RACE TIL YA POP.

A wrap-up of a wild night.

By Black Sheep Cycling

June 24^th, 2018

lit up!

Black Sheep Cycling's The Woolshed and G!RO Cycles in London were lit up this week with a special indoor edition of our infamous after-dark crit Night Riders. Dubbed Race Til Ya Pop, in part a celebration of our Pop Art-inspired release LIMITED WOW!, racing rivals turned up in their droves on both sides of the pond to be part of this 300m Zwift sprint held on their London course. Apt given the significance of The Big Smoke in the Pop Art movement.

With Wahoo Kickrs lined up next to one another and Ridley bikes readied for action, it was straight down to business with complete strangers battling for supremacy and weekend rivalries reunited. Some pain-seekers opted to mount their bikes in full race apparel while others were confident enough in their civvies. There were even deck shoes, Hawaiian shirts and a comic book-inspired two-piece suit on show in Brisbane. But, regardless of attire, all competitors were on flat pedals, which caught some by surprise – particularly one punter who shall only be referred to as Desperate Dale. DD was of the belief he'd shed 300 watts by not wearing proper cleats. This, despite their being pictorial evidence of him holding over 1000 watts for at least 5secs. Better luck next time Desperate Dale, a place in the final was a pair of Dura-Ace pedals away.

HEATING UP.

The heats, though hotly contested, were all about strategy. Riders needed to save energy for the semis and final, but not sand-bag so much that they risked their place in the next round. Some blistering times were thrown down. But as DJ Levi Birks banged out the tunes and Green Beacon Brewery fuelled the riders with free-flowing beers, things really began to heat up. The raucous crowd doubled in decibels, the local coppers dropped in to see what all the fuzz (pun-intended) was about and Mairi Mackinnon, owner of King Arthur Cafe in Brisbane, no doubt spurred on by strong coffee, was dropping boys like led balloons.

FINAL SHOWDOWN.

Sadly, Mairi missed out on the final which was a straight-up shoot-out between fours men all of whom ended chewing carbon to try to keep up with local racer Murray McClymont who posted a scintillating time of 10.5secs, just shy of 1.5 seconds faster than anyone else all night. But credit must go to Daniel Williams for his unique 'game face' and to Jack Martin who cracked a tinny just as soon as he'd finished his final effort.

RACE TIL YA POP – RESULTS.

Murray McClymont 10.5sec

Benjamin Moriarty 11.8

Jack Martin 12.1

Daniel Willianms 12.18

cheers everyone.

Despite this being winter in Brisbane (and let's be honest, it's always cold in London ; ), the racing was hot, the beats were banging, the sweat dripping, brews flowing and the heckling was as high energy as the efforts.