Rollers on the city tracks

BRUSSELS Rollers on the city tracks About 2,500 riders, last night, at the start of the very first parade BRUSSELS — He is not wearing skates but insisted on giving the start of the very first Brussels Rollers Parade. It is almost 9 p.m. this Friday when, at the foot of the Palais de Justice on Place Poelaert, Mayor Thielemans waves the banner of the City of Brussels and releases some 600 in-line fans into the streets of the capital. They will quickly grow to 2,500 along the route. The procession is flanked by ten rollercops from the zone as well as about thirty guides. The whole troupe will head towards Louise, la Cambre, Roosevelt, Boondael, returning to Porte de Namur then, after the break, Botanique, Rogier, De Brouckère, and Halles Saint-Géry (19 km in total). Among the riders, last night, Jacques, a 51-year-old Dutchman with a trendy look: sweatshirt, loose multi-pocket shorts, stylized glasses... "I came to Brussels because I find this event to be grand," he explains. "I won't come every Friday because I work, but I wanted to be present for the first one. I've been skating for 4 years because I feel this sport is less boring than cycling." Mom Frédérique, dad Philippe, and uncle Denis came with the children Delphine, Thomas, and Loïc. The adults will skate, the younger ones will follow on two wheels. "I've been doing it since I was very little," says Denis, who has put on collectors, 15-year-old skates. "I always wanted to participate in the Lille parade. In vain. But here, the parade came to me. We don't know if we'll come back. So we're first going to see if the route isn't too dangerous..." Not far from the small family, Stéphane, Pascal, and Guillaume, members of the Paris Roller Brigade. The latter has existed since 1998 and supervises the famous tours organized in the City of Light. He is surprised that in Paris, "it was associations that launched the parade. In Brussels, it's the authorities who decided to trigger a popular movement. It's not a bad thing..." The organizer of this "family" outing, Carl de Moncharline, is already talking about a success: "The first achievement is simply having been able to organize this event. We invite people to practice their sport in complete safety and we raise awareness in others..." Karim Fadoul The Brussels Rollers Parade, every Friday (weather permitting) until August 30, 2002. Info: www.brusselsrollers.com Photo caption: The streets of Brussels were invaded this Friday evening by 2,500 roller skating enthusiasts. This will be the case every week. (BAUWERAERTS)