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.