“The living legend of our sport. » “The greatest roller skating champion of all time. » On the official website of the 24 Hours of Roller Skating, Chad Hedrick, 47, appears in full force with a shower of well-deserved compliments for all of his work on rollers and on ice.
The charismatic Texan, guest of honor at the 2024 edition, has pinned… 52 world titles to his belt. And as if that wasn’t enough, he won Olympic gold in ice speed skating, the culmination of a sensational career change.
On Saturday, around 4 p.m., Chad Hedrick will start a very open and popular race. “We will have around 3,000 participants and another 25 different countries represented, welcomes Christophe Audire, the boss of the event. Brazilians, Argentinians, a Colombian (leading nation of world roller skating) but also Japanese… »
But no dream team clearly identified. “One year, the Power Slide team and its ten world champions clearly came for the win and the record (916,500 km) which still holds. We won’t have the equivalent this year. » The competition will only be more beautiful and more open, the DNA “general public test” more relevant than ever.
Women’s record could fall
If the weather is kind all weekend (a few risks of showers…), an individual record could fall. Already a four-time winner of the event, Karine Urvoy has fine-tuned her preparation and her equipment to attempt a new kilometer reference on the double clock tour of the Bugatti. In the women’s solo, the reference is 565 km. More or less, a Grenoble-Paris on wheels!
“Le Mans” type departure.Roller skaters on one side, athletes in socks on the other. To not miss anything of the “Le Mans” style start of the 24 hours of roller skating, a live will be visible around 3:40 p.m. on the official website and on Facebook. Throughout the weekend, videos and photos will also be published.
