Presbyterian Criterium ‘09– Rewind

On a hot Saturday night, thousands of people came out to watch some racing. This time it was not in cars and wasn’t at Lowes Motor Speedway. No, this time the racing was in downtown Charlotte on a blocked off course and the competitors were on bikes.

The racing featured a women’s race at 5:30 and a men’s race at 7pm. I arrived a little late and caught the last hour of the women’s race. But there was some great racing and finish with a sprint.

This video was shot during the intermediate laps.

This video was shot as the women sprinted for the finish line.

I am not a cycling expert but it looked like a lot of attacks were happening with one break finally succeeding mid way through the race. This break lasted until the last couple of laps when one rider jumped away and rode the last lap alone.

Watching bike racing on TV is much like watching NASCAR on TV, you cannot get a true appreciate of the speed and excitement from the race unless you are watching it in person.