Why this Weekend's Crits are Can't-Miss
Spin the District returns with Hapeville and College Park events
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The same streets that cyclists from Hapeville, College Park and East Point use every week for their casual rides will have some added speed and intensity this weekend.
Spin the District, the Tri-Cities’ cycling event series, returns from a pandemic-induced break with criterium events in Hapeville and College Park on Saturday and Sunday. It’s a rare opportunity for spectators and cyclists to catch a race on the streets of metro Atlanta’s southside.
“These events definitely maintain the ability to race in the greater Atlanta area,” said Michael Barman, president of the East Point Track Club. “The notoriety of Spin the District puts the area on the map as far as criterium racing goes.”
The weekend brings riders from 20 states and nearly a dozen countries to the area. It’s the kickoff to four Spin the District events this fall. East Point takes center stage on Sept. 18 with the East Point Omni at the historic Dick Lane Velodrome. The Union City Fondo is Oct. 2, wrapping up the 2021 season.
But first up are the crits, which are the culmination of USA Crits Speed Week, a series of downtown race days across the southeast. Criterium racing, or crits, takes cyclists out of remote, long-distance courses and puts them on closed downtown streets for fast-paced, lap races. It’s a style of racing that’s popular among casual and die-hard fans alike, with racers flying by frequently over the course of a race.
“The nice thing is you see the riders every two minutes,” Barman said. “You get a real good feel of the speed and they come around quite often. You get a good idea of how fast they’re going and the race dynamics.”
Saturday’s event in Hapeville features eight corners, including one left-hand turn that Barman said really adds to the race dynamics, forcing riders to have to handle both directions. The College Park course is hillier and a more technical challenge for riders.
“That race breaks up pretty early, and just gets super hard at the end,” he said. “It’s all right-hand turns and then you go downhill toward Princeton Avenue and then back up Princeton, which is a pretty big hill.”
The Hapeville Crit kicks off with kids races at 3 p.m. on Saturday and goes until the Men’s Pro events cap the day at 5 p.m. Sunday’s College Park events start at 8 a.m. with the final races planned for 5:30 p.m. Attendance is free, with block parties both days starting at 11 a.m. and noon respectively.
“Both races really end up being top-10 in the country criteriums,” Barman said. “You can be the last starter and still do well.”