2012 Cologne Skating Marathon: and Yann Guyader makes it three!

Direction Germany

There are two major marathons in Germany. That of Berlin gathers more than 6.800 skaters. It is probably the most famous in the world. The second one is a bit less renowned but it is still worth the trip: the Marathon of Cologne. Each year, the city welcomes no less than 1.800 skaters in its center, at the same time as a running race competition.

An organization running smoothly and benefiting from the existing logistics

There is no secret: when a skating competition is coupled with a running or a cycle race, it benefits from a far bigger impact.

Most of the competitions of the German Inline Cup combine skating with another sport. The only ones which do not, have around the same number of registered as those of the French Cup.

For example:

• Berlin (skating, running): 6846 skaters in 2012
• Cologne (skating, running, handisport): 1800 skaters
• Semi-Marathon Berlin Vatternfall (running, skating): 1922 skaters in 2012
• Mittelrhein Marathon Coblence (running, skating): around 1200 skaters
• X-Race & Geisingen: Around 700 skaters
• No data for Frankfurt (1500 to 2500 skaters? ) .

The skating competition benefits from all the logistics of the running marathon: the volunteers, the hype, the promotion, the media coverage, an official and measured distance of 42,195 km.

The day before the race: a visit at the indoor village

The welcoming of the skaters and the withdrawal of the jersey numbers take place on the day before the race, at the expo village settled into the « Mass » of Cologne. You have to cross a hall occupied by the running exhibitors, before you arrive in the area reserved to skating. There, you can find the stands of the main big brands, as well as an indoor course where kids confront each other in small competitions. There are also workshops run by great champions such as Felix Rijhnen (Powerslide Matter World Team). That is the occasion for the youngest to meet the best Elite skaters and get autographs. A good means to create a link between the generations!

The route: varied and in one stroke

On the program for the 1.800 present skaters: a route in the streets of the city in front of a large and enthusiastic public which is very generous as for the support. Music bands liven up the side of the road even more.

The first part is made of long straight lines on the side of the Rhine river with a few tunnels. The second part, more winding, snakes into the city-center districts before going back to the starting point. You never skate past the same place.

The first damper which could be underlined would be the feed zone where cups and spilled water are strewn over the ground. The second damper: the arrival with a bend with does not make the sprints easy in the ultimate hectometers of the race.

The women’s race hangs on the final sprint

It is 10:50 AM and the skaters divide up in the color areas according to their levels (often self-estimated). A forest of helmets stretches over at least 300 m, as far as your eyes can see. The Elite are on the first rank.

It is impressive, even if there are three times less skaters than in Berlin. France still has some way to go! It is probable that in being coupled with a major running marathon, we could get close to the German success. After all, we reached  such a popularity at the end of the 90’s and at the beginning of the 2000’s with the Wanadoo and Tatoo Roller Tour…

The race is a few minutes late, in order to completely secure the route. The temperature is cool but the sun is not far away. The women start two minutes before the men. The leading pack is made of 30 skaters.

The first kilometer offers a view without equal on the « Kölner Dom », the massive cathedral of Cologne with its spires rising up to 157 m high. On the horizon, you can also see the characteristic TV tower.

In the vanguard: The GB Racing Team and Powerslide share the lead a lot. The EOSkate team is also there, as well as a few French such as Justine Halbout and Laetitia Lebihan who made the trip.

Despite several attacks, no skater manages to make the difference. As often, the pressure is not maintained long enough, although there are plenty of opportunities!

The sprint. The curving of the arrival line does not ease the final sprint. You have to wait until 10 meters before the finish to suddenly see the skaters part. German Katja Ulbrich (GB Racing Team) is the first to cross the line. Behind her, the skaters mess around. Sabine Berg manages to worm her way in second position. Katharina Rumpus gets in the way of Justine Halbout who ends up third.

The men’s marathon: the Swiss Skate Team makes the difference

In the men’s category, the start is quite fast. Just as in the women’s, the leading pack is made of 30 skaters. The long straight lines on the side of the Rhine river are the scene of several attacks in the lead at the tunnel exits, especially by Ewen Fernandez (Powerslide Matter) who strikes the match several times without managing to extend the effort.

Behind, Julien Levrard (EOSkates), Yann Guyader (EOSkates) and Elio Cuncu (EOSkates) chase to catch up. The Swiss battalion remains quite discreet.

Halfway through the race, Michael Achermann (Swiss Skate Team) breaks through, with Livio Wenger on his heels who finally gives up under the steady speed of the Helvetian skater. Michael Achermann is then gone for 25 km in solo. Behind him, Felix Rijhnen (Powerslide Matter) regulates the sprint of the pack in front of Yann Guyader. The latter, ending up in front of Severin Widmer (Swiss Skate Team), wins the German Inline Cup at the same time.

Final ranking of the 2012 Germain Inline Cup

Once again, Sabine Berg (Powerslide Matter World Team) wins the Germain Inline Cup, just as French Yann Guyader (EOSkates Team) who manages a hat trick in winning the German/French/World cups. Yann Guyader necessarily had to be in front of Severin Widmer in order to win that one.

The first place of the men’s team ranking is taken in extremis by the skaters of the Swiss Skate Team, only 11 points in front of EOSkates. Everything was hanging on the last race!

For the women, the GB Racing Team wins.

Main results

Men’s scratch ranking of the 2012 Cologne Skating Marathon

1)	Achermann, Michael		SUI	Swiss Skate Team	01:06:59
2)	Rijhnen, Felix		GER	Powerslide Matter World	01:07:53
3)	Guyader, Yann		FRA	EOSkates	01:07:53
4)	Fernandez, Ewen		FRA	Powerslide Matter World	01:07:53
5)	Widmer, Severin		SUI	Swiss Skate Team	01:07:54
6)	Reist, Yves		SUI	GB Racingteam	01:07:54
7)	Beddiaf, Nolan		FRA	RPM POLI	01:07:54
8)	De Souza, Elton		FRA	RPM POLI	01:07:54
9)	Cuncu, Elio		ITA	EOSkates	01:07:54
10)	Rumpus, Stefan		GER	GB Racingteam	01:07:54
11)	Iten, Nicolas		SUI	Swiss Skate Team	01:07:55
12)	Hecht, Tobias		GER	Powerslide Junior	01:08:00
13)	Meulders, Wouter		BEL	CHAUVIN ARNOUX	01:08:00
14)	Levrard, Julien		FRA	EOSkates	01:08:02
15)	Cuncu, Giacomo		ITA	EOSkates	01:08:09
16)	Sibiet, Tim		BEL	CHAUVIN ARNOUX	01:08:36
17)	Ramali, Pascal		GER	Vi-G13	01:08:36
18)	Forstner, Philipp		GER	CadoMotus-Orthomol	01:08:36
19)	Friedli, Yannick		SUI	Swiss Skate Team	01:12:10
20)	Berghe, Jore		BEL	Vi-G13	01:13:05

Women’s scratch ranking of the 2012 Cologne Skating Marathon

1)	Ulbrich, Katja		GER	GB Racingteam	01:19:56
2)	Berg, Sabine		GER	Powerslide Matter World	01:19:56
3)	Halbout, Justine		FRA	2APN AVON	01:19:56
4)	Rumpus, Katharina		GER	Powerslide Matter World	01:19:56
5)	Gegner, Jana		GER	EOSkates	01:19:56
6)	Hofmann, Josie		GER	Powerslide Junior	01:19:56
7)	Zielke, Carolin		GER	GB Racingteam	01:20:00
8)	Henneken, Claudia Maria		GER	GOLZE-Girls	01:20:00
9)	Casu, Roberta		ITA	EOSkates	01:20:01
10)	Gaudesaboos, Jessica		BEL	Brugge	01:20:01
11)	Le Bihan, Laetitia		FRA	RPM POLI	01:20:03
12)	Heim, Flurina		SUI	GB Racingteam	01:20:03
13)	Rossow, Sabrina		GER	GOLZE-Girls	01:20:04
14)	Röthlisberger, Mélanie		SUI	Swiss Skate Team	01:20:17
15)	Ordowski, Sylvia		GER	Team der-rollenshop	01:23:28
16)	Matczak, Barbara		POL	4SKATING.pl / BONT	01:23:28
17)	Röhr, Silke		GER	Team der-rollenshop	01:23:28
18)	Dinort, Sandy		GER	K2 Team	01:23:28
19)	Papenfuß, Verena		GER	CadoMotus Team NRW	01:23:34
20)	Carstensen, Maria		DEN	Sk8skool	01:28:52

Useful Links

Complete results on the web site of the organization

German Inline Cup

By Alfathor
Translation: Chloé Seyres
Photos: Daniel Busser