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 TWINCAM/Salomon racer Eddy Matzger saw stars while striking fear in the hearts of European racers with his strong 6th place finish at Europe's premiere inline skating event, the "Inline one-eleven" race on August 11, 2002, in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The grueling 111 kilometer race took place in driving rain but did not deter over 1100 skaters from taking part. Racers from all the strongest European teams were in attendance, including World Hour Track Record Holder Tristan Loy (1st place --VW-Sport XX), overall European Champion Arnaud Giquel (2nd place -- Rollerblade World Team), past New York City Skate Marathon winner Phillipe Boulard (7th place -- Levallois Sporting Club), and former Athens to Atlanta winner Benoit Perthuis (17th place -- Rollerblade France) Thousands of cheering fans lined the route and encouraged racers by yelling "hopp hopp hopp!" (go go go!). Farmers stood outside their barns and even the cows seemed interested at the seemingly endless torrent of skaters streaming past. Incessant attacks took their toll on a course whose final 40 kilometers boast a net elevation gain. Matzger made the winning break at kilometer 70 and quickly built a 2 minute lead with the lead group of 5, but fell off the pace after experiencing leg-lock in the cold. Matzger was caught by two pursuers, and together they formed a chase group that forged ahead and kept the gap between the leaders and the pack behind constant. "I skated so hard today that my arms felt like lead and my vision began flickering," admitted Matzger, who finished scant minutes after the leaders with a time of 3 hours 41 minutes. Eddy was greeted at the finish by race winner Tristan Loy and a slew of volunteers who wrapped him in a thick wool blanket. To finish in the top 40 of a European race is always considered a major accomplishment. "It's easy to be a star in one's own country and then race anonymously in Europe," said Matzger after the race. "I feel however that I upheld the honor of my long-time sponsors and gave notice of my mid-season form. All it took was a little internal dialog in spite of the rough conditions. I told myself repeatedly en route that this was exactly the kind of course for which I was trained." Eddy is America's most winning inline skater, with well over 100 victories to his name. Matzger has notched victories 4 times at the New York City skate marathon and 5 times at the prestigious Athens to Atlanta 85 mile race. Hailing from Dutch roots, Matzger developed his passion for speed by skating with the University of California at Berkeley Women's Cycling team in the rugged East Bay hills. |