A great start for the WIC at 2014 Rennes sur Roulettes

The Marathon: The upper crust made the trip!

Lollobrigida wins against Rumpus

In the Women’s, the pack has fleshed out (a bit) compared to the previous years. They are 35 at the start. It would seem that several international teams wish to reboost the World Cup circuit, caught in a downward spiral for the last years, in drawing on track/road resources.

On the starting line stands Francesca Lollobrigida (X-TECH MPC), a well-known figure who rarely shows up on the World Inline Cup circuit. She teams up with another renowned and experienced skater, New Zealander Nicole Begg (X-TECH MPC). As for German team Powerslide, they line up Katharina Rumpus (GER) and Déborah Marchand (FRA).

The first laps of the race are decisive. Francesca Lollobrigida and Katharina Rumpus quickly break away. They leave half a dozen of skaters behind them, especially Nicole Begg and Justine Halbout (AVON). Katharina Rumpus stays in the stream of Lollobrigida who wins the race in 1 hour and 14 min. Nicole Begg leads the pack sprint and gets the 3rd place in front of Aleksandra Goss (Jabra Toller Team, POL) and Déborah Marchand.

The race by Nicole Begg (X-Tech MPC)

 » The race in Rennes is always tough. There’s a lot of technical aspects with the tight corners, cobbles and multiple right hand turns. Then you add in the uphill every lap and it becomes a very interesting race. The weather always seems to play a part there also, but this year thankfully the rain held off even though there were a few drops during the race.
Before the race Francesca and I talked about the possibilities of a breakaway and we thought there was a real chance on this course to escape. In the end the first two places were taken just after halfway when Lollobrigida and Rumpus disappeared out of sight.
This year the X-Tech team will be contesting the WIC races and it’s great to be racing with Francesca Lollobrigida. She is a great all round skater, being strong, fast, and smart. So this allows us to have multiple race plans. In Dijon we will be joined by her sister Giulia. « 

Bart Swings imposes his style… at an average speed of 41 kph!

The Senior Men’s race takes place under a threatening sky. 180 men are lined up for the marathon start. The level is very high with no less than 4 world champions on the starting line: Alexis Contin (Bont, FRA), Bart Swings (Powerslide Matter, BEL), Peter Michael (X-Tech MPC, NZL) and Ewen Fernandez (Powerslide Matter, FRA). That is to say, 4 structured teams plus EOSkates are part of the pack.

The start is fast. All the teams try to set up on the outposts not to get trapped in the winding circuit. The first race fact happens during the second lap: a heavy fall of Clément Chaduc (EOSkates, FRA) and Joris Garderes (EOSkates). They are out. A hard blow for EOSkates, losing two units. The pack temporizes until the 4th lap where attacks start multiplying. Ewen Fernandez launches the first one and splits the pack in two. About 20 skaters are in the front, including all the teams, individualities such as Julien Levrard (EOSkates) who made a comeback for the occasion, as well as a few outsiders who made the most of the opportunity: Guillaume de Mallevoué (FRA), Brian Lepine (FRA) and Mike Paez (MEX).

Numerous attacks are launched by Bart Swings, Guillaume de Mallevoué (FRA), Félix Rijhnen (Powerslide Matter, GER) and Nolan Beddiaf (EOSkates)… but in vain. The German breaks away alone for several laps but loses ground over the kilometers. The teams keep a close eye on one another. The ultimate decision is made 3 laps before the end when Bart Swings blows up the leading group and breaks away at more than 50 kph. He is caught up by Brian Lépine, Nolan Beddiaf and Ewen Fernandez. A cooperation is organized to depose Alexis Contin and Peter Michael from the podium. Only Guillaume de Mallevoué catches back up to try to get a place on the podium. Fortified by their number in the leading group, the two Powerslide skaters make the difference thanks to Bart who attacks in the last uphill slope. He widens the gap, making the most of the discord between Brian Lépine, Nolan Beddiaf and Guillaume de Mallevoué. He flies towards victory. Behind, everybody thinks of the remaining places. A sprint starts. The last fight is won by Nolan Beddiaf in front of Guillaume de Mallevoué who gets his first podium on a World Cup.

The next stage of the World Inline Cup will take place on June 15 in Dijon, France. The event will also host the Master World Championships of Marathon. The least to say is that the park are going to be crowded!

General ranking of the World Cup at the end of the first stage in Rennes

Men’s General Ranking

Women’s General Ranking

Useful Links

• Our page dedicated to the 2014 edition of Rennes sur Roulettes
• Download the results of the semi-marathon
• Download the results of the marathon
• Download the results of the Junior races
• See the pictures of Mediaskates.com

Text and pictures: Kevin lesueur
Translation: Chloe Seyres