CH: de Vries wins Engadin WIC

In a solo breakaway just 3 short kilometers from the finish, CadoMotus' Elma de Vries has claimed victory in the Engadin WIC Marathon.

Elma de Vries
Adds a WIC Marathon win to her already-impressive resume

No sign of rain this year in Engadin, with nice skating conditions on a partially cloudy day the Pro women took off in a group of around 50 athletes where factory teams quickly tried to make a mark on the race but were contained by the pack speed on the World's quickest marathon course where the vast majority of the race is downhill. Add to the natural grade of the race the fact that, since 2002, wheel diameters have been steadily on the increase - and you have a Men's event finishing 42km well inside the hour (00:55:04), and the Women fast-approaching the hour mark also (1:04:47).

The big move came today from de Vries, who continues to improve on the WIC circuit following a strong result in Wolvega (NL), and in Engadin gained her best result yet. Attacking alone in the final kilometers, de Vries held on to take a surprising win 6 seconds ahead of the sprinting field.

The sprint was lead home by Cecilia Baena (COL) who claimed yet another field sprint and is largely unchallenged for sprint-finish dominance this season. Baena was this week followed by a far more multicultural group rather than the flood of her countrywomen as has happened in previous weeks - with just 6 Colombian girls in the Top 20 in Engadin.

This is the CadoMotus World Ladies second WIC victory after Hilde Goovaerts (BEL) won the final WIC stage in Berlin in September last year.

160 skaters contested the Pro Mens event which, although fast, did not reach the average speeds of last year's record time by Peter Michael (NZL), this year's race finishing some 4 minutes slower than Michael's record.

The two Swiss men, Nicolas Iten (Rollerblade MPC) and Severin Widmer (X-Tech Crocs) managed to distance themselves from the pack who did not send out any immediate chase. The two managed to continue alone to the finish, where Iten was too strong for Widmer, who arrived a second behind the winner. Just 14 seconds back, the field sprint was brought home by Yann Guyader (FRA, 3rd) and Luca Saggiorato (ITA, 4th) - the two continuing their field sprint duel this season where previous sprint dominator Saggiorato is being outdone by the Frenchman.

Pictures to follow as they arrive from the Team...

Engadin, SUI: 42km Women

1. Elma de Vries, NED, CadoMotus World Ladies
2. Cecilia Baena, COL
3. Liana Holguín, COL
4. Natalia Artero, ARG
5. Simona di Eugenio, ITA, Rollerblade MPC
18. Mariska Huisman, NED, CadoMotus World Ladies
19. Brooke Lochland, AUS, CadoMotus/Bob

Full Womens Results

Engadin, SUI: 42km Men

1. Nicolas Iten, SUI, Rollerblade MPC
2. Severin Widmer, SUI
3. Yann Guyader, FRA
4. Luca Saggiorato, ITA, Rollerblade MPC
5. Ben Alchin, NZL

Full Mens Results