Stafford Lake CX Nov 4, 2013 Categories: Cyclocross, Photo 0 Comment Yesterday the team headed to Stafford Lake for the third stop of the NorCalCX series. Murphy puts on a tuff race and this one was no different. Brandon was out for the race, and sent us some details from the Men’s As geared and SSCX event. This course has seen rain by this time of year in events past, but this one was bone dry. Murphy likes obstacles, so this time around he had a snake of hay bales in a section and each lap they were rearranged so you could not take the same line twice. By the end, racers were trying to hop them. Walton got on the podium in the Elite Men’s As with a 3rd place finish. Next weekend is the night race at Sierra Point. Come out! It is one of the best races of the Bay Area season.
CHAS CHRISTIANSEN FOR CINELLI Oct 30, 2013 Categories: Cinelli, Video 0 Comment Chas recently drew up some cycling caps with Cinelli. Enclosed is an interview with him that includes some insight into working on special projects with the legendary brand. Pick one up HERE while they last!
HALLOWEEN SF Oct 28, 2013 Categories: alleycat 0 Comment This Thursday evening spend your Halloween on the bike. First come celebrate the new TCB office. Then head out to the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park by 9pm for a Pumpkincat street race hosted by Shapiro. Will be good. Bring a lock and some cash for food or booze. Costume mandatory!
RED HOOK CRITERIUM MILANO 2013 Oct 15, 2013 Categories: Cinelli, Photo, Redhook Crit 0 Comment As the 2013 Red Hook Criterium series draws to a close, we are back on the ground in California, back to work and school. Before offering a recap of Milano, I would like to share the journey that led up to the last stage of the series. In 2013 the RHC doubled in size, adding a second race in New York, and for the first time the series traveled to Barcelona. Early in the season, I committed to the team that I would find a way to get them to all four events if they could afford to take time away from work and school to see the series through. As many of our readers already know, we are a very small brand, so planning an international racing campaign is not something we have produced in this depth before. With one foot in front of the other, we embarked on this journey. In the Red Hook opener, Walton placed himself on the podium in 3rd place. Then it was Kyle taking 2nd in Brooklyn, and Rainier with a 3rd place finish in Barcelona. They illustrated that the entire team is strong enough to be a force in this series, with Chas working for the group, making these podiums possible. Going into these races you have a team strategy and hope to adhere to it. However, there are other variables that can change the direction while in the field. Crashes, mechanicals, illness, and training conflicts due to job and school obligations have all shown face this season. Throughout, team members step up, and collectively get the team on the podium. This alone is remarkable. If we sought out athletes outside of our group of friends, outside of San Francisco, and bought a dream team, that path would be “easy”. The fact that our friends rose to the challenge of being some of the top racers in this new arena is astonishing in its own right. Going into Milano, Kyle was in second position for the series, having finished all three races strong with podiums in both Brooklyn and Barcelona. Only a few points separated his brother Evan who sat in 3rd. Going into the first race, you have a decent grasp of who the top five can be. The geography reflects who registers for these events. Americans have over 50% of the slots within the races in the states. Barcelona was well represented with racers from all over Europe. While Milano hosted the majority on their home turf. By traveling to all of the races, you see many of the same top field, as well as a few wild cards in each city. This is an incredibly small world in the big picture and throughout each event you stoke old friendships and make new ones at every stop. Kyle and Evan went into the last race in the series as brothers and number 2 and 3 for the series. Street bikes Walton was well represented in the pits. Evan might have his Halloween costume locked down. This course was less technical then past races, so many riders had the chance to gear up. It was a cold, wet week and racers prepared for the chance of rain on this night. The storm from the night before knocked out power to large sections of street lights that would have allowed for a well-lit lap. It would quickly become a problem, with a solution born from the first Red Hook events ever raced. With four groups of qualifiers, three were raced in daylight. As night fell, the apparent problems became more present. The entire back section was pitch black, and with the outage, the timer would not kick the lights on until after the race was finished. The last group qualifier was delayed first by the power outage, then again with a crash. By lining the back section with car headlights, the race would go on as planned. Our team had a difficult time setting a fast lap time, resulting in row four and five grid positions for the main event. David led out a neutral lap, looping riders through the now car-lit sections. Then it was time to line up. One generation rings in the next. Hard left in the dark Just like in the original Red Hook events, spectators were called up to light the course with car lights. This made for back-lit corners, long shadows, and dark straightaways. Rainier coming through the chicane. He landed in Milano with a ruff cold/cough and was not able to shake it by race day. With his second place finish at the 2012 RHC Milano, Eduard Groso wanted this victory in Italy. His wish came true. He is the U23 national champion for Romania, and was able to out-sprint Evan and Neil, who rounded out the podium on this night. Our hats are off to these guys who showed an incredible effort in this series. We are honored to race along side you. Walton walking in to congratulate the race winners after he snapped his chain while sitting 7th wheel at lap 11. Antonio from Cinelli and Columbus is a catalyst for these types of events to grow, and to believe in unique projects like ours. We are grateful this community has many incubators who have listened to riders, and racers, and helped shape what we all share today. In the end, the guys brought the team championship award home to San Francisco. This moment meant a great deal to the racers, and those behind the scenes who made this travel series possible. Same plan, different country. Where’s the party? It was really important see these guys wind down after a fruitful series. It was somewhat bittersweet celebrating without Chas, who was not able to make it to the final event. He was dearly missed. None of this would have been possible without the friends who support this team around the world. When you align your passion in cycling with what we strive for as a team and a brand, it makes these opportunities possible. We thank our friends for the years of supporting the shop, wearing a jersey, supporting the bikes we make with Cinelli, and ultimately hyping our small team to want to make you proud. You continue to breathe fresh air into us. To want to create within the sport, to organize events, to create photo and video stories, and to share these global streets together. We are also grateful to brands that we admire, that understand our passion, and help keep the riders fast, and safe with the most cutting-edge materials needed to perform at this level. We thank Cinelli, Giro, Continental, Oakley, San Marco, and Clif for sharing this vision. Now back to the 2013/2014 cyclocross season with this energy. See you at the races! MM
RHC MILANO ESSAY FROM Marco Cremascoli Oct 14, 2013 Categories: News, Photo, Redhook Crit 0 Comment As the Red Hook Criterium season has come to a close, we will have several updates once we are back on the ground in San Francisco. This photo set comes from Marco Cremascoli who shot this crunchy sequence on the near-blackout course.
CINELLI AND COLUMBUS DETAILS 2013 Oct 11, 2013 Categories: Cinelli, Photo, Redhook Crit 0 Comment While in Milano for the 2013 Red Hook Criterium, we were able to spend an early morning exploring the facilities of Columbus and Cinelli. This is the third time visiting the factory, each time sharing some details of what I enjoy finding while set loose in their domain. When you are onsite, you instantly understand how the past, and the future, of the brands share the space. The people, and their passion for cycling, is what gives these brands heart and craft. The moments enclosed reflect what inspiration surrounds them daily.
SAN JOSE COUGAR Oct 8, 2013 Categories: Cyclocross 0 Comment Last weekend the team traveled to the San Jose Cougar. With temperatures reaching 90 degrees, the guys were in for another hot, dry one. John Reiss was on location, and sent us some of his film selects. Check his full set HERE. You can also find more details and notes from Derek Yarra and Ted Ketai.
RHC MILANO 2012 Oct 6, 2013 Categories: Cinelli, Photo, Redhook Crit 0 Comment Our friend Brandon was visiting Milano during last year’s Red Hook Crit, and just sent me a stack of unpublished images from the event. Nice to see some fresh stoke content before getting on a plane to do it all again!