Mixed fortunes for CadoMotus Ladies at Trois Pistes, FRA

Over the Easter weekend the Trophée des Trois Pistes was held in France - a little earlier on the calendar this year, with the event typically being held during April.

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Trophee des Trois Pistes:
Gujan Mestras (top left), Valence d'Agen (center) and Pibrac (lower right)
Click on the place markers above to learn more

The competition, which celebrated its 22nd edition this year, has considerable pedigree. Its 3 tracks are unique: spanning the 166-metres of flat, shallow banking that is Pibrac (the 'ugly step-sister' of the other two tracks, Pibrac has been widely criticized over the years and for some reason is always the venue to bear the force of poor weather and often suffers cancellations); the smooth 200-metre parabolic of Valence d'Agen; and finally, the grippy and abrasive shallow parabolic 200-metre of Gujan-Mestras (the Gujan track has been left empty on a number of occasions during the event's history, as the threat of poor weather on the final day has often meant races were relocated to the nearby road course - as happened this year).

James & Chris Springer
of CadoMotus USA @ Valence d'Agen, headlining Kelly Springer's annual US assault on the Trois Pistes (Chris went on to win the Trophee in the Junior Mens division, with 1-2 finishes in Valence and a 3rd in Gujan).

Both Valence and Gujan have hosted the World Championships, in 2001 and 1994 respectively, and the Trois Pistes meet itself has been the stage of numerous great battles over its 22-years – including no less than 6 competition victories by Arnaud Gicquel, countless 'World Tours' by young groups of US speed skaters and many who would later step onto the Worlds podium, and many pre-season battles between WIC teams, and the athletes who missed WIC teams eager to prove themselves against their 'signed' counterparts.


Bad weather,
typical of Trois Pistes, always brings out some innovative stay-dry strategies... and of course the squeegee men!

But it wasn't only France that suffered from bad weather over the past weekend, with poor conditions all across Europe. The first day of racing was again cancelled, disappointing some and sparing others from the compact flat-banking of Pibrac. Some of the youngest competitors did manage to race though, profiting from a single dry moment in an otherwise adverse day.


Left: A start in the Elite Dames @ Valence,
Right: Mariska rides the lines at the front of the pack.
Hilde Goovaerts (BEL) and Mariska Huisman (NED) of the CadoMotus Worldteam took the opportunity to get some early-season competition in France to prepare for the upcoming summer season, together with twin sisters Jessica and Sabrina Gaudesaboos (BEL) from the CadoMotus/BOB national team.


Hilde Goovaerts
falls (beneath the skater in white wearing #5) at the head of a large crash in Valence d'Agen.


Despite a multi-skater crash (the type Trois Pistes is well-known for) during the Elimation race on Day 2 in Valence, Goovaerts finished the weekend 10th in the overall ranking - backing up a missed opportunity with 7th in race 2 in Valence and a podium placing with 2nd in the points race in Gujan Mestras.

"I am very satisfied with my results. They were beautiful races. It was a pity we had such bad weather, hopefully it's going to get better in the next few weeks, so we can train and prepare for the first World Inline Cup races".

Jessica Gaudesaboos finished with 12th place overall, Mariska Huisman 13th overall with an 8th position in Valence, and Sabrina finishing the weekend 46th overall with some valuable experience in the tough Elite Dames category.

Meanwhile, CadoMotus teammates Elma de Vries (NED), Bianca Roosenboom (NED), Manon Kamminga (NED) and Margo van de Merwe (NED) continue their training camp under Desly Hill in the Western Australian sun (above 30-degrees all week this week in Perth).

CadoMotus Teams training in Australia

CadoMotus Ladies Coach Desly Hill (AUS) is playing host in Mandurah, Western Australia, to four girls from the 2008 CadoMotus teams as they make the most of the Australian Summer to prepare for the coming European season - which is now less than one month away.

For 7 weeks Elma de Vries (NED), Bianca Roosenboom (NED) Manon Kamminga (NED) and Margo van de Merwe (NED) stay at Desly's home to concentrate on their inline training pre-season.

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This is nothing new for the 19 year old Bianca. She has become accustomed to escaping the notoriously bad Dutch autumn weather before. Last year she also spent 7 weeks in Australia, and in 2006 she stayed with Renee Hildebrand (Coach of Joey Mantia, Brittany Bowe, and more recently, the young Belgian national team including Bart Swings) in Florida for 3 months.

“The weather here is fantastic. We can workout perfect here”.

For Manon Kamminga, just 15 years old, it is a totally new experience. At the European Junior Championships last year, she won 7 medals - 2 of them Gold. The coming season she will race the Dutch criterium and Marathon competition.

“And at the European championships I want to win medals again. Hopefully I can go to the World’s too, in Spain”.

The girls are staying with Desly in Mandurah, a 'growing' former country-town one hour's drive South of Perth. An ideal training location, also for European Champion Elma de Vries, who has just finished her ice season.

“Normally I don’t have much time to train between the winter and summer. But this is perfect to take some time to prepare decent. The good weather motivates me!”.



The girls take advantage of perfect weather for outdoor training

In the Australian Autumn, which is turning on 30-40-degree days and currently proving to be hotter than the preceding Summer, the ladies are training on the bike and on skates. They have built their own gym in the garden. For Margo van de Merwe (18) it couldn’t be a better pre-season environment - and it will need to be, for her goals are as clear as they are high.

“I want to get top 10 results at the European Championships”.

Together with Kamminga, she’ll return to Holland on April 18th, to race the Domburg World on Wheels marathon event. De Vries and Roosenboom will race the World Inline Cup in Zug, together with teammates Hilde Goovaerts (BEL), winner of the 2007 Berlin WIC Marathon, and Mariska Huisman (NED) who was a member of last year's CadoMotus National Team.

Powered by CadoMotus: Teams 2008

CadoMotus is proud to present our Worldwide Teams for 2008. Headed by the CadoMotus World Ladies team who are returning for their second year in the World Inline Cup, and supported by a list of teams who embody the spirit of Pure Skating.

CadoMotus World Ladies (Pure Skating News) - our factory team of Ladies contesting the World Inline Cup and lead by Hilde Goovaerts (BEL), winner of the Berlin World Cup 2007.

- Hilde GOOVAERTS (BEL)
- Bianca ROOSENBOOM (NED)
- Mariska HUISMAN (NED)
- Elma DE VRIES (NED)


Netherlands
CadoMotus/BOB Nederland (Pure Skating News) - our National team of Ladies contesting the Dutch Inline Cup and lead by 2007 CadoMotus World team member Jannitta Spigt (NED).

- Jannitta SPIGT (NED)
- Jessica GAUDESABOOS (BEL)
- Sabrina GAUDESABOOS (BEL)
- Margo VAN DE MERWE (NED)

Unive/Stouwdam/CadoMotus (Stouwdam Sport)- our Netherlands dealer team contesting the Dutch Inline Cup, lead by the experienced Belgian Frank Fiers and featuring a return to the Unive/Stouwdam team by Geert Plender (NED).

- Frank FIERS (BEL)
- Christijn GROENEVELD (NED)
- Henry VISSCHER (NED)
- Klaas DE WEERD (NED)
- Geert PLENDER (NED)

MPC/Bones/CadoMotus Nederland (Stouwdam Sport)- our young Netherlands dealer team featuring World Jr Championship medallists Pieter-Jan van Eck & Koen Verweij, as well as Australian Joshua Lose in his second season in the Dutch competition.

- Pieter-Jan VAN ECK (NED)
- Koen VERWEIJ (NED)
- Joshua LOSE (AUS)
- Simon SCHOUTEN (NED)

United States
CadoMotus USA - our US dealer team of young up-and-coming boys and girls talents, managed by successful coach Kelly Springer.



...Powered by CadoMotus Teams

Germany
Experts in Speed (Experts)- a large team with a mix of youthful talent and race-bred experience, managed by Daniel Junker & Sebastien Baumgartner.

Stadler Racing (Stadler Racing Team)- a 12-man team of experienced marathoners, managed by Frank Bussmann.

Team Energize (Team Energize) - a successful National team contesting Marathons, track events, German Championships and local races, managed by Mike Saft.

France
Levallois Elite (Levallois SC) - well-known, experienced core of Marathon journeymen lead by the everlasting Phillipe Boulard and featuring Vincent Esnault and Mikael Lannezval, managed by Boulard and rolling journalist Esnault.

Loops Racing (Equipe Loops) - experienced French racers in all disciplines and featuring France National Team members Laetitia Le Bihan and Celia Fournier, managed by Ludovic Alvarez.

United Kingdom
CadoMotus UK (CadoMotus UK) - large mens and ladies team featuring the experienced Chris Orgill and the well-travelled Sutton Atkins, managed by Andy Porter.



Canada
Il Peloton/CadoMotus (ilpeloton.com) - Canadian dealer team managed by the experienced Sergio Almeralla.




Stay tuned to Pure Skating News in the coming weeks as we feature some of our top teams and introduce the athletes.

DualBox HiLo 1-1-2 pictures

Introducing the big brother to the unique 1-2-1, the PRO HiLo 1-1-2.

Low-profile access to 110mm wheels for all 195 spacings. The new 12.4inch 1-2-1, and 12.8inch 1-1-2 DualBox-3 HiLo frames.

A special low-profile version of the DualBox-3 extrusion has been developed specifically for two new CadoMotus PRO HiLo 110/100 frames.

First pictures: The 12.8inch PRO HiLo 1-1-2

The 12.8inch version is the PRO HiLo 1-1-2, a 110-100-110-110 high-performance frame that brings 110mm performance to a 12.8 wheelbase for exceptional footspeed and maneuverability. With a rear deck height of just 105mm (50mm + 55mm wheel radius) the 1-1-2 provides the roll of 110mm wheels on a frame as low as the PRO 4x100, with the fast-turning, easy-to-accelerate 12.8inch (mm) wheelbase.

12.8inch 1-1-2, for skaters who want the best of fast-feet meets high-speed.

PRO HiLo 1-1-2: Available within weeks

Both the 12.4-inch 1-2-1 (110-100-100-110) and the 12.8inch 1-1-2 (110-100-110-110) are expected to be available to distributors in the coming week.

CadoMotus/MPC Street Fight Blue

MPC's new CadoMotus-exclusive OEM wheel is the Street Fight Blue. Available separately or as the wheel-of-choice on two of CadoMotus 2008 skate packages - the Street Fight Blue offers many of MPC Speed's industry-leading technologies at a lower price point.

The CadoMotus/MPC Street Fight Blue, Ex-Firm 100mm

Working together with MPC, CadoMotus developed an OEM wheel with the goals of bringing MPC performance and reliability to complete skates at a lower price point. The result is the Street Fight Blue - available in 90-, 100- and 110mm, the wheel features MPC's patented designed-deformation hub and chemical bonding technique which eliminates deep physical interlocks and maximises the depth of vertical urethane for improved footprint modulation, rebound, and shock-dissipation.

How did we make it hit the price point? The Street Fight Blue does not have a 'flex band' of urethane hidden underneath - a significant expense in terms of MPC wheel production - essentially meaning that each wheel must be poured twice. The outer material on the Street Fight Blue is the same high-quality Street Fight compound, and the wheel still benefits from the MPC hub and the increased rebound from more vertical urethane between the hub and the road.

The Street Fight Blue is Ex-Firm in terms of durometer, with the tire performance and durability you can expect from MPC - but physically a slightly stiffer wheel than its popular brother - the Street Fight Gold. A great option for heavier skaters and those preferring a more traditionally low-deformation wheel, and at the price point, an excellent wheel for training and for those races where the ranch-house isn't on the line.

The Street Fight Gold is currently featured on the following skate packages, available now from CadoMotus:


The COMP107 4x100 AllMount Skate Package

The COMP107 4x100 AllMount Skate Package is a runout-priced package featuring the 2007 COMP boot, the NEW 4x100 AllMount frame accepting all boots 165-195mm, the CadoMotus/MPC Street Fight Blue, and SPIN7 bearings.


The COMP108 Small Skate Package

The COMP108 Small Skate Package features the NEW, improved COMP108 boot with increased comfort, shell construction and ankle stability for large wheel skates, together with the NEO 3x100 frame on CadoMotus/MPC Street Fight Blue wheels and SPIN7 bearings.