Berlin – this year’s fixed gear capital of Europe. It’s impossible to go on the streets of Berlin and not see a fixed gear bike swooshing past you. That’s probably why one of the most well known and most beloved fixed gear brands has it roots there. 8bar Bikes continue to do great things for the fixed gear culture and sport, with this year’s criterium being one of the most successful ones yet. With an awesome new track on the Berlin Templehof Airfield and the event being part of Velo Berlin, it attracted more riders and viewers than ever before.

8bar crit 2018
Photo credit: 8Bar Bikes

The day started off with two qualifying heats for the men and one qualifying heat for the women. This lead to the men being separated in category A and B for the finals, which happened in the evening. With a 5-hour interlude between the qualifications and the finals filled with heavy showers, everyone at the event was a bit worried for the state of the track. Luckily, an hour of sun together with some wind, made sure the track was puddle free and mostly dry.

The B Category Men’s Final was an exciting one already, with 63 riders in total going over the course 15 times. Our team rider Axel Dekker finished in 21st place, making for a great start of the season for himself. First place was held by Julian Schrenk of Schleudergang, followed by Luc Herbert from Bananas on Bikes and Alexander Knotzl in 3rd place.

The Women’s finals were lead by Lena Vogl of Team Maloja Pushbikers Fem, followed very closely by Karla Sommer of Team Schindelhauer Gates and Paola Panzeri from System Cars-Cinelli-Comense 1887. Congratulations to all of them for the great results in their first 8bar Crit!

8bar crit 2018
Photo credit: 8bar bikes

The A Category Men’s Final was fast! TFGS x Unknown Team rider Mike Vliestra, had a flat tire after his first lap of qualification, but he could start the A final on the last position. He had a great performance considering the circumstances and finished in position 38.

8bar crit 2018
Photo credit: 8bar bikes

Big names and high speeds made for an awesome show of strength, stamina and tactics. With two of last year’s Red Hook winners in the lead, one can only imagine what show everyone was in for. Stefan Schafer of team Specialized won the race by only 0.14 seconds in front of David van Eerd. Last year Red Hook Milan winner, was followed in third place by his teammate and co-national Kaj Verhaegh. This way, team Wit managed to secure two spots on the podium!

After all the effort put into such a great competition, the prizes lived up to everyone’s expectations. 8bar put together custom painted versions of their new TMPLHOF Crit bikes. Check them out below!

8bar crit 2018
Photo credit: Stefan Haehnel

The 8bar Crit marks the second race this year where the points count in the German Fixed Crit Series after Rad Race Last wo/man standing (see our recap here). Next races in the series will be:

– Steuerradtage Crit – Marlow
– Grizzly Crit – Leipzig
– Waterkant Crit – Hamburg
– Hannover FXD – Hannover
– Standert Bicycle Stone Brewery Crit – Berlin
– This is not Brooklin Crit – Dresden
– Ullmax Radsporttage Fixed Crit – Loitz