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National Roller Cup
New York 100K Will Decide Men's NROC Title
Sept. 28, 2012
Planet report
New York 100K - Pro Women's Pack
photo: John Williams
Tomorrow is judgment day for the top three men in the National Roller Cup.
With double points up for grabs, whoever finishes first in the New York 100K, the season finale, takes home the 2012 NROC title.
The three men in contention are Il Peloton/MPC’s Christopher Fiola, Adam’s David Sarmiento and Bont USA’s Justin Stelly.
Fiola, 15, of Montreal, rolled into the ranks of elite North American skaters this year with wins in the Montreal and Canada Day marathons. He also skated well in the big Northshore Inline Marathon, finishing third.
Sarmiento, 30, of Sleepy Eye, Minn., has been one of the Midwest’s top skaters since immigrating from Colombia several years ago. Last year, he finished second in NROC behind Joey Mantia.
This year, despite back trouble, he racked up wins in the Metrodome Time Trial and the Minnesota Half.
Stelly, 25, of Kaplan, La., led the NROC rankings for much of the year, winning both the Texas Road Rash and the Chicagoland Inline Tour.
But he dropped back into third place after the Northshore Inline Marathon, which he skipped to compete in the World Championships in Italy. In the championships, he won USA’s only metal: a bronze in the 500-meter track sprint.
Going into Saturday’s race, Fiola leads NROC’s Pro Open Division with 470 points. Sarmiento is second with 440 points; Stelly, third with 370.
Under the NROC scoring system, if one of the three wins the Pro Open Division tomorrow, he will earn the NROC title. If another NROC skater wins the division, the NROC title will go to the skater with the most points.
Some of the other top men in the race include Thomas Detwiler, who won last year’s a2a, TISC’s Peter Doucet, Hoigaard’s Herb Gayle, Shift Racing’s Morgan Williams, and Twincam’s Brent Bovitz and Eddy Matzger. Matzger, 45, has won the race seven times, most recently in 2010.
Women’s race
There’s not too much drama left in this year’s women’s Pro Open Division. Calvano’s Morgane Echardour appears to be the winner.
Echardour, 24, of Mississauga, Ontario, is leading the NROC standings with 400 points. And none of the other top women will be skating tomorrow.
Bont USA’s Briana Kramer won the title last year. But she is not competing in the 100K. After winning the Northshore two weeks ago, she headed back to Salt Lake City to resume her ice training.
Another contender in the Pro Open Division was Adam’s Melissa Dahlmann, who won this year’s Apostle Islands Inline Marathon. But Dahlman broke her jaw while training two weeks ago and will be off skates for several months.
One woman who may give Echardour some company tomorrow is Adam’s Kara Peterson, who skates in the NROC Pro 40 Division. Peterson, 42, of Minneapolis, won this year’s Minnesota Half.
The New York 100K starts at 6:30 am. The race is on a road in Prospect Park.
Skaters in the 100K will loop the park 19 times.
Forecasters are predicting clear and mild conditions for Saturday. But thunderstorms tonight could create puddles on the course.
Live blog coverage of the 100K will start at 6:30 am on the Inline Planet.
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