Are ‘fan first’ spectator friendly crits the future for bike racing?
From CyclingWeekly.com
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Two races in, we’ve seen how the new racing format stacks up to traditional races, and I’m hopeful
The National Cycling League (US), in its debut year, has already made serious waves in American cycling with its cohort of all-star investors and new, fan-first racing format.
The race format is unlike anything we’re used to. These criterium-like races take place in spectator-friendly, urban centers where co-ed teams compete for points every single lap over the course of two races — a women’s race and a men’s race. Points aggregate from one race to the next, and the team that has amassed the most points at the end of the afternoon wins the race. Due to its high-pace nature, teams may substitute riders as often as they want. There are no individual winners, only a winning team.
By reinventing what American bike racing looks like, the NCL aims to reignite cycling fandom in the United States. But is it working? After watching the series opener from home, I went to the Denver NCL Cup race to see if the NCL is indeed changing cycling.
Image courtesy of NCLRacing.com
