Rueda and Suttels champions of the Arena Geisingen International 2022

The mythical Arena Geisingen International competition was held last weekend in Germany. The young Powerslide skaters Gabriel Rueda and Jason Suttels came out victorious. 

By Jackob Savard

Photo: Thomas Wendt (@freddyrace) 

An impressive number of skaters from countries such as Germany, France, Colombia, Italy, Chile, Spain and Belgium were in attendance for the 2022 edition of this week’s European Cup. In the seniors, the scheduled races were a 200m dobbin sprint, a 500m tournament, an elimination race and a points race. 

Gabriela Rueda victorious this week

After a second place finish last weekend in Gross-Gerau, young Colombian Gabriel Rueda made sure to leave nothing to her competitors this week. Finishing first in both long distances, second in the 200m and fourth in the 500m, the Powerslide skater finished first in the overall standings with a nice lead. 

Multiple world champion Luz Karime Garzon, also from Colombia, took second place while Chile's Javiera San Martin took third place. Special mentions to Maria Timms of Colombia and Asja Varani of Italy who won the 200m and 500m respectively. Both sprinters were successful in these distances but were not able to reach the top of the overall ranking. 

Suttels stands out in the men's competition

The men's competition was fierce and several sprint or long distance specialists were present. Yvan Sivilier, Andres Felipe Gomez, Steven Villegas and Bart Swings, the four distance winners, all failed to finish on the overall podium due to a lack of consistency or because they did not compete in all distances.

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At the end of the four distances, it was Jason Suttels of Powerslide who won the overall classification. The best performance of the 20 year old Belgian was a third place in the points race. Frenchman Elton de Souza of Mx Takino MPC took second place overall while Italian Daniele di Stefano of Mariani took third place. 

Full results

Read our recap of the Trophée des 3 pistes

Read our recap of the Gross-Gerau Kriterium

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A new face at the top for Powerslide at the Groß-Gerau Kriterium

The 44th Gross-Gerau Kriterium and the 22nd Sprint Cup both took place last weekend in Germany and a new face finished on top of the senior men’s category.

Text : Jackob Savard

Photo : Thomas Wendt (@freddyrace)

Skaters of all ages from 28 different countries gathered in Gross-Gerau last weekend for the legendary Gross-Gerau Criterium. The senior skaters all raced a 500m, an elimination race and a points race to collect points for the general classification. Simultaneously, a Sprint Cup was also held for the short distance specialists. This portion of the competition included a 300m TT and a 500m.

Powerslide leads its rookie to victory

While we have been used to seeing Bart Swings and Felix Rijhnen stand out in this competition for Powerslide in the past, the 2022 edition instead saw Colombian Jacobo Mantilla claim top honors for the team. After experiencing an Olympic season on the ice, both veterans supported the team's new acquisition to victory this year. Mantilla finished 3rd in the 500m, 2nd in the 5000m points and 7th in the 10,000m elimination to secure the overall win. The young Colombian is already known for his four Junior World champion title and his three Panamericain champion titles. It will be interesting to see what he accomplishes as the season progresses. 

Switzerland's Livio Wenger of Arena Geisingen finished second while Belgium's Jason Suttels, also representing Powerslide, completed the overall podium. Other notable performances in the men's race included the victory of Frenchman Doucelin Pedicone in the points race and Italian Daniele di Stefano’s win in the elimination race. The two event winners did not show enough consistency to reach the top of the general classification.

Vargas and Rueda fought hard for the women's title

The women's criterium featured a heated battle between Ecuador's Gabriela Vargas and Colombia's Gabriela Rueda. At the end of the three distances, it was Vargas, representing NL Custom, who rose to the top of the overall standings with a victory in the 5000m points race, a second place in the 5000m elimination race and an 11th place in the 500m. Young Gabriela Rueda, representing Powerslide, took second place, including a strong win in the 5000m elimination. American Corinne Stoddard, also known for her success in short track, took third place overall wearing Arena Geisingen's colors.  

Verdugo and Pedronno, best sprinters of the weekend

Chilean Ricardo Verdugo and French Mathilde Pedronno won the overall classifications for the senior men and ladies. Verdugo won the 500m and finished 4th in the 300m while Pedronno won the 300m and finished 3rd in the 500m. Verdugo was accompanied by Elton de Souza and Jhoan Guzman on the men's cumulative podium while Maria Luisa Gonzalez and Leonie Imhof joined Pedronno on the women's cumulative podium. 

The next European Cup will be held at the Arena Geisingen next weekend. 

Full results

Read our recap of the Trophée des 3 pistes

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Lefeuvre and Peula champions of the Trophée des 3 pistes

Spain's Patxi Peula and France's Marine Lefeuvre are the 2022 champions of the Trophée des 3 pistes held last weekend in France. 

Text by Jackob Savard

Photo: Diccon Scrivens (Dixs Pixels)

The mythical Trophée des 3 pistes brought together skaters of all ages again this year for a three-day competition. While the majority of competitors came from France, other nations such as Spain, Italy, Colombia and Denmark were also represented.  

Peula dominates the men's competition

Patxi Peula was dominant in the Senior Men's competition. The 33-year-old veteran who is representing Rollerblade this year won five of the six distances on the program to eclipse his competitors in the overall standings. The only distance he did not win was the 500m held in Gujan Mestras on the second day. It was his Spanish compatriot Daniel Milagros who stood out in this particular distance. 

In the overall standings, Frenchman Timothy Loubineaud, representing Powerslide, took second place with four 3rd place finishes, one 2nd place and one 4th place over the weekend. Frenchman Doucelin Pedicone, representing Rollerblade, took third place overall ahead of Nolan Beddiaf and Hugo Morin both from France who took 4th and 5th place. 

Tight battle for the women's trophy

France's Marine Lefeuvre and Colombia's Aura Quintana were in a tight battle this weekend. The two regulars of the competition fought hard, but in the end it was Lefeuvre who prevailed. The Frenchwoman representing EO Skates won three of the six distances, finished 3rd twice and 6th once. 

Quintana had to settle for second place overall. The Colombian showed great consistency throughout the competition, but was unable to win an individual distance. Italy's Veronica Luciani of Rollerblade took third place, while France's Alison Bernardi and Manon Fraboulet rounded out the top five. 

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Colombia and France stand out in Ibagué

The 2021 Inline Speed Skating World Championships ended today in Ibagué, Colombia.

By Jackob Savard

Photo: Luis Martinez - World Skate

At the end of the track and road championships, Colombian skaters won 59 of the 126 medals available. Among these 59 medals, 33 of the 42 gold medals up for grab were won. France took the second place with 19 medals including 4 gold while Taiwan took the third place with five medals including two gold. 

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Colombia on top

Led by Luz Karime Garzon (3 gold and 2 silver) and Geiny Pajaro (3 gold and 1 silver) in the senior category, Colombia took the title of best nation for the 18th time in 21 years.

Beddiaf / Ferrié duo leads the charge for France

The long-time French duo of Nolan Beddiaf and Martin Ferrié are one of the big reasons for France's success at the 2021 World Championships. All three races in which the two were competing were won by one of them. Ferrie won the 15km Road Elimination and the Marathon, as well as participating in France's silver medal in the relay and taking bronze in the 10km Track Points Race. Beddiaf won the 10km road race and finished second to Ferrié in the 15km. Among the seniors, Mathilde Pedronno, Marie Dupuy, Marine Lefeuvre and Gwendal le Pivert all had their moments on the podium as well. 

Historic medal for India

Junior skater Velkumar Anandkumar made history in the 15 km road elimination. By finishing second behind Colombian Miguel Fonseca, he became the first skater from India to reach a podium at the World Championships. 

Title #5 in 100m for Fernandez

The great Spanish skater Ioseba Fernandez won the 100m gold medal for the fifth time in his career. He is increasingly claming his place among the undisputed legends of inline skating.

Yang Ho-Chen leads Taiwan to two gold medals

Taiwan's Yang Ho-Chen led her country to two gold medals at the track championships. She won the 1000m and took part in her team's relay victory.

For complete results go HERE

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Kamminga gets five titles at the Dutch inline championships

Manon Kamminga was dominant at the 2020 Dutch inline championships held last weekend.

By Jackob Savard

Picture: Jaap Hop (from a previous competition)

Some of the best Dutch inline speed skaters were in Heerenveen and Wolvega to compete for the 2020 Dutch champion titles both on the track and on the road. For this competition, the Junior A skaters competed with the seniors.

Five in six for Kamminga

Manon Kamminga was almost perfect during the weekend winning five of the six races she started. The only event she didn’t win was the 500m in which she helped Lianne van Loon get the title. She voluntarily stopped skating for a moment thus blocking the other skaters in the race to let van Loon escape and win. Kamminga is van Loon’s coach and they had agreed on that tactic before the race. Maya de Jong and Bente Kerkhoff, the other finalists, were both disappointed about the way the race went.

Two wins for Kwant

Rémon Kwant was one of the best sprinters of this championship. The 25-year-old Dutchman won the 200m and the one lap sprint. In addition to these two titles, he also took two bronze medals in the 500m and 1000m.

Rick and Kay Schipper fill up on medals

Rick and Kay Schipper's names were on everyone's lips last weekend as they collectively won 7 medals, including three Dutch titles. In the 1000m and 500m, Rick took the coveted titles, while Kay skated a near-perfect elimination race to take home the honours in that distance.

Surprise victory for junior Christian Haasjes

Young Christian Haasjes was initially supposed to help his brother Ronald win the track points race, but as the race progressed, the 18-year-old skater found himself in a better position than his brother to win and didn't miss his chance. Haasjes finished the race with 17 points to win the title. Kay Schipper finished second with 11 points and Ronald Haasjes third with 10 points. This makes a junior skater currently holding the title of Dutch Champion in the points race. 

Ter Haar champion in the road points race

The experienced Luc ter Haar won the only race in which he took part, the points road race collecting 14 points. His closest rival Tom den Heijer finished with 9 points.

The marathon and 100m sprint Dutch champions will be held next week.

Full results are available HERE (Uitslagen)

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Swings & Kamminga win the KNSB Marathon cup 2

Manon Kamminga & Bart Swings won the second KNSB Marathon cup of the season yesterday in Staphorst.

By Jackob Savard

Picture: Jaap Hop

A great pack of skaters competed in Staphorst for the second KNSB marathon cup of the 2020 season. Adding to some of the best Dutch marathon skaters, other European skaters such as Nolan Beddiaf, Bart Swings, Felix Rijhnen, Daniel Niero and Diogo Marreiros were on the start line. Belgian Sandrine Tas was registered but decided to not take the start of the race. She’s still recovering from an injury and didn’t wanted to risk it in a rainy race. 

Manon Kamminga won the ladies’ race which was 35 laps of the 730m circuit. She crossed the finish line alone about one minute before Bianca Roosenboom and Beau Wagemaker who finished second and third. After many breakaway attempts by different skaters throughout the race, it was finally in the final sprint that the men’s race was won. Belgians Bart Swings was the fastest in the sprint and got his second marathon victory in two weeks. Portuguese Diogo Marreiros and French Nolan Beddiaf finished just behind him and had to settle for silver and bronze. 

Results:

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Ariëns and Kamminga FreeWHEEL Inline Cup winners

Crispijn Ariëns and Manon Kamminga won the FreeWHEEL Inline Cup today on a wet track in Heerde. 

By Jackob Savard

Picture: Jaap Hop

An interesting pool of high-level athletes competed at the FreeWHEEL Inline Cup today. This regional race which usually welcomes a fairly small group of skaters benefited from being one of the first competitions of the the season after all the cancelled and postponed events. The men had to skate 60 laps of 450m while the women had to cross the finish line 45 times. 

Endurance skater Crispijn Ariëns, who already has several ice and inline marathon wins, took the victory in the men's race. Ariëns set his fast pace right from the start. Several opponents managed to follow him for a while, but Ronald Haasjes was the only skater to skate with Ariëns until the end. Ariëns won the final sprint to claim gold. Haasjes and Ruben Ligtenberg completed the podium. 

Experienced Manon Kamminga won gold in the women’s race. The 28-year-old skater took a lap ahead of her competitors early in the race to ensure her victory. Beau Wagemaker and Gerline Crediet completed the women's podium. 

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Results of the world hour record attempt of Felix Rijhnen and Mareike Thum

German skaters Felix Rijhnen and Mareike Thum were trying to break the world record for the most distance in one hour on inline skates today at the Geisingen Arena.

Text by Jackob Savard

Photo: Powerslide Racing

Mareike Thum managed to complete more than 170 laps of the Arena Geisingen to establish the new world mark of 34.336 km. Her predecessor was Linda Schellekens who had skated 31.72 km more than 15 years ago. Felix Rijhnen, for his part, wanted to cover at least 38.6 km to set the record, but still had the 40 km mark in his sights. His 201 laps were enough for his first goal, but not enough to reach the 40km mark. Final distance: 39.932 km. ‘’This is definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life," said the German skater a couple of minutes after his performance. The previous record holder Frank Fiers was in the stand to witness Rijhnen's feat.

While the rest of the season is still uncertain, Rijhnen said that thanks to this event he will be able to take something positive out of 2020. 

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