Fyxation Open Fixed Gear Street Crit | 2015 Race Recap

The Windy City once again opened it's arms to welcome the Fyxation Open fixed gear street crit back to Chicago last Sunday! As one of the featured events of the SRAM Chicago Criterium and the last stage of the Intelligentsia Cup, the Fyxation Open drew big crowds and a larger and more competitive field than the inaugural event that we hosted last year.

Head over to www.fyxationopen.com for the latest news, updates and results.

Fixed gear criterium races have exploded in popularity over the last few years with the success of the Red Hook Crit which is now hosted in New York, Barcelona and London and the Wolfpack Hustle race series which takes place in Los Angeles. Fixed gear criteriums are fast, fun to watch and are one of the most exciting things happening in the sport of cycling right now. The Fyxation Open is the Midwest's only fixed gear criterium race and for only being a second year event, this year's race drew huge crowds and a packed field.

Clear skies and warm summer temps made for a perfect day of racing and with the addition of a women's crit, spectators were treated to two action packed races. With the increasing popularity of fixed gear criterium races drawing more attention to the sport, the improved level of riders and equipment were apparent from the start of the day. From the first bike check it was clear word had spread that in order to be competitive in the Fyxation Open you better have some crit or track time under your belt.  

RESULTS

We are honored to say that this year we were able to add a Women's Fyxation Open to the schedule of events and the women riders received the same prize money as the men's field! Although we planned on adding a women's race to the 2016 calendar, the women's race was not part of the original event schedule. With rider feedback and the support of a few key individuals and clubs, we were able to adjust the schedule at the last minute and added a women's fixed gear crit to the event schedule. Now for the race recap:

The women were up first and within a few laps Team BFF Bikes rider Annie Byrne broke away and held a nice lead over the pack. Byrne held her own out front for several laps, but the peloton wasn't going to let her get away that easily. Maria Larkin of the Chicago Cuttin Crew rallied the group to chase Byrne down and the group was together again to battle it out for an exciting finish.

The first year of the women's race was loaded with action and exciting to watch, and with an average speed of 23.3 mph, this group held nothing back. The hard working ladies split an equal cash purse to the men's race and took home over $1000 in cash and prizes.  

Similar to last year, the men's Fyxation Open allowed riders of any category to race with top finishers from last year getting called to the line first, followed by Pro 1,2 riders. This years field was a mix of all categories from Cat 1 to 5 and 53 riders competed for over $2000 in cash and prizes.  We had riders participating from all over the Midwest and even had a few riders show up from Colorado, St. Louis and DC.

Racing was fast paced from the outset of the men's Open. Riders quickly stretched out over the first few laps splitting into two groups that never came back together.

Mid-way through the race Cat 1 team EGO riders Alexander Voltik and Dustin Morici led a breakaway. Battles within the main group kept others from breaking away with the exception of Team Spoked Bikes rider George Jordan. George held his own switching position with team EGO riders. 

Ultimately Voltik and Morici made their move on the back side of the course putting a gap between Jordan and the Team EGO riders that Jordan couldn't close securing them the 1 and 2 spots on the podium.  The picture below is my favorite from the Fyxation Open. Proving that cycling isn't just an individual sport, Team EGO worked as a team the entire race and were able to use each others breakaway from the field to eventually win the race. Rather than sprinting it out to beat each other to the finish line, the teammates finished together with arms raised in celebration of their victory. This is what cycling is all about!

Despite being chased down by the peleton, Jordan kept fighting to secure his third place finish. This was the second year in a row a rider from the Spoked St. Louis team earned a spot on the podium at the Fyxation Open.

We would like to thank all the riders that participated in the Fyxation Open and we are looking forward to an even larger and more exciting event in 2016. We would also like to thank Marcus from Yojimbo's garage, the Chicago Cuttin Crew, and the Inteligentsia Cup organizers for their cash contributions that helped us put together a matching cash purse for the women riders! Special thanks to local Fyxation dealer The Bike Lane for helping with race support and rider bike/safety checks.

See you in Chicago next year!

MEN'S RESULTS