Mans 2008 : winning duo : Skating Peters Inlajn.Cz

A new category was born in 2008 in the "24 Heures du Mans" : the duo. Online-skating published some remarkable teams testimonies. We enclose this publishing with the interview of the Czech team, widely victorious with more 635 km. A performance which makes of this first edition a serious reference...

Par alfathor
Publié le 17 septembre 2008 - Mis à jour le 2 novembre 2020 - 5947 Lectures - 0 commentaire(s)

Mans 2008 : Interview of the winning duo : Skating Peters Inlajn.Cz MANS 2008 : ITW DUO VAINQUEUR (SKATING PETERS INLAJN.CZ) A new category was born in 2008 in the « 24 Heures du Mans » : the duo. Online-skating published some remarkable teams testimonies. We enclose this publishing with the interview of the Czech team, widely victorious with more 635 km. A performance which makes of this first edition a serious reference…

2 bus, 6 teams, 3 duos, 2 solos.. the Czech came in force !

Why choosing to participate as Duo ?

We wanted to try something more challenging than team race and we haven’t felt strong enough for solos yet.

What was your previous long skating experience for your Duo ?

Peter Choc (PCH): last year I raced in Switzerland at One Eleven (111 km) and in Germany (107 km). I generally prefer longer tracks as I’m more endurance-runner and my speed is not any more what it used to be.
Peter Vasek (PV): Just last years experience from 24h Le Mans in a team.

How did you prepare this event ?

PV: Individually during the winter (cca 1 training together once a week) and from may on 70% trainings together (which is about 5 times a week with Peter).
PCH: as we are not professionals and both have our civil jobs, we train almost in the evenings and on weekends. In winter we also ski (cross-country).

What kind of equipment did you choose ?

We both chose speed skates, PCH kept his FILAs F100, 4×100 all the race and PV started on FILAs Matrix, 4×100 (first two laps and then between the second and sixth hour of the race), then changed to BONT Vaypor, 4×110 mm.

Have you been support by a staff ?

PV: my partner Lenka
PCH: Petr´s girlfriend Lenka, until she fall asleep; from that moment it was just us and colleagues from our depot.

Tell us about the start and the first few hours ?

PV: Start was fine. It was my honour to begin our duo and I was a little afraid about it but at the end it was really fine. First four hours were absolutly no problem and we went in a quite high cadence (maybe to high – from the 7th hour on I had spasms in the uphill).
PCH: After the start we ran little faster but we managed to slow down just in time to keep going. In the morning I felt some two-hours sleeping crisis which disappeared with the dawn. All the rest of time was OK.

During the 24h, did you eat, sleep ?

PV: We mainly cared about our drinking regime and each two hours we tried to eat something (except energy-gels and tablets). There was no time to sleep, I took one quick shower in the middle of the race.
PCH: I went to the shower 3 times and during my breaks I tried to jog-trot, mainly at night when it got much colder. I had no problems with sleeping as with 3laps exchange, there was no time and it would not help at all.

Did you manage to communicate between partners over the 24 hours?

PV: Our communication? Just one word in the exchange area – GO!
PCH: Sometimes we used czech veteran team supports and from our previous experiences we knew what is sufficient for each of us and therefore we didn´t need to try new ways.

Did you find support on the track ?

PV: I was glad to see all the participants, each skater on the track was good support for me. :-)
PCH: You know, there are hundreds of racers on the track all the time, so there are lot of chances to catch someone and go with him/her. You also have to watch for slower bladers which keeps your concentration on high level and there is just a small chance to underestimate something.

Tell us about the last hours and the finish ?

PV: The last hour? Just perfect – it was only a small piece to the finish, end of all that sweat. And crossing the finish line – can´t be described, maybe one word – euphory (not for the victory, but more for all the atmosphere and relief we have happily skate until finish).
PCH: It was Peter´s part, so had time to enjoy the whole event from our depo and last minutes on the stand with other Czechs.

Did you kept to the planned strategy ?

PV: no, we didn´t. We did 130km more then we wanted to. :-) !
PCH: yes, we did. On Tuesday at 7am I was already at work and able to create meaningful values all day long.

What will you remember (the best and the worst) of this first Duo edition ?

PV: The best – definitely finish line. The worst – 18 hours long fighting with the spasms.
PCH: As something similar is not possible to see in the CR, it´s the atmosphere and the big number of equally ‘involved’/crazy people as we are. The worst – getting off the bus in Liberec.