Northshore Races 2002

Northshore Races, September 14, 2002
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Inline skaters whipped up tsumamis of excitement that packed more punch than a lake-effect storm surge on a sand spit at the 7th Northshore Inline Marathon on Sept. 14, 2002. The event drew record numbers, topping 4,400 entrants and packing roads and highways with huge wave sets of World Cup, Pro, Masters, Veterans, Advanced, and Recreational skaters.

The Northshore Marathon in 2002 was the deepest and most fearsome international field ever assembled on American soil. With World Cup points and $30,000 at stake, the marathon hosted nearly all the world's marquee skaters, including international squads from Salomon, Rollerblade, Verducci, Hyper, and K2.

TWINCAM/Salomon gutted the peloton early with big-wheeled attacks that broke the resolve of the pack. When a group of 6 representing all the major teams at the start moved out to a seemingly insurmountable lead, Canadian Peter Doucet and American Eddy Matzger joined forces and launched up the road in pursuit. The two blasted through vicious 13 mph headwinds against all odds, as most automatically assumed the two were hanging themselves out to dry in a doomed suicide attack. Just as Matzger and Doucet would draw close to the breakaway, the 6 men up the road would feel the chasers' heat and feel compelled to open up a larger gap.

A helicopter soared overhead and beamed live blow by blow race coverage to radio listeners and spectators at the finish line. Radio commentator Lauri Muir described the viscious battle up front, the see-saw fortunes of the 2-man chase group, and the disorganized peloton behind. Matzger went on solo down the I-35 and caught the leaders at the offramp leading to the Duluth Expo and Convention Center. For all his hard work, though, his sprint was less sharp than the others and contented himself rolling in at 7th overall, three seconds behind the winner.

TWINCAM's Dan Burger was conspicuously absent after season-ending spill at the Downhill World Championships in Italy, but Kimberley Moore filled his uniform with fierce resolve and ended up mounting the podium in typical TWINCAM style, occupying the 3rd step among masters, scant seconds the winner. Rollerblade's Fabien Rabeau emerged first among men in 1:08:34, followed by Shane Dobbin and Max Presti (Salomon International). Grabbing the women's win in 1:23:00 was Verducci's Jessica Smith followed by Theresa Cliff and Alessandra Susmeli. The Eddy Matzger Workshop booth was one of the busiest at the Expo , as skaters lined up to reserve workshop dates for 2003, order T-shirts from the Raymond Verdaguer collection, and fondle Eddy's newest modified Salomon/Xenan skates powered by Explore 84mm wheels. After giving tips at a mini-workshop at the Expo on Friday, Eddy emceed the kid's races and escorted a huge group on a recreational night skate around downtown Duluth. The advanced and recreational field sparkled red white and blue from so many happy workshop attendees sporting their bright fireflower Salomon Access To Speed jerseys.

Remember	Victory	Welcome
Offramp	Last hill	True grit
Fine form	Cute caboose	Traffic
Yes!	Special finish	Run from border
Punch it!	Hooking up	Windy finish

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