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 All the King's horses and all the King's men could not bring down the Matzger Machine at the New York City 100K Open National Championship, September 21, 2002, in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The TWINCAM/Salomon racer took on an international field stacked with top guns, including previous champions like 1999 winner Phillipe Boulard (France-Levallois), 2001 winner Jarmo Valtonen (Finland-K2), and 2000 winner Fourth Lacey (USA-Verducci). Eddy toppled them all. "The race belonged to Eddy Matzger, who dominated the uphill climb with constant attacks every single time the pack hit the uphill," reports Peter's Inline Racing Web Page's race report. Matzger attacked ruthlessly throughout the race, causing the peleton to fracture severely. A who's who of the world's elite skaters littered the sidelines after bonking and dropping out from exhaustion. "The 100K is like no other race," writes Michael Dyas on his Capital Racing website's wrap-up. "You know exactly where the attacks are going to happen, but knowing hardly helps. Three hours at 100 percent will break all but the strongest." Matzger was clearly the strongest. After 17 laps he had sizzle-fried the pack and only Frenchman Boulard remained. Matzger engaged in a tactical battle with Boulard, who tried everything in the book to shake Eddy before the finish. Matzger was too sharp, however, and kept the pace hard enough to prevent any surprises. When it came down to the final meters, Eddy had the superior legs for the finale, and was able to put the necessary meters on Boulard for an exciting sprint victory in 2 hours 59 minutes. Jarmo Valtonen (Finland-K2), Mauro Guenci (Italy-Verducci), and Jose Escobar (El Salvador-Capital Racing) rounded out the top 5. Matzger was the only American amongst the first 9 finishers. It was the fifth time the speedster has won the event. The NYC 100K wasn't just about pitched battle with wheels on asphalt. It was also about having a great excuse to come on tour to the big Apple. Many Salomon/Eddy Matzger Workshop alumni participated in the marathon (26.2 miles) and the 100K (62 miles) and excelled by trimming large chunks of time off their previous personal bests. With 50 Canadian skaters, as well as others from Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, France, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Finland, the NYC Marathon and 100K boasted one of the broadest, most colorful and fun-loving field of skaters ever. |