Club news - 25/10/5
London 4 hour distance rollerski

Race photo gallery


Saturday 22nd October saw an international crowd gather for the London Region Nordic Ski Club's second 4 hour distance challenge. Over 40 competitors took place from as far afield as Denmark, Scotland, France, Greece, Russia and Australia.

Winner was Viking invader Sune Tomson of the Danish Ski Team who completed 76 laps of Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, racking up over 120km. Not far behind were 3 British Olympians - Hugh Pritchard, Mike Dixon and Patrick Winterton, showing they have lost none of their biathlon and cross-country ski racing instincts.

The race was very much a struggle to survive the gruelling monotony of going round and round for four hours. A good support team helped athletes with water and food, and a dinner was enjoyed afterwards.

The event was well supported by the military, with Bjorn Sprake and David Lamb of the British Army putting in very respectable performances in their rollerski racing debuts. Fiona Crossley took yet another womens honour, completing a good 52 laps. Effie Anagnostopoulos put in a teriffic performance, completing 43 laps on slow Marwe 610 training skis. Dom Luck and Amanda Cox, rollerski novices in 2005, showed determination to the end, completing 38 and 29 laps also on Marwe 610s. Alan Shepard from Manchester put in an impressive performance, covering 83km and showing how a winter of ski marathon racing helps with rollerskiing.

Among the racers Peter Bush and Armel Grimault were two of several classic rollerskiers. Both were practicing for the 2006 Vasaloppet and covered 38 and 25 laps respectively.

At the other end of the scale, Peter Merriman completed 2 laps in the 4 hours, at an average speed of 0.8 km per hour (although this might be accounted for by him also officiating in the race!)

FACTS & FIGURES

Longest individual distance - 121.6km

Fastest individual speed - 30.4km/hour

Total distance travelled by all competitors - 2,539.2km

Total number of laps rollerskied - 1,587

Nationalities - 8 - British (English, Scottish, Northern Irish), Australian, French, Danish, Russian, South African, Greek, American

 

Results - provided to rollerski.co.uk by the London Region Nordic Ski Club

  Name Club Laps Dist (km)
1 Sune Tomson Denmark 76 121.6
2 Hugh Pritchard LRNSC 72 115.2
3 Mike Dixon CBNSC 72 115.2
4 Patrick Winterton Yorkshire Dales 71 113.6
5 Iain Ballentine LRNSC 71 113.6
6 Peter Kuznetsov LRNSC / Russia 71 113.6
7 Alan Eason LRNSC 67 107.2
8 Gerard Evans LRNSC 63 100.8
9 Adam Pinney LRNSC 60 96
10 Chris Richards LRNSC 60 96
11 Bjorn Sprake Army 58 92.8
12 Alan Sheperd Manchester 52 83.2
13 David Lamb Army 50 80
14 Christian Wulff Denmark 46 73.6
15 Dominic Luck LRNSC 38 60.8
16 Peter Bush   38 60.8
17 David Stanton   38 60.8
18 John Saunders LRNSC 37 59.2
19 Mike Smith Lakeland 36 57.6
20 Armel Grimault France 25 40
21 Richard McKay LRNSC 25 40
22 Stuart Montgomery LRNSC 25 40
23 Gerard Ollier LRNSC 25 40
24 Jannaick Lund Denmark 17 27.2
25 Ian Pilling LRNSC 15 24
26 Charles Hicks LRNSC 15 24
27 Ian Knight LRNSC 10 16
28 Steve Willson LRNSC 8 12.8
29 Paddy Field LRNSC 5 8
30 Peter Merriman LRNSC 2 3.2
  TOTAL   1248 1996.8
         
1 Fiona Crossley Yorkshire Dales 52 83.2
2 Irene Chawko LRNSC 50 80
3 Effie Anagnostopoulos Greece 43 68.8
4 Lucy Ryan   36 57.6
5 Amanda Cox LRNSC 29 57.6
6 Mary Wray LRNSC 28 44.8
7 Catherine Malcolm LRNSC 27 46.4
8 Kath Joy LRNSC 22 44.8
9 Jane Leary LRNSC 18 28.8
10 Judy Trinnaman LRNSC 11 17.6
11 Heather Elliott Australia / LRNSC 9 14.4
12 Suzie Pilling LRNSC 6 9.6
13 Julie Merriman LRNSC 4 6.4
14 Laura Long LRNSC 3 4.8
15 Helen Smith Lakeland 1 1.6
  TOTAL   339 542.4
         
  GRAND TOTAL   1587 2539.2