Tanja started doing triathlon when she was 11-years old. “I did that for about 16 years. The first seven years of triathlon were like a hobby. It got serious when I started working, but I injured my right leg, so I couldn’t run anymore. I tried for two years, but it didn’t improve,” Tanja explains switching sports.

Erath was doing triathlons at a high level. She participated in the IRONMAN 70.3 age group World Championship in 2015, but was already injured by then. “I came off the bike in 5^th place, but lost like 40 places during the running.”

In September last year Tanja tried riding a fixed gear bike for the first time. “Two weeks later I did my first fixed crit in Rijswijk, and I finished in second place”.

Because of her history in sports Tanja wasn’t new to training. “The biggest difference is that I now only swim a couple of times during the winter and ride my bike the rest of the time.” Erath has a coach who makes her training schedule. “I always think the more I train the better I get. So I need someone to tell me what to do, otherwise I train too much. I’m not really into sport science.”

Tanja still works with the same coach as she did during her triathlon days. “My trainer Utz Brenner is a triathlon coach. So we are finding out what works on the fly, but it goes quite well, I think.” This past winter Tanja worked on her base condition doing some endurance work, and strength training in the gym. As the season comes closer she does more and more race specific training. “I do lots of 6 second max sprints followed by 2 minutes of keeping a high pace.”

Even though Tanja works over 40 hours a week she does the same amount of training as she did when she was in school. “I still train about 12 to 15 hours, spread out over six days. But now I have to train after work.” As the season progresses Erath replaces here strength training in the gym with strength training on the bike. “I’ll do some heavy gear low cadence exercises.”

She also does some endurance work. “In the weekend I do long rides, 4-5 hours. For fixed gear crits it’s not that important, if you have good base. That’s the thing I like about fixed gear racing: you don’t need to train that much, it’s easier to combine with work or school.”

Tanja trains with a power meter, but never uses one during a race. “Workouts are more complicated. You not only train for pleasure but also for the watts. I like the scientific part, the numbers and stuff. But during a race I never use it, I like to race on instinct rather than on the watts. I think I can do more in a race than during training. Maybe it’s the adrenaline. I don’t know.”

Even though having a strong season so far, Tanja stays modest in her ambitions. “My ambitions for this year? To have fun!” She thinks she chose the right sport to do so. The fixed gear scene is totally different from the triathlon scene. In triathlon everyone is really serious. They go to bed early and they never drink a beer. Fixed gear riders are much more outgoing. It’s much more fun.”

Tanja participated in the German road race championships this year in the elite-women category. She finished 21^st in both the road race and the time trail. Asked if she has ambitions turning pro, she says: “Maybe, I don’t know if I have the level. But for now, I do not have the time to train as much as needed because of my work. I’ll get my medicine degree in November, so I’ll decide then if I’ll give it a try”.

“The Car Park Cannon Ball is a new and out-of-the-ordinary series of urban cycling events. Riders will be racing up all levels of a carpark. Once they cross the finish line on the top floor, the party starts with live DJ, craft beer and street food.  Participants will be racing in different categories: geared and fixed gear, men and women. There’s a 90-minute qualification session first (multiple attempts allowed), and separate shoot-out finals determine the Car Park Cannon Ball Kings and Queens. Riders can challenge pro riders Maurits Lammerink and Marco Mathis of Team Katusha Alpecin and the best fixed gear riders in the NL crit en Red Hook crit series!” The event in a couple of sentences according to Daan.

Regarding the circuit in Eindhoven “The Eindhoven track is a super short,  fast and furious. We start with a 30m +10% ramp, followed by a 440m track (avg gradient 3.7%) with only 4 corners. Just to get ready for the  heavy duty circuit in Maastricht!”

Why did you involve fixed gear racing in the event?
We want to make the cycling experience not only attractive for the riders but also accessible and entertaining for the fans. Most of us live in town and we want to bring the racing action closer to our homes. Fixed gear racing does exactly that and we feel this is a concept that has a great future. With Car Park Cannon Ball we wanted to make it even more accessible and also mingle the fixed gear with the more traditional “geared” riders and introduce them to the beauty of fixed gear racing too.

What is you opinion on fixed gear crit racing in general and how do you see fixed gear crit racing in cycling as a whole?
It’s fast, it’s spectacular, it’s tough, it’s tactical, it’s technical. So it has all ingredients that make cycling heroic. Yet it’s short and constantly entertaining for spectators. Fixed gear crit racing is a true and integral part of the cycling sport, and it has a vibrant, urban sub-culture. But it’s also part of a lifestyle that all of us, cyclists, recognize and live on a daily basis. So the experience, both as a rider and as a spectator, close to us and it’s easy to engage in the action of the moment. We feel that that fixed gear crit racing has a very bright future in cycling. And while we honor the past, we also embrace the future!

About à Bloc, the beer company behind the series, Daan adds “à BLOC is more than just a beer. The goal of à BLOC is to unite cyclists around the world and celebrate the beauty of cycling. We believe that performances and challenging each other are some of life’s greatest experiences. We ride hard, but we wait on the top of the climb to return together. So we can share our stories in good company. And with a great beer! With the Car Park Cannon Ball series, we’ve created a spectacular yet accessible cycling experience, combining bicycle racing in a closed down down-town car park, in a fun party atmosphere with live DJ, craft beer and street food. The racers are centrepiece of a great night out, but it’s hard to tell who is enjoying the effort more, the riders or the spectators!”

Other events and future ambitions?
In 2017: we have Maastricht (NL) on the agenda on 21 October (MECC Parking – during Euro Cycle XP), and Christchurch (NZ) on 26 November Christchurch (NZ) (check out the schedule at www.carparkcannonball.cc)

and for 2018 we have Canberra (Australia), Amsterdam, London, Girona and Brussels that we’re adding to the list. And we’ll be back in Eindhoven and Maastricht of course!

Other info people should know?

• Bring friends and family and show them what racing is all about in a very entertaining setting. Make sure they register as guest so they can win à BLOC Beer and Katusha gear!
• We’ll have 2 world tour pros (Maurits Lammertink and Marco Mathis) amongst us and some of the best fixed gear riders registered
• Bring some warm clothes for the afterparty!

To register for the Car Park Cannon Ball click here.
PS. to get €5 discount on registration enter the code “ILMAGISTRALE” provided by our friends from Espresso Magistrale.

Giorgio on how he got into the sport. “This crit comes from the strong passion for cycling in general. In 2016, Giorgio was still a cyclist of the Elite category and participated in his first fixed-gear event at “Criterium dei Ponti” in Pogliano Milanese. It was love at first sight! He had an accident during qualifying round of Red Hook n.7 of Milan but did not stop … Adrenaline, the fans, screaming people, the big family of the fixed-gear world soon became involved, so much so that he started with Selene the great project of “Rhevo Cycling Project srl”, which was born within the Politecnic of Turin.”

“The idea of organizing this great event in Turin came after the tragic death of Michele Scarponi and Nicky Hayden. We realized that it was right to hear the voice of cyclists riding the Italian roads every day. With the #godsavethecyclists Criterium we want to make everyone understand that cycling is also fun if you follow the right safety rules. Turin was among the first Italian cities to welcome fixed gear bike lovers and we want to give our city a Criterium for everyone.”

“The event is divided into three parts: We will start with the kids, educating them to pedal safely, teaching them all the rules to be observed and things to remember when riding on a bicycle, helmet, flashing lights, bell and reflectors. This will also be useful for adults who often forget the basic principles to keep in the street. There will be a part of debate held by some friends who have joined us in this project and who will be able to answer any question on the bicycle, so we can compare how to improve the situation. There will be a fun and exciting part, the Criterium for fixed-gear bikes. The public will spend a beautiful day dedicated to cycling in all its forms, education, information and entertainment. Combining the theme of road safety for cyclists, education for children, a conference on the safety of cyclists, and finally the crazy world of fixed-gear bikes is definitely a challenge and an important stimulus, but we are ready for it!”

On the question how dangerous it is for a cyclist in Italy, “being a cyclist in Italy is as dangerous as going to war and is demonstrated by the over 250 deadly accidents recorded in 2015 and every 35 hours there is an accident wherein a cyclist’s life is at risk. Italian drivers are very unruly and disrespectful.  By now the common place has been created where the cyclist seems to be a traffic jam and this is not good.  The bicycle paths of Turin are often occupied by parked cars, glass bottles, and other junk.  Cyclists should have the right to ride the roads freely without the fear of being hit by a car or anything else! It is necessary to make it clear that it takes discipline and cooperation also from cyclists to be able to create a situation safe for everyone. To make people understand the situation we have made a video which has the story of 4 cyclists who got hit by a car.”

Giorgio on what can be improved for cyclists, “the ideal would be to build a good network of bike paths, even on the suburb of the city, to enable cyclists to walk the busiest roads safely. It would also be helpful to educate people, starting with children, about using the bike as a means of transport. Too many people use their cars for short journeys, with serious pollution problems and urban mobility.

Although the crit is so much more than ‘just racing’ we of course still asked Giorgio for the course and format info on the race. “The circuit is 1250 meters long, within the Ruffini Park in Turin. It has 3 curves to the left, 2 curves to the right and 1 hairpin to the left, totally flat. There will be 2 qualifying heats in the men’s race both 12 laps. The men’s final will be 24 laps and the B final 15 laps, the same for the women’s final will be 15 laps.

Registration can be done here. For other info check the Facebook event.

Coming up to the last corner Viganò seemed in the perfect position to take the win in RHC BCN No.5. “I made a mistake in that last corner. I took it to wide. Van Eerd took the inside and beat me.” In London Davide was beaten by Filippo Fortin. In Barcelona he made sure that would not happen again. “Fortin always rides on my wheel. He is really fast in the sprint so he follows me around all the time. So this time I returned the favor making him close the gap on Van Eerd. I jumped out of his wheel just before the last corner”, Davide explains his tactics.

Viganò had some help from his teammate Ivan Ravioli in the beginning, but was isolated in the end. “Yes, I think it’s really important. Look at the tactics Aldo and Colin used last year. It’s useful. If you have four strong riders like Rocket Espresso-Specialized and play it smart, you can do what you want.”

According to Viganò the race course in Barcelona was slow. “Two hairpins and one long straight where we had headwind.” Davide said he liked the course but prefers a faster one. “I think the course in Milan suits me better. It’s really fast and has no hairpins. If you check the super pole on the technical courses, I’m always in the back. The others are really fast in the corners, they ride their bikes like Valentino Rossi.”

“With the last race in my home town Milan, I’m looking to put the cherry on top of the cake.”

To some people the win of David van Eerd came as a surprise, but not to Viganò. “He is always up there, I think he had some trouble with the wet conditions in London, but in Brooklyn and Barcelona he was really strong, so I knew he could win.”

Having just retired from pro-cycling and working in the Cinelli factory creative department, Davide aims to continue his fixed gear career next year. “This is my new hobby, I’m really happy at Cinelli and everything goes well together.”

80 fixed gear riders made their way to the circuit to compete divided over the men’s and women’s categories. The main race turned into a battle between the local squad “Moskovstyle” and Ukrainian Kiev based team “Yatagarasu.bikes”. As a result the podium was split between them.

In women’s category for the second time the 1st place was taken by Oksana Antonova. However, this year it was decided by a photo-finish. The 2nd and the 3rd places were taken by girls from Moscow and Kiev correspondingly.

Men’s race:
1. Eduard Lavrov – Russia / Moskovstyle
2. Maxim Reznichenko – Ukraine / Yatagarasu
3. Vladislav Yushko – Ukraine / Yatagarasu

Women’s race:
1. Oksana Antonova – Russia / Kazan
2. Victoria Vasilyeva – Russia / Moscow
3. Maria Kachalova – Ukraine / Yatagarasu

Who or what made you try fixed gear crits? And what was your first race?
My first was Red Hook Crit Milan in 2015. Luca Oscar (Bike Channel Team) literally threw me in it after insisting for the entire season, trying to convince me to race it when I was always resisting. I was actually about to stop racing entirely when I decided to give it a try.

Do you prefer technical courses where speed isn’t the main concern, or the opposite?
I prefer technical courses by far, those where you need to drive at stay focused. Anyone can race on a straight line. I believe races only get more spectacular when the technical level is increased.

Apart from the race what is the aspect you love the most about fixed gear criterium?
That there are not too any restrictions. And that you get to meet people from all over the world building friendships even if we get together only 4 times a year.

What is the most important component in a breakless fixed gear bike, in your opinion? Wheels, frame or what?
The head and the legs of who rides it.

Do you have any particular good luck ritual before a race?
Way too many, but I’ll tell you at the end of the season…bad luck if I tell you now! :))

Dead Cyclists Society
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“I know the Red Hook races for quite some time now. I used to do track racing when I was about 15 years old, and Stefan Vis (former Dutch sprint selection track and winner of RHC Barcelona No.1, ed.) was racing there as well. I always kept track on how he was doing,” Ten Dam explains on how he got to know the sport. “Eamon Lucas is a friend of mine. We used to train together when I was in California. I had no race this weekend, so me and my wife came to support him.”

Asked how he would do: “They go even faster than I imagined (…) I think climbers like George Bennet and I wouldn’t be in the front if we participated (…) the constant accelerating out of the corners would be too much. Look at Eamon: he’s a beast.”

Ten Dam sometimes talks about fixed gear racing with his teammates, but they don’t seem to get it. “Ramon Sinkeldam and I will soon do a race together. It’s a three-hour car ride, so I promised to explain it to him then; about the qualifications and the super pole.”

Does the Giant Sunweb rider see fixed gear crit racing as a true part of the cycling sport? “Yes, definitely. And this format is perfect. A pro-criterium lasts for two hours. That’s way too long. This is exciting from start to finish and after 40 minutes it’s done. I really like it.”

Is Ten Dam ever going to race a Red Hook Crit? “I have a Giant track bike, so I might try a NL Crit Series in the near future and see how it goes. Unfortunately the next one, 17 September, comes too quick.”

Italian Simone Toso (CEO) and American Wyatt Wees (Digital Marketing WingedStore SRL) founded Wingedstore.com together in October 2013. Up to today they both run the company. On the question why they picked Cinelli products Wyatt replies “Simone Toso began producing official merchandise for Cinelli and Columbus in 2009. In 2013, Simone brought me in to do some copywriting work. With an extensive background in Information Technology I saw an opportunity to create an innovate web platform that could make Cinelli products available to people from all over the world. Along with Simone’s knowledge of the brand and strong marketing background the team had all the components necessary for success.”

Today, Wingedstore is a company owned by Cinelli President Antonio Colombo. However, up until 2016 they were independent from Cinelli. “Since the beginning the growth has been strong, there really wasn’t anything quite like Wingedstore at the time of it’s debut and and people that are passionate about Cinelli immediately embraced the concept. Cinelli is truly unique in the cycling world with it’s history of innovation and design oriented products therefore a single point of reference to showcase the full range of bicycles, components, and merchandise was an immediate success. After several years of growth Cinelli President Antonio Colombo began to take notice of the savvy upstart company that was selling truckloads of Cinelli caps, shirts, and components on the internet. In 2016 Colombo acquired a majority stake in the company and turned Wingedstore into the Official Cinelli online store.”

Wyatt on the aims of Wingedstore, “In the 80s and 90s Cinelli owned and operated a series of cycling stores under the name ‘Gran Ciclismo’ based in Milan. These stores, originally conceived by Antonio Colombo, were revolutionary and a forerunner in what would eventually become high-end sports retail. The cutting edge ‘Concept Store’ format dedicated almost entirely to a single brand was unheard of at the time. Wingedstore is the evolution of this idea, a single point of reference in a truly expressive environment available for the world to experience. Wingedstore was initially dedicated to the Merchandise range but over the years but has progessed to encomass the entire Cinelli line including a brief time as the official store of the Red Hook Crit (2014/2015). Wingedstore.com is now the Official Cinelli Online Store that sells the entire product range including frames, components, merchandise, and even spare parts.”

On the future goals Wyatt is clear “To make Cinelli and Columbus available to the widest possibile audience. These are truly global brands and Wingedstore aims to make them available to any rider, anywhere on the planet.”

On bike caps “All of the caps are designed along side the Cinelli design team and produced locally in Italy. One of the first projects that we did as wingedstore.com was the Rider Collection series. The Rider Collection allowed riders to create their Cinelli cap design interpretation. Some of the highlights include: 1984 Track Gold medalist Nelson Vails, Lucas Brunelle, Chas Christiansen, and Alfred Bobè Jr. My personal top 3 cap designs that we had are Chas Christiansen, Red Hook Milano 2013, and Ana Benaroya Eye of the Storm.”

Our FGC cap design, by Sue van Gageldonk, is currently completely sold out but should become available in limited numbers soon on the Wingedstore shop and will also become available in our own webshop to be opened as of 2018!

“It’s a well known fact that the fixed gear community in Asia is huge, and every community has its own unique identity. However, there hasn’t been much opportunities for the different communities in the region to connect, and that’s something we’d like to change,” added Saeful Hakim, HolyCrit’s race director. “It’s always been our goal to connect the Southeast Asian fixed gear community and bring together to race and hangout. Our previous events have seen more diverse fields of riders taking part, and we hope to make more friends from the fixed gear from across the globe in Jakarta.” he added. Early bird prices for the race start at IDR$150,000 (US$11). Registration can be done online at indonesiafixedday.com and the crit is added to our Fixed Gear Crit Calendar

The B Final starts around 7pm, the A Final around 7.45pm, the Women’s Final around 8.30pm, and the Super Final will start around 9.15pm