Hilde Goovaerts wins for CadoMotus in Berlin WIC!

Final Victory!
Hilde, caught mid-smile by the camera flash
as she takes victory in front of the Brandenburger Gate
Image (c) Sailer, courtesy live.scc-events.com

The CadoMotus World Ladies Team took their first victory in the final World Inline Cup of the year, as Hilde Goovaerts (BEL) won ahead of Sabine Berg (GER, Powerslide.de) and Laura Lardani (ITA, Sportvital/RB) in Berlin yesterday. The race ends a spectacular season for Goovaerts, and caps a fairytale career where she has won almost everything there is to win in distance skating - from a 1995 World Title in the Marathon, and now in 2007 a WIC victory.

It was a heavy marathon that concluded the WIC season, with rain falling and the streets slick with water over the fast and highly-regarded Berlin course. Despite the conditions, one of the World's most popular marathons still started with some 7600 skaters.

In difficult circumstances, both the mens and womens races split with lead groups separating themselves from the main field fairly early in the event (5 athletes getting away in the mens event, and 12 athletes in the ladies who broke from the group for the last 15-kilometers).

Victory to Hilde on the AllMount frame & StormSurge wheels

Hilde skated on the new CadoMotus AllMount frame (providing an even 4x100 wheelbase to 195 AND 165mm boots) adding a WIC title to the growing list of victories on the versatile new model - holding off German junior Sabine Berg and the Sportvital RB trio of Lardani, Penan and Neuling in a tight finish with the first 9 girls all within 1-second. Hilde rode to victory while stuck to the otherwise slick road surface by the MPC StormSurge wheels, which have redefined wet-weather skating during 2007 and provided a level of grip in the rain that has until now, never been available.

Results - Berlin WIC Women
1. (1:23:20) Hilde Goovaerts (BEL) CadoMotus World Ladies - AllMount 12.4 Frame
2. (ST) Sabine Berg (GER) Powerslide.de
3. (ST) Laura Lardani (ITA) Sportvital RB
4. (ST) Michaela Neuling (GER) Sportvital RB
4. (ST) Catherine Penan (CHI) Sportvital RB

Results - Berlin WIC Men
1. 1:12:30 Nicholas Iten (SWI) Sportvital RB
2. (+:05) Roger Schneider (SWI) Athleticum RB
2. (ST) Peter Michael (NZL) Powerslide Phuzion
4. (+:01) Max Presti (ITA) Bont/Hyper *2007 World Inline Cup Champion
5. (+:05) Claudio Naselli (ITA) TNT Corea




Arms aloft!
Nicholas Iten opens AND closes the 2007 WIC season
Winning Seoul and Berlin
Image (c) Sailer, courtesy live.scc-events.com

These are interesting results in both races, with Sabine Berg (GER) - Junior European and World Champion (and still in the Junior ranks) taking the podium for the first time in the womens WIC event. In the Mens, Nicholas Iten (SWI) takes his second win of the season with his new team - winning the first event of 2007 in Seoul, Korea and now also the last event in Berlin. Peter Michael - 3-time Junior World Champion in Korea 2006 and skating his first WIC season, is on the podium for the second time, taking equal second in Berlin with Roger Schneider after winning on a solo escape in Engadin.

Hilde finishes 2007 on the best possible note: Winning the Netherlands 'World on Wheels' competition overall after claiming a number of victories during the season, and adding the WIC finale win in Berlin to her podium performance in the Rennes WIC (also in the rain).



The usually camera-shy Hilde (pictured center)
with teammates Angeline Thomas (left) and Jannitta Spigt (right) following another successful outing for the team in Duisburg, Germany earlier this year
Image (c) CadoMotus Skating

Hilde ends the season with some time now to consider her inline career. Married, and with thoughts of starting a family, Hilde has pondered over the past 3 years whether each season would be her last on the international scene. But at the same time, it is in the past year that Hilde's ice marathon form has approached its best - and already, less than 24 hours after her Berlin success, Hilde is on the ice preparing for the Marathon season with her ice team (where fellow CadoMotus World skater Jannitta Spigt is also her teammate).

Congratulations Hilde, and all the girls of the CadoMotus World Ladies team for such a successful first year in 2007!