Red Hook Criterium_Brooklyn_5.17.18

This past May I volunteered at the RHC. I was a supporting member of the installment crew and helped setup the race course on morning of the event. I was able to capture the day in between lifting heavy hay bails and pinning up the score board.

It was the first fixed criterium I ever attended. And after talking to the athletes, their support teams, and other esteemed followers of the sport it became apparent that this would not by my last.

Shared below are the teams, athletes, moments in-between, and certain realizations I had about the sport that will forever impact the way I consider cycling as a whole.

Many athletes choose to express their lack of fear of commitment through their tattoos.

Tattoos also serve as creative reminder for some.

Pedal forward: roll forward

Pedal backward: roll backward
(but no one does that)

A bike with one gear declutters the machine tremendously saving the athlete a lot of mental energy from having to constantly cycle through gears. This unique feature of the sport makes the odds of a mechanical malfunction unlikely, but not impossible.

Not having any gears makes the single gear an ideal bike for a flatter terrain. They are similar in design to a track bike, with the main difference being that the rear wheel on a track bike is usually completely aerodynamic, meaning that no air can pass through it.

City bike messengers recognized the efficiency of only having one gear on a bike and soon made it their main mode of transportation.

Another reason why this race is so unique is because it welcomes all riders, from professional athletes to hustling city messengers, that feel they have a shot at the podium. A bike the cost $500 has an equal chance at claiming gold in this event as a bike equipped with wheels that alone cost $2,000. This is what makes this sport so amazing. The playing field is virtually flat, just like the race course.

It all comes down to the sheer amount of work an athlete puts into their training and the amount of love every contestant has for the sport. Athletes are put under extreme pressure to prove their love in the hopes that they can walk away saying their love was able to withstand the most.

Athlete

Colin Hansel
IG: @rodeobird

This is Rita, ben’s sister.

I had the pleasure of meeting Rita as she stood waiting outside the stadium. I was admiring the bar tape of her bike and asked if she was racing today. She replied “No. This is Ben’s bike.” with a smile.

We began speaking about Ben and his chances in today’s race. She spoke briefly about Ben’s training plan and how he’s overcome so much.

After a few minutes of talking Rita disclosed that Ben is deaf.

Meet Ben

Ben is a deaf athlete.

I asked Rita more about Ben’s past and how he got involved with crit racing. Ben was born deaf and grew up in France biking everywhere.

He fell in love with the feel of the road and the vibrations of the bike in his palms. Rita told me what Ben loves the most about racing is the competition and the rush of he gets from being in a tight pack of riders with the thought lingering in the back of his mind “no one here knows I can’t hear them.”

She said that Ben has to be careful on certain turns when he is racing because other riders can creep up on his side without him knowing it and force him off the course.

Ben has learned to hold his turns and stay ahead of the pack by retaliating with his light weight speed. Nothing can stop this man.