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 TWINCAM/Salomon's Eddy Matzger narrowly missed plowing into a wayward lead motorcyle during a promising breakaway at the Long Beach Inline Marathon, October 13, 2002 in Long Beach, CA. The marathon, actually shortened to 25 miles through the scenic port city and waterfront, unfolded more like a radical street skate than an actual race. The course held nearly every kind of challenge: big wide open boulevards for straight-ahead jamming, oily and damp surfaces on which to spin-out like a cartoon character, skinny, sandy bike paths along the Pacific Ocean, coned-off lanes with bicycles to thread through, downed skaters to jump over, narrow funnels and wheelchair ramps, blind corners, hay bales, and unexpected hairpin turns that would raise the fur on the back of even the most jaded aggressive street skater. Marines in uniform linked arms at the start to hold back a storm surge of skaters. Filming as he went, Matzger bolted repeatedly until the pack fatigued of chasing and one of his breaks stuck. Just as Eddy and another skater were opening up a hard-fought lead on the main pack, the lead motorcycle and both skaters careened towards a U-turn at full speed and spun to a stop off course. Mass carnage ensued as the chase pack arrived and stacked up in confusion over which way to go. Some skidded on the skin of shins while others in the peleton pursued Matzger down what seemed to be the correct course. While the motorcycle with the chief official recovered and zoomed off after the main group to tell them they were off-course, a parked motorcycle policeman fired up his bike and took off down the route. Four savvy skaters in the back of the pack reacted quickly and escaped in the confusion. It took a few miles for the front of the race to consolidate again. The main pack didn't realize that they were not at the head of the course until they saw a four-man breakaway coming at them from the other direction. Just as last went to first, so did first go to last. TWINCAM/Salomon's Eddy Matzger caught the main pack from behind at mile 18 and began launching like a madman, egged on by oncoming skaters in the Advanced and Recreational divisions. As the opposition wearied of closing on a constantly attacking Matzger, Chad Hedrick (Hyper) began doing the dirty work. Just when Eddy and K2 skaters began filtering back for another surge, along came the finish, catching them and many others unawares. "Everybody was expecting a long straightaway where we'd be able to see the finish line coming. But then we came around a corner and there it was, so the field sprint was less than 100 meters," said one competitor." Skaters pretty much finished wherever they were in the pace line." In the end it was the three-man breakaway in the men's field -- Diego Rosero, Josh Wood and Dirk Breder -- who carried the day. Matzger finished 28th with the same time as the pack. The women approached the Long Beach course with a modicum of caution, t-stopping before dangerous sections and keeping it clean down the home stretch. Colombia's Cecelia Baena Guzman celebrated her victory in the field sprint with a dramatic one-legged "Ta-da!" over the finish, with Julie Glass and Kim Derrick close behind." TWINCAM/Salomon's Kimberley Moore finished with the same time in the field sprint to take second place in the Master's division. Eddy hung around the finish to meet and greet incoming skaters in his customary fashion. "Eddy, I am still in shock since finding out that I finished third in my age group. I am so excited, and give you lots of credit for improving my skating by orders of magnitude," wrote one satisfied finisher, also an Access to Speed alumnus, in an email. "A big THANK YOU, Eddy! I couldn't have finished Long Beach without you!" wrote another. |