The Red Hook Crit: Milano 2018
8.30 in the evening and we’re in the middle of the road. We’re waiting for the cyclists. The fans are noisy. The Women’s Final is about to begin. At the end of the road we can see the first riders. Yes, they’re arriving. The speaker asks for even more noise. One second and it’s getting louder and louder.
The cyclists are in front of us and I, we, start taking photos about the contestants. I’m excited for this moment and I can’t imagine the feelings inside these girls. But I can see their faces.
They are really excited and a little bit embarrassed. In that moment they’re like celebrities. All these fans are here for them and the attentions of us photographers are just for them.
But this is the beginning of the end. And so we rewind.
10.30 in the morning, Saturday 6th October 2018. I get out from the Bovisa’s train station, Italy, and I can just see a part of the track. Today is the day of the Red Hook Crit 2018.
A criterium cycle race: the cyclists compete in a race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit. In that case the length of one lap is 1,200 mt. A short but technical track with several curves and a hairpin bend. You need really good skills: the ability to corner smoothly as well as rapidly, riding safely within a large group of cyclists, ability to sprint several time during the race and others.
But the really particularity of this race is that the riders use brakeless fixed-gear bicycles. Crazy as hell!!!
So, the Red Hook competition comes to Italy for the ninth time since 2010. The race is held in other 2 European cities too: London and Barcelona. But the original and oldest race is the Brooklyn one which has been held annually since 2008.
And who is the creator behind this event? Easy, Mr. David Trimble. The idea was born when he wanted to celebrate his 25th birthday with his friends. And like a normal person he organized a fixed-gear bike race in Brooklyn’s Red Hook district. What a man!
By the way, it’s very early for the event. At 11.30 all riders, women and men, get down on the track for the warm-up. The wait is long so I decide to spend some time along the track finding great spots where I’ll try to take nice pics of the races.
The first race starts in the afternoon around 1.30 for the men’s heat 1. So I have a lot of time and I walk around the teams’ stand. The first thing that I noticed is the simplicity of the people. I don’t mean just the fan and curios but I mean the simplicity of the riders. They’re normal people with an amazing passion for the bike. They’re people that love this race and they’ve trained a lot to look good. Someone of them to try to win this competition!
After a while, for the first time in the day, I’m on the track taking photos about the riders. And I continue to notice the easiness about these guys. A lot of guys want to participate to this event. Guys of every ages. Principally, Mr. Claudio Campi, the 62-year old Italian who show us that the desire to have fun is ageless. I don’t know what is his position at the end of the day but in every case he deserves cheering. He could say “I was at Red Hook Crit as a rider”. Wow!
The drizzling doesn’t scare anybody and so the wet road creates some falls. The day flows quickly with 3 other men’s heats and 2 women’s heats. Then, after 2 hours of break where riders and fans eat different kind of food and drink beer from the food tracks, we’re once again on the track.
8.30 in the evening and we go back at the beginning of this article. There are fans everywhere along the tracks. The finish line seems an erupting volcano. The Red Hook’s cowbells ring hard. The fans clap their hands on the billboards attached to the barriers. The women’s final is started. After the first 10 laps there’s the first sprint. The girls are really strong. At the end the winner is Rachele Barbieri. She wins this race and Raphaele Lemieux the whole competition.
After the women is the time for the men’s final. The challenge is between Justin Williams and Filippo Fortin for the best sprinter; especially after Justin’s interview from the day before. No Italians have ever won before, here in Milan; so that’s a great opportunity for all Italian riders. This race could be full of surprises.
A bell rings to announce to the riders the last lap. And at the end? Yes, it happened! Filippo Fortin wins the Red Hook Criterium Milano. The first Italian ever. But furthermore, Filippo Fortin wins the whole competition. A great day for the Italian riders and the whole movement.
The Red Hook Criterium is really a giant competition. I’ve never seen something like this. And I’m already waiting for the new season.
After the awards, riders and fans walk away together! Go to the post race party! The competition is finished but in the air the cowbells continue to ring!
Behind camera & words: me
