No Brakes in Brooklyn: Red Hook Crit

Track bike criterium racing (or fixed gear crits) is essentially a dangerous niche within a dangerous niche. Start with road racing. Take away the long mountain climbs and huge point-to-point distances and stick the action on a tight twisty mile long circuit and you get a criterium race. Then take away the bike’s ability to coast or change gears and remove the brakes. Now you have a fixed gear crit. In essence, it is a paring down of pared-down form of bike racing. Today these races happen all around the world with thousands of fans and a few hundred elite riders scraping together sponsors and support for a chance to compete at the big show. That show is the Red Hook Crit series.

To understand how this race became the world wide phenomenon that it is (with stops in Brooklyn, Milan, Barcelona, and London) we have to talk about the man behind it and go back to the summer of 2007. Around that time, David Trimble had burst onto the alleycat racing scene in NYC. Alleycats were essentially messenger-style street races through open traffic with no set route or rules. The fastest person to all the checkpoints was the winner. It was dangerous, simple, and thrilling and Dave was good at it. After several podium finishes and a few wins though, he became frustrated. He would often come to the finish neck and neck with a competitor only to have the organizer award the top step to his rival because alleycats had no formal finish line and close finishes generally went to whoever was better friends with the organizer. Now if you ask Dave about the history and origin of the Red Hook Crit, he will likely tell you that the idea was born out of wanting to get all his friends together for a birthday party, because throwing a race was his only way to get everyone to show up. I don’t doubt that there is some truth to that, but I suspect his frustration with street racing as it existed at the time played a big role in shaping the first Red Hook Crit in 2008.

The formula for the race was simple. A defined short circuit, fixed gear bikes, a set number of laps, and a finish line. The streets were not closed to traffic, but to minimize risk, the race was held late at night in a sleepy neighborhood of Red Hook. In 2010 a race was organized in Milan, Italy where one of the main sponsors of the event, Cinelli, was located. In 2011, the race moved onto a closed circuit due to its growing popularity amongst racers, as well as the community. It was no longer feasible to have a race on open streets in Brooklyn and not have the police get involved. 2013 saw the addition of a race in Barcelona. But the biggest milestone came in 2014 when the event finally added a women’s race.

“Track bike criterium racing (or fixed gear crits) is essentially a dangerous niche within a dangerous niche.”

Up to that point, the women with the skills and desire to race had to line up with the men which they did to incredible success. The very first race in 2008 was won by Kacey Manderfield, who became a constant top ten contender for years against the men. Her success partially contributed to the combined field, as it was argued that since the women could compete and win, a separate race was not needed. But eventually, the overwhelming interest and complaints forced the organizers to add a separate women’s field.

Today the Red Hook Crit is a four race global series for both men and women as well as the teams that support them. Although its roots are firmly in bike racing, it draws a great deal of influence from motor sport where many of the event’s unique aspects come from. For instance, the qualifying procedure where riders compete to post the fastest lap earlier in the day to secure the best possible spot on the start grid is something Formula 1 fans are very familiar with. One could also argue that the extreme equipment restrictions (fixed gear, no brakes, etc) of the race are akin to similar rules in motor sport that aim to eliminate equipment based advantages and pit the racers against each other on an equal footing.

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These mechanical restrictions are of course not without risk or controversy. With popularity comes attention, and recently the series has had to deal with accusations that it is needlessly dangerous to force riders onto bikes that don’t coast or have traditional caliper brakes. Feel free to google crash footage from this year’s men’s final for example. While grizzly, the crash is no different from many that happen constantly within traditional road racing. Riding a bike at 30mph, inches from a hundred competitors, while at the same time fighting for space and position is risky stuff regardless of the bike you’re on.

It was unfortunate to me that the crashes were the focus of the media frenzy this year. I personally thought the men’s and women’s races were exceptional shows of athletic prowess, tactics, and skill. So I was sad to see them take a backseat to the overhyped crash in the men’s race. That race was won by Colin Strickland, who featured in the top ten as far back as 2012. His win combined precise timing and team work to see him get away from the field so early and hold on to take a commanding win. In the women’s race, Ainara Elbusto Arteaga (a professional racer from Spain), completely dominated the field. Winning both the first lap and halfway prime, then calmly patrolling the front of the race as she set herself up for the final sprint, which she handily won.

Both of these exciting victories were witnessed by thousands of fans at the race. The athletes were rewarded with cash, custom jerseys, helmets, and bikes. But more importantly, thousands of photos, videos, and articles went out to the whole world about what they did on their bikes that evening in Brooklyn. And that is truly the thing that drives this beast. A pro-racer can win the biggest crit in America, and they will be lucky for a few words or a single photo on Velonews.com. But winning a Red Hook Crit means that thousands of fans all over the world will know you. And while I don’t think that this is what athletes are out there racing for, it’s certainly a perk that you can’t find at any other race.