Inline Skating Notebook

Alessi powerslide wins french marathon season's opener

Powerslide Racing News (Mar. 4, 2008)

Last sunday held the first French Inline Cup 08 in Lille, northern France close to the Belgian border. On a 4k circuit, made of long straights with rough asphalt the race was going to be really hard due to hard wind and low temperature. Alessi's Nathalie Barbotin and Yann Guyader where contesting the event to warm their body up before the opening of the international season. They both broke away quite soon in the race. Nathalie finished the race alone in front of Hilde Gooverts winner of the last 07 world cup event in berlin and Ghizlane Samir.

In the men's race, Yann attacked after arround 5 k with a few skaters but all the attackers except one got dropped quite fast. Yann finished the race with Julien Levrard a french long distance specialist 2mins50" before two other attackers Fabien Hascouet ex:RB world and Richard Deniaud ex winner of the 111K of saint gallen and won easilly the sprint.the main pack arrived 4mins30" later.

Marathon Women	Marathon Men
Nathalie Barbotin (Alessi Powerslide) Hilde Goovaerts Ghizlane Samir Jannita Spigt Jessica Gaudesaboos Fanny Delpy Caroline Jean Maryline Jeannerot Sabrina Gaudesaboos	Yann Guyader (Team Powerslide) Julien Levrard Richard Deniaud Fabien Hascoet Maxime Provost Kevin Gauclin Jens Maertens Benjamin Douchin Julien Sourisseau Jerome Lanceleur

François & Marie's photostream: FIC LILLE 2008

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Nathalie Barbotin dominated first FIC stage in Lille with 110mm set up

Powerslide Racing News (Mar. 11, 2008)

The two best skaters on the marathon distance in France, Yann Guyader (Team Powerslide) and Nathalie Barbotin (Alessi Powerslide), won the first stage of the French Inline Cup 2008, the Ch’ti Roller in Lille, North of France. They both proved that they were in a very good shape after the winter break, giving no chance to their opponents. In the men’s race, only Julien Levrard (Team LSC) was able to follow Guyader to the end, but the World champion was faster in the sprint…

The sky was grey, the temperatures quite low and there was a lot of wind in Lille, but no rain. Fortunately, the circuit entirely flat permitted to the French and Belgium pack to achieve some good races, with a lot of attacks, some breaks and some massive sprints.

And the first attacks were held from the very start of the men’s race: Richard Deniaud (single licence) tried to go alone after 150m of race, and he was only swallowed in back after 4 km. The second attack was conducted by Yann Guyader (Team Powerslide), with Kévin Gauclin (RPM Poli-Matter) and Vincent Esnault (Team LSC) in his wheels. The trio was soon transformed in a group of five when Julien Sourisseau (RPM Poli-Matter) and Julien Levrard (Team LSC) joined them. But only this last one was able to follow the speed of Guyader; the others finally gave up and reintegrated the peloton!

The race was then a story of duos: Guyader and Levrard ahead, Deniaud and Fabien Hascoët (RPM Poli) then, and the main pack two minutes later. Nothing really changed till the end of the race. Guyader and Deniaud won their group’s sprint, and Maxime Provost (Rollerblade France) the one of the peloton.

The women race was a story of power. Nathalie Barbotin, with 110mm wheels on her skates, decided to make the difference right from the start, and she broke the pack quite quickly: there were only Hilde Goovaerts (Team Cado Motus) and Ghizlane Samir (London Skaters) who were able to follow her. But both of them finished alone, because Barbotin accelerated again and again, in order to insure her victory. And she did: she crossed the line with about two minutes on Goovaerts and Samir!

With this first victory in the FIC series, Barbotin and Guyader made the demonstration of their goals in 2008: Barbotin has still the will and sent a clear message to her opponents; Guyader is not anymore the outsider and he showed there was only Levrard who was able to follow him on the French scene…
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