driver would approach a racing circuit,” Trimble says of the technical corners built in to the RHC courses.
Six years since inception, Red Hook Crit has evolved from an annual bike race at the edge of Brooklyn to a world class race series that bridges North America and Europe, and incorporates a 5K running race as well. In 2010 Cinelli and the Bicycle Film Festival became the race’s first sponsors and laid the groundwork to hold a sister race in Milan. This year support from Rockstar Games has made it possible for RHC to evolve in a four-race series that will include the addition of two new races, to be set at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and in Barcelona.
Along with hosting more races, Trimble Racing is also hosting bigger races. Establishing a qualifying round this year lets in twice as many competitors. “That was the biggest thing I was nervous about going into it,” Trimble said, “In the end it worked better than I thought it would.”
Sorted into four groups of 50, racers qualified according to their fastest lap during the 25-minute rounds. Racers on the borderline watched the times update as new racers placed among the fastest.
“It really set the field correctly. it made the race much safer, kind of weeded out the less experienced riders and also gave the riders an opportunity to ride the course at high speed, you know, really get used to it.”
The mix of RHC vets and a great number of newcomers in the final 100 made for a high-energy race with no clear leader throughout. Both the sun and the field had been set for hours when the race began at 9 that night, launched by the entire crowd counting down the last ten seconds to go. Out of the saddle sprinting blew a force of wind through the night air, electrifying the deep crowd lining every edge of the course. Team efforts dissolved as it became every rider for themself.
“It’s now or never!” Trimble shouted through a megaphone to the blur of racers passing him as they made the push for the final few laps.