by Yann Guyader. As it got even hotter there were more and more crashes.
The first of the long distance races was the 10,000m elimination. The first heat had to be stopped due a serious crash quite early on. I started the second heat from last position. So the first few laps was all about getting to the front as quickly and as safely as possible. All of the top names finally got sorted into some sort of order, and everyone qualified quite easily. The final was an hour or so later, and 60 men lined up. On each lap for most of the race, the last 2 skaters were taken off the track (eliminated). This wasn't such a good race for me personally. With about 10 laps to go, the officials, strangely enough, stopped the race because too many skaters weren't leaving the track once they were eliminated. Diego Rosero from the Sportvital Rollerblade team won the race.
Sunday was a bit cooler. Again we started off with heats, this time for the 10,000m points. Points were up for grabs on every lap. My heat was a case of scoring a couple of points and then saving as much energy as possible for the final.
The final started off at a crazy speed. Right from the start a group of three skaters broke away, including Thomas Boucher of France. Once that was caught, I attacked. I spent two laps alone and then was caught by Nicolas Iten from the Sportvital Rollerblade team. We worked together for about ten laps trading the lead and sharing the points. Once we were caught by the pack, I tried to slot in as close to the front of the pack as possible. Again Boucher attacked and I followed him. However the pack caught us on the last lap. In the end both Iten and I had 18 points, but because he beat me over the line, he took the win.
I got home quite late last night from the races in Germany. It was a hard weekend. We left on Friday and the trip took a little longer than normal because of lots of traffic and sections of roadwork on the normally "free speed" sections of the German autobahn.
Saturday was really hot. Especially considering its April. First up was the 500m. I didn't race this. There were 20 heats in total. After four rounds it was won in a tight finish by Yann Guyader. As it got even hotter there were more and more crashes.
The first of the long distance races was the 10,000m elimination. The first heat had to be stopped due a serious crash quite early on. I started the second heat from last position. So the first few laps was all about getting to the front as quickly and as safely as possible. All of the top names finally got sorted into some sort of order, and everyone qualified quite easily. The final was an hour or so later, and 60 men lined up. On each lap for most of the race, the last 2 skaters were taken off the track (eliminated). This wasn't such a good race for me personally. With about 10 laps to go, the officials, strangely enough, stopped the race because too many skaters weren't leaving the track once they were eliminated. Diego Rosero from the Sportvital Rollerblade team won the race.
Sunday was a bit cooler. Again we started off with heats, this time for the 10,000m points. Points were up for grabs on every lap. My heat was a case of scoring a couple of points and then saving as much energy as possible for the final.
The final started off at a crazy speed. Right from the start a group of three skaters broke away, including Thomas Boucher of France. Once that was caught, I attacked. I spent two laps alone and then was caught by Nicolas Iten from the Sportvital Rollerblade team. We worked together for about ten laps trading the lead and sharing the points. Once we were caught by the pack, I tried to slot in as close to the front of the pack as possible. Again Boucher attacked and I followed him. However the pack caught us on the last lap. In the end both Iten and I had 18 points, but because he beat me over the line, he took the win.
This was a nice event. However, at times I thought it was a bit dangerous and the officials could of done a bit more to make it safer. For example, instead of 60 skaters qualifying for the final, they could of made it 40 or so. Or maybe they should have created a separate category for national team skaters.
Tomorrow I'm off to a race in Liechtenstein. It's a 40km race on a 1km lap, with a points lap every 5 laps! So that will be an interesting race. I don't know how hard I will race it with the WIC team time trial on Saturday.
Also this Thursday we have to do a little thing for the Swiss TV as a preview for the race this weekend.
Thanks
Scott.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Gross Gerau
Hi Skaters.
This weekend is one of the biggest track races in the World outside of the World Championships. With 120 senior men and 850 skaters total it will be a full-on weekend. I've raced at Gross Gerau once before, back in 2004. There was a 500m, a 10,000m elimination and a 10,000m points race. The overall winner that year was my fellow New Zealander Kalon Dobbin. The field included skaters like Jordan Malone and Alexis Contin. In 2005, none other than Chad Hedrick raced. Last year the race clashed with the World Inline Cup team time trial in Basel, so no big names attended. This year I'll be racing against the likes of Diego Rosero and Yann Guyader. I'm not 100% sure on exact distances, but I know for sure there is a 500m and an elimination race.
Training has been going quite well here in Switzerland. The weather has been amazing. With temps in the mid 20's and not a drop of rain. I open my window everyday and expect gray skies and puddles on the ground, but it hasn't happened yet.
My teammate Reyon Kay has hit the deck a couple of times ... once while training for the time trial (in just over a week), and again yesterday, doing sprints on the banked track.
Next week's time trial in Basel will no doubt once again be one of the hardest races of the season. It's 35 to 40 minutes of going full out on a 5km course with tight corners and uphills. With lots of skaters on a course that can be quite narrow in places, you have to keep your wits about you.
Something that I would like to see sometime in the future is an individual time trial. Not super long, maybe around 10km. It would take quite a while to run, and the race officals would have to be on top of their game because there would be people going everywhere!
I'll report back in after this weekend.
Thanks for reading.
Scott
This weekend is one of the biggest track races in the World outside of the World Championships. With 120 senior men and 850 skaters total it will be a full-on weekend. I've raced at Gross Gerau once before, back in 2004. There was a 500m, a 10,000m elimination and a 10,000m points race. The overall winner that year was my fellow New Zealander Kalon Dobbin. The field included skaters like Jordan Malone and Alexis Contin. In 2005, none other than Chad Hedrick raced. Last year the race clashed with the World Inline Cup team time trial in Basel, so no big names attended. This year I'll be racing against the likes of Diego Rosero and Yann Guyader. I'm not 100% sure on exact distances, but I know for sure there is a 500m and an elimination race.
Training has been going quite well here in Switzerland. The weather has been amazing. With temps in the mid 20's and not a drop of rain. I open my window everyday and expect gray skies and puddles on the ground, but it hasn't happened yet.
My teammate Reyon Kay has hit the deck a couple of times ... once while training for the time trial (in just over a week), and again yesterday, doing sprints on the banked track.
Next week's time trial in Basel will no doubt once again be one of the hardest races of the season. It's 35 to 40 minutes of going full out on a 5km course with tight corners and uphills. With lots of skaters on a course that can be quite narrow in places, you have to keep your wits about you.
Something that I would like to see sometime in the future is an individual time trial. Not super long, maybe around 10km. It would take quite a while to run, and the race officals would have to be on top of their game because there would be people going everywhere!
I'll report back in after this weekend.
Thanks for reading.
Scott
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Welcome to Switzerland
Hi Everyone,
Over the course of the next six or seven months I'll be reporting to you from all over about life as a World Inline Cup skater, the races, and my opinions on various matters.
So here goes:
Well, I've been in Switerland now for around a week or so. This will be my fourth year based here for the World Inline Cup (WIC) and Swiss Inline Cup (SIC). It will also be my third year on the Athleticum Rollerblade team. Check out our team's website:
www.athleticum-inline-team.ch
In Switzerland, I live in the town of Zug. It's about 30km out of Zurich. It's more or less the base of the Rollerblade skaters from outside of Europe. There are two houses. In my house I live with fellow New Zealander Reyon Kay, who is also a member of the Athleticum Rollerblade team, but there is also three members from the Sportvital Rollerblade team: Juan Nayib Tobon from Colombia, Tamara Llorens from Argentina, and Catherine Penan from Chile. There is also a smaller apartment about 2km away, where Shane Dobbin and Diego Rosero live.
The season started OK for our team. Seoul is always an interesting race. The first race of the season is always a nervous time. There is so much anticipation. There are so many things to consider: new teams, new skaters, team transfers, and new equipment. On the subject of equipment there was more interest than usual because of the debate over 110mm wheels. Seeing who and who wasn't on them, seeing how they skated, and then the mad rush to get hold of some if they proved an advantage. It's too early to tell if they are faster or not. Some say that they are better because the guys from Powerslide were able to get three of their team members in the winning breakaway. But on the other hand, two of the three podium places went to 100mm wheels. It will be interesting to see what happens here, and it's a case of "Watch this space."
Since landing in Switzerland a week ago, it's been a case of getting everything sorted and settling into our house. The weather here has been amazing. Clear skies and temperatures in the mid-20s (mid-70s F) It's the complete opposite of last year when I came and it was snowing and you couldn't go outside with out jackets and a wollen hat on.
Last Saturday I was invited to a press confrience to mark the start of the new WIC and SIC season. It was also a chance to introduce some of the new sponsors and outline the details of the races for the coming season. For more details you can check out www.world-inline-cup.com
On Sunday, Reyon and I went to Zurich to help out with a race series that takes place throughout the year. It's called the "Nachwuchs-Cup." It's basically a series of track races for under 12 year olds. It was good to see so many young kids wanting and motivated to race.
It's actually a quiet time for us as far as races go. We have this coming weekend free and the following weekend we have the famous track race in Germany, Gross Gerau. It's rumoured that some big names are going to be there many of whom are World Champions, so it will be a good chance to test our form. Then the following weekend is one of the hardest races of the season, the Basel team time trial. 25km pretty much full gas. Between now and then most teams, ours included, will be training together to fine tune our plans and tactics for this hard race.
Until next time, thanks for reading, and skate fast.
Scott.
Over the course of the next six or seven months I'll be reporting to you from all over about life as a World Inline Cup skater, the races, and my opinions on various matters.
So here goes:
Well, I've been in Switerland now for around a week or so. This will be my fourth year based here for the World Inline Cup (WIC) and Swiss Inline Cup (SIC). It will also be my third year on the Athleticum Rollerblade team. Check out our team's website:
www.athleticum-inline-team.ch
In Switzerland, I live in the town of Zug. It's about 30km out of Zurich. It's more or less the base of the Rollerblade skaters from outside of Europe. There are two houses. In my house I live with fellow New Zealander Reyon Kay, who is also a member of the Athleticum Rollerblade team, but there is also three members from the Sportvital Rollerblade team: Juan Nayib Tobon from Colombia, Tamara Llorens from Argentina, and Catherine Penan from Chile. There is also a smaller apartment about 2km away, where Shane Dobbin and Diego Rosero live.
The season started OK for our team. Seoul is always an interesting race. The first race of the season is always a nervous time. There is so much anticipation. There are so many things to consider: new teams, new skaters, team transfers, and new equipment. On the subject of equipment there was more interest than usual because of the debate over 110mm wheels. Seeing who and who wasn't on them, seeing how they skated, and then the mad rush to get hold of some if they proved an advantage. It's too early to tell if they are faster or not. Some say that they are better because the guys from Powerslide were able to get three of their team members in the winning breakaway. But on the other hand, two of the three podium places went to 100mm wheels. It will be interesting to see what happens here, and it's a case of "Watch this space."
Since landing in Switzerland a week ago, it's been a case of getting everything sorted and settling into our house. The weather here has been amazing. Clear skies and temperatures in the mid-20s (mid-70s F) It's the complete opposite of last year when I came and it was snowing and you couldn't go outside with out jackets and a wollen hat on.
Last Saturday I was invited to a press confrience to mark the start of the new WIC and SIC season. It was also a chance to introduce some of the new sponsors and outline the details of the races for the coming season. For more details you can check out www.world-inline-cup.com
On Sunday, Reyon and I went to Zurich to help out with a race series that takes place throughout the year. It's called the "Nachwuchs-Cup." It's basically a series of track races for under 12 year olds. It was good to see so many young kids wanting and motivated to race.
It's actually a quiet time for us as far as races go. We have this coming weekend free and the following weekend we have the famous track race in Germany, Gross Gerau. It's rumoured that some big names are going to be there many of whom are World Champions, so it will be a good chance to test our form. Then the following weekend is one of the hardest races of the season, the Basel team time trial. 25km pretty much full gas. Between now and then most teams, ours included, will be training together to fine tune our plans and tactics for this hard race.
Until next time, thanks for reading, and skate fast.
Scott.
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