WIC/SIC of Biel: a fast finale, no break away
The finale of the Swiss Inline Cup was held in the city of Biel this season. Usually, the race is played in a field sprint, as far as the circuit is very particular. It was the case this time again, with two wins from America: Alexandra Vivas (Colombia, Bont Wheels) and Joey Mantia (USA, Luigino)! Usually, the SIC of Biel (36kms, that is 6 laps) is held late in the day, at twilight. It makes the race really particular, as the fields are ending it when the night is coming. But this time, the competition took place at 18:00.
In the ladies race, the peloton stayed together till the sprint, even if there were many attempts of break away in the fastest parts of the circuit (the long straight lines), or the technical parts of the city. The Cado Motus team was even a lot active in the race, taking the lead in the 4th lap for example. But at the end, Hilde Goovaerts captured the 13th and Elma de Vires 24th in the bunch sprint. The race was won by Alexandra Vivas in 1:02, in front of Giovanna Turchiarelli (Alessi Powerslide) and Brittany Bowe (Luigino).
The men’s race was completely the same: many attempts of break away, but a bunch sprint at the end. Julien Levrard tried a lot to go away in the hardest parts of the circuit, but the pace was controlled by the major teams, who were looking for a sprint. The fastest was Joey Mantia (Luigino): he closed the race in 52’07 and captured his third victory in the SIC series after Zug and Zurich! Yann Guyader and Fabio Francolini (Alessi Powerslide) were following.
The SIC is now over. Cecilia Baena (Colombia, Bont Wheels) is the overall winner, without any problem. For the team of Cado Motus, Elma de Vires finished 13th with 8864 points and Hilde Goovaerts 37th with only 4 races. In the men’s division, it’s French Yann Guyader who takes the crown; for the team of Rollerblade MPC World, Luca Saggiorato is second and Diego Rosero third.
Women's sprint: very close! (photo by Niki Neck, Bont)