Day 6 in Oostende: 4 titles out of 6 possible for Colombia

Last day on the road before the marathons

Colombia remained strong but Italy created the surprise in the Junior ladies, and China Taipei was finally rewarded for its efforts in the Senior ladies!

500m junior ladies: a great Linda Rossi

 We will have had to wait until the very last race on the road to see another Nation than Colombia win the gold. And it is Linda Rossi (ITA) who perfectly applied the famous motto “Nothing is impossible” to her race. Indeed, whereas she had been rather disappointing so far, the Italian did a great race in the 500m-sprint-final. After an amazing start that placed her in the front, just before two Colombians, she managed to keep her speed and to take the best trajectories to remain in first position until the end. The two Colombian of the final, Yuliana Garces and Stephanie Hurtado respectively finished 2^nd and 3^rd; none of them were able to pass the Italian sprinter. Jenny Peissker (Germany) was the fourth one of the final.

500m junior men: an uncommun scenario!

Nobody could have ever written the scenario of the final before the race. On the starting line, there were two Colombians (Andres Filipe Campo and Alexander Estrada), one German (Simon Albrecht, 8 times European champion in 2013) and one French (Raphaël Planelles). The tension was at its maximum before the judge fired his gun.
Right after the start, the two Colombians both converged voluntarily towards Simon Albrecht who fell not even ten meters after the departure line. After a few minutes, the speaker declared that Alexander Estrada was disqualified. A second start was then given with only three men, all certain to get a medal… (Or that is what we all probably thought). And indeed, that was without counting on the friction between the German and Andres Filipo Campo in the first corner of the race. At that moment, both of them were in the front before Raphaël Planelles who then passed them before being passed again by the Colombian. Colombian skater finally passed the line in first position just before the French and the German.
But soon after the race, Simon Albrecht was announced to be disqualified probably for what happened in the first corner. Nobody knew if the Colombian was also going to be disqualified and it took a few minutes to the judges before announcing the final result: 1- Andres Filipo Campo ; 2- Raphaël Planelles (with no 3^rd  and no 4^th ones !).

5000m relays on the road

Junior ladies

Colombia took its revenge early in the night since it won the relay just before Chinese Taipei and Germany. Chile finished fourth.

Junior men

In the relay, Colombia could not resist showing out – once again – its predominance in the category. Thus, Colombians won just before Venezuelans (who had won the relay on the track), and Italy.

The Seniors had only relays to race today. It was therefore a rather a quiet day for most of them.

Senior ladies

 China, China Taipei, the USA, Germany, Argentina and the Netherlands were on the starting line. Guo Dan (CHI) was determined to win the gold, medal that she has not stopped running after (unsuccessfully) during the whole championship. And since Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA), her worst opponent, was not in the final for having fallen in the qualification heats, it was the best opportunity for the Chinese to finally take the gold. But China Taipei was also very willing to win and that is what happened. Indeed, Taiwanese, after an amazing final lap, did not let any chance to those chasing after them. The arrival was however tighter between China, The Netherlands and Germany. China ended up with the silver medal (which contributed to complete Guo Dan’s collection) and the Netherlands passed Germany on the line.

Senior men

 Colombia (notably with its two stars Andres Munoz and Pedro Causil), New Zealand (notably with Peter Michael), Belgium (without Bart Swings), The Netherlands (notably with the two Mulders), Italy (notably with Fabio Francolini) and France (notably with Alexis Contin and Ewen Fernandez) were the six countries on the starting line. There were lots of movements and agitation in the race. Finally, Colombia, with the two best sprinters in the World let no chances to the others. It won rather easily before Italy and France.

Today (Friday) is a rest day. The competition is moving to downtown Oostende to prepare the last races of the 2013 World Championships of roller speed-skating: marathons.

Main results

Links

5km relays results
Results of the semifinals of the 500m road for junior men
Results of the semifinals of the 500m road for junior ladies
List of countries qualified for the relays finals on the road of Oostende (Belgium)
Results of the quarterfinals of the 500m road for junior men
Results of the quarterfinals of the 500m road for junior ladies
Results of the 1/8 finals of the 500m road for junior men
Results of the 1/8 finals of the 500m road for junior ladies

By Alfathor
Photos: Mediaskates.com, Oostende2013