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07/08/19

Downhill Skating: World Roller Games in Barcelona

The World Roller Games is a bi-yearly roller sports event.  Much like the Olympics it is and a multiple sport event, focusing on just roller sports, and is the largest of its kind.  The event consists of multiple disciplines including inline downhill, downhill skateboard, artistic skating, hockey and freestyle urban, just to name a few.
 


This year, the World Roller Games took place in Barcelona, Spain and was the biggest sporting event hosted by the city since the 1992 Olympic Games, 27 years ago. There were 81 countries represented and 4,120 athletes competing within 11 disciplines of skating.

Rollerblade® sent Gabe Holm to compete in the inline downhill competition. Downhill skating is a lot like ski racing but on rollerblades. There are various degrees of tracks with many world cup events being fast and technical.




 

 

 

 


 

Event coordinators had a difficult time securing a suitable technical track in Barcelona this year and almost canceled the competition. Luckily, they were able to secure a road last minute on Montjuic, near the Olympic Stadium and other Roller Games events. The track, however, was short, running only about 800 meters or 0.497 miles long with just a few turns and no braking required.

Click here to check out the video of the course to get a preview of the track.

The start began with a slight uphill push to a mellow downhill to a slight S turn to the finish and steepest part of the course. This did not open up many opportunities for passing, making the start the most critical portion of the race.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gabe chose to use the Rollerblade® Twister Edge 3WD 110 which accelerates fast and has great roll speed and maneuverability.

For more ski cross training click here to check out the Rollerblade® Skate to Ski Program.


 

Article by Gabe Holm.  Gabe is a skater from Boston, Massachusetts who holds the world record for fastest speed skating into a downhill. 132.19 km/h 82.13 mph recorded at the L’Ultime Descente – Top Speed Challenge Event in Quebec Canada in 2017. Gabe used the Rollerblade® Twister Edge Boots and Twincam ILQ-9 Pro Bearings to achieve those speeds.

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