Selección Colombia-Pastas la Muñeca is the team to beat. I really do not know what happened in Italy 2000 but it could have started back in1999 with the birth of a new world club competitor of RollerSports in the world. This August 17th all the way to the 25th we will have the opportunity to see which club dares to walk away with 12 gold medals.
Outdoor speed skating, the recognized international standard, is categorized into road and track racing. Road race courses usually take the form of an irregular closed loop with no bank on either side, or an actual stretch of closed road. These courses require constant power, with little or no opportunity to coast, so endurance is a key factor in success. Track races, however, are on a closed, oval course usually measuring 200 meters and featuring banked sides. 
Inline skates have a permanent home in speed skating events throughout the country. Not only are they popular among recreational skaters, the design's dominance over traditional quad skates in speed skating competitions has prompted clubs to create separate divisions recognizing its impact on the sport and also successfully lobbied the Federation Internationale de Roller Sports to permit inline skates in international competition. Inline skates made their debut at the 1992 World Speed Championships and quads have since disappeared from the event.
The scoop written was that the Italian, Spanish, Belgian, Portuguese and Slovenian national teams, as well as a host of European domestic teams all showed up to give Great Britain a run for their money but with the second largest team there, they were to be no push over. Who is to give Colombia a run for its money?
We wait and see. Colombia the team to beat has its club Selección Colombia-Pastas la Muñeca.
The racing started on Saturday morning with the 200 metre sprints.
With 75 entrants, British skaters Ben fought hard to get 12th overall.
The women skaters did not fare as well due to the immense competition and the slippery conditions but skaters put on brave faces and did not give in.
In the 5000 metre points race Britain raced well to gain an impressive 16th place.
Being disqualified for a mistake a skater will not forget. However, there is no time for mistakes. finishing ninth after a fierce battle in the 1500 metres event is not expected.
Keep an eye on the competition. I surely hope to have it repeat again in 2007 , NOT. The underdog will keep its bone.
Saturday ended after nearly 19 hours with a group of tired skaters, all of whom had to be fresh the next morning for the final and most gruelling race, the 8000m elimination. 
All skaters worked well in this event but all credit went again to Chris Stafford who finished sixth overall after working with the Italian national team.Stafford had nearly been disqualified in the heats after a mistake by a judge left his place in the final in jeopardy, but justice prevailed and his position was safe. This was one of the most impressive races and all were left in an awasome display of where did these guys come from and when did they start and why me? Assistant managers doing their share to keep their heads.
Briggitte Méndez, Liana Holguín, Berenice Moreno and Alexandra Vivas...
