Bont Wheels Team 1st & 2nd WIC Rennes

The Bont Wheels Team was victorious in sunny Rennes yesterday taking the first two places in the World Inline Cup race. All the team nearly made the top 10 with Alexandra Vivas 4th and Tamara coming in 11th after giving the team a long lead out.

Womens Podium
1st Cecilia Baena, 2nd Nicole Begg & 3rd Melisa Bonnet


Mens Podium
1st Diego Rosero, 2nd Alexander Bastidas & 3rd Nelson Garzon

More photo's and a report to follow once I return to Switzerland. We are heading back to Switzerland this morning and have an 11 hour drive ahead of us.

Busy, Busy, Busy

The past week has been pretty busy for the Bont Wheels Team and myself. We stayed the night in Holland after the World Inline Cup race last week and left Monday morning for our 8 hour journey back to Switzerland. Tuesday it was back into training and also still recovering from the hard race and travel.

Wednesday I had to wake up at 5.30 am as I had an early appointment at the hospital in Luzern. I had another check up and the doctor is happy with how my jaw is healing. The rubber bands will probably be on for another 3 weeks so I am half way there. Next week I have another check up and the week after that more x-rays will be taken.

Wednesday night there was racing at the Weinfelden bank track. I missed out on the racing last fortnight due to my jaw but this week I was back racing and won the points race and had the fastest flying lap time. Niki Neck has loaded videos onto Bont TV of the flying laps and the mens points race, the women should be up within the next few days.

Thursday for me was a recovery day. Because I am still unable to eat proper solid food I am finding it's taking me a lot longer to recover, I felt dead for most of the day.

This morning (Friday) the team went training and unfortunately Cecilia had a fall. She has taken a little bit of skin off but she should be fine for the race in Rennes. We also left for Rennes today after lunch. Seeing Rennes is about an 11 hour drive from Switzerland we decided to divide the journey. Today we drove 6 1/2 hours and we are staying the night at a hotel about 80km from Paris. Tomorrow morning we will have about 4 1/2 hours to go.

Alexandra Vivas Winner WIC, Wolvega

The World Inline Cup finally made it to Holland for the first time. Wolvega, a small dutch village hosted the third round of the World Inline Cup series.

The womens race started at 2pm in the middle of the village cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd. The first 500 meters of the race was neutralized but as soon as the flag was raised and the pace car took off the attacks started. The local skaters set the pace and attacked early. We had to react to all these early attacks made because many of the Dutch skaters were unknown. A handful of attacks were made in the first 15km of the race but none of them eventuated, then we hit the cobbles/small bricks. There was a patch about 3km long of small bricks which sent vibrations through your whole body, including my jaw. I went to the front and pushed the pace over this section because I just wanted to get over them as quickly as possible. Hilde Goovaerts then attacked half way over the section and was joined by myself, Liana Holguin and Catherine Penan but the small gap was soon closed down. Not long after that there was another tough section as we crossed over the dyke, the wind was really strong and the roads were rough and quiet narrow, again the attacks kept coming.

At the 31km mark there was a sprint for prizes. The team decided before the race that if we were near the front of the pack and not too many others were contending the sprint we would go for it. I followed a train of about four skaters from Cado Motus and popped out from behind them to lunge and take first off of Hilde Goovaerts by less than a wheel. Tamara Llorens (Bont Wheels) then attacked over the top of the pack as planned but before the gap opened up anymore she was chased down.

Bont Wheels Team made sure we had at least one team member in every serious attack throughout the race. This was successful and with less than 15km to go the winning break away was formed. Alexandra Vivas (Bont Wheels), Nadine Gloor (RB IBU Speedorom) and Elma de Vries (Cado Motus) were able to get away as Tamara was in control at the front of the pack. Liana Holguin then attacked and bridged the gap to the other three skaters. Jana Gegner tried to chase down the break along with members of the Alessi Powerslide team but their attempt was unsuccessful. A few kilometers down the road Catherine Penan headed to the front of the pack and started chasing but by this stage the breakaway of four skaters was well and truly gone and out of sight.

Elma de Vries had a small gap over the other three skaters in the break away through the cobbled streets of Wolvega heading towards the finish. Liana dropped off after her attempt to catch Elma leaving Alexandra to bridge the gap with Nadine Gloor on her wheel. Alexandra passed Elma through the last corner heading into the finish straight with about 250 meters to go followed closely by Nadine. Nadine made a final attempt to get past Alexandra with a few meters to go but Alexandra lunged at the line after stumbling to take first place for the Bont Wheels Team.

Tamara followed by Cecilia led the main pack through the cobbled streets up to the last corner, then Cecilia opened up down the last finish straight to win the pack sprint. By this stage I wasn't feeling too good at all and very low on energy but I managed to finish 10th. After being unable to eat solid food since Sursee two weeks ago I didn't feel like myself during the race. It doesn't matter how much energy is in the liquids I've been taking it just doesn't replace proper unprocessed food. I didn't feel strong and was unable to relax because I was aware and always conscious of my jaw, I didn't want to cause any more damage. Tamara after a long lead out and a lot of work during the race came in 20th.

I said in an interview before hand that I expected the WIC race in Wolvega to be hard with cobble stones, windy conditions and rough roads and my prediction was pretty much on the money.

The Winners
Alexandra Vivas (Bont Wheels) & Antonio Ruales (Bont IDRD)

Men top 7 & Women top 5

Bont Wheels Team Pre-Race

Alexandra & her husband John

Bill working out the WIC points.

South Canterbury Sportsperson of the Year

I received a surprise phone call from OJ at port FM (Radio Station) last night to tell me I had won the South Canterbury sports person of the year award for the consecutive year. Unfortunately I was unable to be at the dinner last night to accept the award, but a recorded message was played. The South Canterbury region produces great athletes and some of the other nominees included an Olympic cyclist Marc Ryan and Junior NZ rally champion Hayden Paddon. It is an honor for my achievements to be recognized as minor sports often fly under the radar.

The Timaru Herald has an article online that you can read "Nicole skates home with award again".

There are a lot of people I want to thank and I will post about those people and their impact when I return from the WIC in Wolvega, Holland.

Skate Podium

If you are able to read Dutch there is an article "Wereldtopper met gebroken kaak ann start" on Skate Podium. The article talks about my crash in Sursee, goals and this weekends World Inline Cup race in Wolvega, Holland.

Here is the information in English that the article was based off of:

Do you think you're fit enough to start in Wolvega this weekend?
Yes, for sure I will race this weekend in Wolvega. My jaw has not fully healed but the doctor has confirmed that it is ok for me to race this weekend.

Have you raced before in the Netherlands?
No I have never been to Holland before. I have heard a lot about the style of racing in Holland and the tough conditions. I have always wanted to race in Holland but have never been able to fit it into the schedule.

You had a good start in Zug, what about Sursee?
The team had a near perfect start to the season in Zug, we placed 1st, 2nd, 5th and 11th. The race in Sursee didn't turn out as planned as two of us crashed early on in the race and had quiet serious injuries. But we all managed to finish and salvage team points and Cecilia was able to get 3rd and retain the lead in the World Inline Cup.

What are you expecting in Wolvega, Do you like that the World Cup is in Holland?
I have heard that it is going to be a tough course with cobble stones and a lot of wind so this is what I'm expecting at this stage. I think a World Cup race in Holland is great because it may bring out a different style of racing in the womens pack.

What's you're goal for Wolvega?
Of course we would like someone from the team to win the race. When the team and an individual from the team is leading the World Inline Cup you have to set high goals.

Who's you're biggest competitor for Wolvega?
There are a lot of strong teams this year so we will be watching everyone. Rollerblade performed last week, Alessi are always a threat, Matter have had top placings, the Colombians are strong and of course the locals

How is it going with you're recovering?
It's really frustrating because I am unable to eat solid food. Everything I consume is slurped through a straw so it's very limiting. It just takes time to heal and there is not a lot I can do to speed up the process so I just have to be patient. My split chin has healed really well and the stitches are out and the hematoma on my leg has been getting treatment and has also healed.

How did it happen?
It happened about 10km into the race (WIC Sursee). The pack was going down a slight hill into a tight corner. I was positioned behind Alexandra and Cecilia was behind me. Whilst going into the corner someone came up the inside and tried to get between Cecilia and myself taking my skates out from under me. Because I could not see what was happening I did not anticipate the crash and had no time to land on my hands. My chin hit the ground first taking all the impact and therefor breaking my jaw.

You where 18th in Sursee, how can you skate with a broken jaw? Wasn't that very painful?
Yes it was quiet painful, but I think I can tolerate pain reasonably well. It never once crossed my mind to stop and pull out of the race. I knew I was going to finish the race just not too sure on how good the placing would be. My left leg was probably the most painful part of my body at that stage so when I could I rolled on one leg to relieve the pressure. There was blood everywhere from my split chin and because I was unable to see how bad it was it was quiet concerning.

What are you're goals for this season?
To be part of the number one team overall in the World Inline Cup. To have someone from the team win the overall and I would like to be in the top three. Of course another World Title would be nice.

What do you remember from the crash in Sursee?
I remember hitting the ground so hard with my chin and thinking oh **** there go my teeth, as I have chipped two teeth in a crash before. I got up as fast as I could and started skating to catch up to the pack. The next thing I done was check to make sure my teeth were all there, which they were. When I opened my mouth I knew pretty much straight away that I would need x-rays on my jaw and something was wrong.

You come from New Zealand and now you live in Switzerland? Can you tell some more about that?
I spend half my year in Switzerland and half in New Zealand. It is great for training because I never have a full winter. I live in Timaru, New Zealand for the off season and am based in Weinfelden, Switzerland for the skating season but I still call New Zealand home.

Back in the Pack

I was back in Luzern at the hospital yesterday for another check up. The two wires holding my mouth together were cut and replaced by rubber bands. The bands are tight and there are quiet a few so there is a lot of resistance if I try open my mouth, so still no solid food. These bands are going to be on for two weeks and then another x-ray will be taken to see were we will go from there. I am hoping that x-ray in two weeks time shows that it is fully healed because I am getting frustrated. It's frustrating not being able to eat, I have gone nearly two weeks on liquids and knowing that I have to do it for at least another two is hard. I have found liquids, purees and baby products that are high in energy, protein and carbohydrates but just drinking all the time is simply horrible.

The doctor did confirm that I was able to race the World Inline Cup this Sunday in Wolvega, Holland. I will take the bands off for the race so I am able to open my mouth and get more oxygen and then I will replace the bands immediately after the race. I will still be unable to fully open my mouth but it will be better than the situation I am in at the moment. The stitches were taken out of my chin at the same time and it is looking great. The doctor in Sursee that stitched my chin up done a good job and I shouldn't be left with a scar. Cecilia has also had her stitches removed and has been getting treatment for her strained muscle, she is doing well and back skating.

I haven't missed out on too much training and last night I actually skated in a group for the first time since the fall in Sursee. The other skating I have done has been alone or a couple of meters off the back of the pack just to minimize the risk of someone clipping my skates. So last night it felt great just to be back in the pack and in the draft.

Back in the pack
Photo - Niki Neck

I'm recovering but it's just frustrating and there is not a lot I can do to speed up the process apart from listen to the doctors and be patient. I'm feeling much better this week than last week and a hundred times better than the week before that. The painkillers have gone and the skates are now back on.

Bont Gigantathon

Bont has a new secret weapon: The Bont Gigantathon. The name basically explains everything, it's simply ginormous. It is a 23 inch 6 x 110mm 3 point frame not for the faint hearted. You can check out a video of the Gigantathon in action on Bont TV.

I wouldn't mind seeing someone attempt a crossover
on the Bont Gigantathon.
Just not me!