2017 World Inline Cup: Powerslide Prevails in Incheon, South Korea

The Skating Marathon of Incheon opend the 2017 season of the World Inline Cup, last Sunday. Skaters of 10 different nationalities flew towards South Korea for this “Top Class” event: Belgium, Venezuela, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, New Zealand, Estonia, France, Spain, Switzerland, and of course South Korea. Over 2.500 competitors took the start.

The Powerslide Matter, EOSkates, and Rollerblade Teams put on the show, leading the packs with their top seeds: Bart Swings, Ewen Fernandez, Felix Rijhnen, and Katharina Rumpus for Powerslide/Matter Racing Team; Patxi Peula for EO Skates; and French Quentin Giraudeau and Guillaume de Mallevoue for the great comeback of the Rollerblade World Team on the international series of the World Inline Cup. 

The Men’s Race, by Felix Rijhnen (Powerslide Matter)

“The race started off strong with an attack by Bart. Ewen and I countered it, and broke away with Quentin Giraudeau and a Korean skater. We broke away again with Ewen, for another 30 km just the two of us. We managed to keep a 1-min-30 lead. Later, Bart managed to break away from the pack with Paxti Peula Cabello (EOSkates), before outdistancing him in the last lap.”

The Women’s Race, by Katharina Rumpus (Powerslide Matter World Team)

“The Incheon race was very hectic. All the favorites were watching one another, and nobody could break away because of the strong wind. The race ended with a sprint of the pack, in which I managed to get the 3rd place.”

Men’s General Ranking

1. Ewen Fernandez (Powerslide/Matter, FRA)
2. Felix Rijhnen (Powerslide/Matter, GER)
3. Bart Swings (Powerslide/Matter, BEL)
4. Paxti Peula Cabello (EOSkates, ESP)
5. Guillaume de Mallevoue (Rollerblade, FRA)
6. Jakob Ulreich (AUT)

Women’s General Ranking

1. Lee Seul (South Korea)
2. Yu Garam (South Korea)
3. Katharina Rumpus (Powerslide/Matter, Germany)

Save the dates for the next legs of the World Inline Cup, with Rennes sur Roulettes on May 21st, and the Skating Marathon of Dijon on June 11th!