Yesterday, the Rad Race Last Man Standing was held in Berlin. Over the years, the race grew into the fixed gear crit season opener of Europe. Riders from all over the continent, and even North-America, came together on the indoor kart track in Berlin to celebrate the start of the season and of course to do some serious racing. As the kart circuit is really technical, “being a top road crit racer does not mean anything on this track” like Ingo Engelhardt, race director puts it.
Text: Brian Megens
Photography: Jeroen van Zijp
In the women’s final it was clear that defending champion Francisca Campos, Carla Nafria, and Samantha Moreno (Sami) would battle for victory. The latter made a very strong impression during the heats and from start she was in pole position together with 8Bar teammate Carla Nafria with a small gap on Francisca Campos. Carla ruined her chances for victory by crashing in a hairpin. As the race developed the gap between Sami and Fransisco was closed. In the last lap it was unclear who would take the win especially after the strong come back of Francisca. In the end it was Sami crossing the finish line first but because there was no bell that announced the last lap neither of them was sure that the race had ended. After some debate it was announced that Sami was the legitimate winner as all time registrations were correct. Tamika Hingst from RAD PAK took a promising and surprising 3rd place.
In the men’s final race is was clear that Augusto Reati riding for Supernova, who won last two editions, was the man to beat although he had some troubles getting through the semi-final. Before the race everyone looked forward to the battle between Augusto and the American top rider, Addison Zawada representing State Bicycle Co. who made his debut in the race. However, in the final it looked like Dutchman David van Eerd riding for 8Bar was going to be the main opponent of Addison Zawada, who was leading the pack from start. It was a mechanical problem that diminished the chances for David and he had to settle for the 4th place. Halfway the final it looked like Addison would cruise to victory, but Augusto didn’t give up and rapidly closed in on Addison in the final lap. Nevertheless, Addison could hold him off to take home the victory for the USA. Stefan Vis riding for Bombtrack Bicycle Co. complemented the podium and placed third.
Rad Race Last Man Standing 2017:
1. Addison Zawada – State Bicycle Co.
2. Augusto Reati – Supernova Bikes
3. Stefan Vis – Bombtrack Bicycle Co.
Rad Race Last Woman Standing 2017:
1. Samantha Moreno Sauri – 8bar team
2. Francisca Campos Salas – Santafixie
3. Tamika Hingst – RAD PACK
An in-depth article on the event is coming next week, stay tuned!
