WIC Top Class Sursee: the sprint

The seventh stage of the WIC Top Class saw our athletes skating around Lake Sursee on a very fast circuit, which other than the potentially difficult finish in the village of Sursee should have presented no major problems.

The men raced at an incredible speed, and for that reason no one was able to create a real escape throughout the race. All had to be played out in the final sprint where the difficulty lay in succeeding in the downhill three 90 degree turns before the final straight line.  The skaters needed to place themselves well before this delicate part of the race.  Saggiorato (Fila International), proved that he deserves his title of the best circuit sprinter by passing Botero (Rollerblade) and taking the victory.  Massi Presti (Fila International) followed Saggiorato and finished in second place adding a few additional points to his name as the momentary leader of the WIC.

Thomas Boucher (SAAB Salomon World) confirmed his return on the circuit by scoring the tenth place of the race.  

As for the women�s race, during the first lap some athletes such as Theresa Cliff-Ryan (KIA Motors) and Nicole Begg (SAAB Salomon Switzerland) tried a few escapes; these escapes however never lasted all that long.  The second lap, on the other hand was all about preparation for the final sprint.

It�s Rollerblade that finally took command in the last few kilometers, right at the entry of the village. Bad organization in the second turn caused them to regroup and finally Laura Lardani (Rollerblade), Andrea Gonzalez (KIA Motors) Nathalie Barbotin (KIA Motors) crossed the line first.

RESULTS: WOMEN:

1 � Laura Lardani (Rollerblade), 42km en 1h11�04,
2 � Andrea Gonzalez (KIA Motors)
3 � Nathalie Barbotin (KIA Motors)
4 � Nicole Begg (SAAB Salomon Switzerland)
5 � Theresa Cliff-Ryan (KIA Motors)

RESULTS: MEN:

1 � Luca Saggiorato (Fila International), 42km en 59�45
2 � Massimiliano Presti (Fila International)
3 � Jorge Botero (Rollerblade )
4 � Shane Dobbin (Rollerblade)
5 � Alexis Contin (Rollerblade )
6 � Stefano Galliazzo (Mariani WRC)
7 � Francesco Zangarini (Bont International)
8 � Baptiste Grandgirard (Fila International)
9 � Luca Presti (Bont International)
10 � Thomas Boucher (SAAB Salomon World)

Another podium for the SAAB Salomon World Team � this time in Dijon!

THE START:

- Starting line in the park alleys
- The first 2 km very known by skaters;
- This race is renowned for the extent of the physical difficulty. 

THE RACE:

- Extreme speed � 60km/h on the slight downhill and over 41km/h on average.
- Athletes working together with precision to provoke as many escape attempts against other teams as possible.
- 18km from the finish line: a major escape by Franck Cardin (Saab Salomon), Shane Dobbin (Rollerblade), and Andrea Bighin (Roces)

THE FINISH LINE:

- Difficulty in final sprint, as the three men mentioned above ran into the women pack and could not make their way through to the finish line.
- Finally, Shane Dobbin broke through, and crossed the finish line a few milliseconds before Franck Cardin. Andrea Bighin came in third
 - The pack behind was led through the finish line by Pascal Briand (Saab Salomon)

THE RESULTS: MEN:


1st DOBBIN SHANE 01:03:43
2nd CARDIN FRANCK 01:03:43
3rd BIGHIN ANDREA 01:03:46
4th BRIAND PASCAL 01:04:06
5th ROSERO DIEGO
6th SCOTT ARLIDGE
7th GALLIAZZO STEFANO
8th PRESTI LUCA
9th BOHER MATHIEU
10th KUNG ADRIAN

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