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 After a brief intermission last year, TWINCAM/Salomon racer Eddy Matzger took back his reign of the Tahiti Nui Roller Marathon on November 11, 2002. He defeated two "metropolitans" from Team Salomon, Pierre Sohier and Richard Deniaud, with whom he played a deadly serious game of poker on wheels. The fourth edition of the Tahiti Roller Marathon was a riot of color on wheels, fragrant and fun and smoother than ever. Moved from Moorea to the remote side of Tahiti Iti, the marathon enjoyed the close cooperation between local officials in Vairao, the Polynesian Sports Federation, and Way Beyond. The French racers were all work and no play prior to the marathon, so it was Eddy who was obliged to show the Frenchmen how to prepare for the big event: bushwack in the forest in the days prior to the marathon for a total of 25 hours! Strongly supported by the Tahitian public, Matzger showed his lust for fun by adorning his helmet with a homemade hat made of palm fronds. During the race, Eddy launched tons of attacks to test, tire, and show who is the King of Inline in French Polynesia. Sohier and Deniaud soon yielded to Matzger's constant variations in tempo and course. During pauses, local talent Marius Tavita was coaxed by Matzger to continue up the road, and when the gap got huge the French got nervous and closed. Tavita was caught by Sohier with 500 meters to go, whereupon Matzger gunned it for good and held his lead into the final turn and up the homestretch. TWINCAM racer Kimberley Moore nabbed second in a close sprint to the line with Salomon France skater Nathalie Barbotin. The course brought skaters back and forth twice along a heavenly stretch of road with only one short reminder that life in paradise can sometimes be rough too. All skaters battled heat and dehydration but came across the finish with whoops of joy. Finishers were adorned with flower leis and etched pearl medals. The race will surely be remembered for its strong Polynesian participation, where local skaters finished in the mix for the money and the bragging rights at having mastered such a difficult discipline in so short a time and taken so many foreigners to the task. |