Just caught some photos and videos of the Red Bull Mini Drome in New York that our team rider Addison Zawada just won. Even when winning, he still shows that sportsman-like conduct in congratulating and having fun with his competitor, Toms Alsbergs of TruFixKru (also, the reigning champion of the European series of Mini Drome races). The event, as always, looks like it was a good time.
Check out what Addison had to say about the event….
“Saturday rolls around and it’s time to start getting ready for the Mini Drome. Put the clipless pedals on, break out the helmet, and get mentally ready for possibly one of the biggest races I have ever taken part in. 2 pm, time to head to the venue for Mini Drome. It is in an abandoned church on Buschwick street. How cool is that? By far the neatest venues I have seen an event held in to date. After taking a ton of photos, getting signed in at registration, and giving my hand at sweet talking the beautiful wings team members, I proceed to meet everyone I can and prepare myself mentally.
Time trials begin and I am #4 to qualify, followed immediately by Toms Alsbergs from Latvia. I set the fastest lap so far and a personal best for myself on the Mini Drome! 32.06 seconds for a 10 lap time trial! Toms follows right behind me with a 35.30 time. This builds my confidence quite a bit and helps to settle my nerves. He is the only person I care about racing tonight, “as long as that happens, it will be a successful night, win or lose,” I think to myself. The rest of the time trials go by and Toms and my time remain 1st and 2nd throughout. The nerves are building back up, and it’s time to start the real racing. First round goes quick as does 2nd and 3rd. As semis roll around, I am faced against my old time friend Josh Geni from the Velo iBike, a shop in Montreal, CA. We always seem to meet in the semis, never in the final round. With a nod of the head and a shake of the hand, Josh whispers in my ear, “Take it dude, you deserve to be in the finals.” So we put on a show, but in the end Josh let’s it happen and sends me into the finals to compete against none other than the one and only, Toms Alsbergs.
This is it, the event, the moment, 2 years in the making. World finals comes down to these few moments in time. With a brief explination of the situation to the announcer, he begins to tell our story. How we met, how many wins each of us have, Toms 5 in the UK and 6 for myself in North America. The croud becomes and intrigued and involved like I have never seen. Chanting of “USA, USA, USA!” fills the room and heart begins to race like never before. In less than a minute we would know who the world champ was. With a hug, high five, and good luck murmur, we mounted our bikes one last time. Bradd points and me, “Are you ready?” A quick nod of the head and he asks the same of Toms. BANG! The horn sounds and we are off. I pull an early lead and give it everything I have. Pushing like I never before I strain to remain focused and collected. 4 laps in and I am slowly gaining on him. With a slight slip of his front tire, now is my time to strike! With one good hard push and a turn of the pedals, I get him! I sneak right up on his rear tire and the race is done. It’s over, that quickly, 30 seconds of time and 2 years of anticipation is over and done. I’ve won! I have beaten Toms Alsbergs! With a quick dismount of the bikes and a cheer from the crowd, we look at each other, give a good firm handshake and a friendly hug. The race is over. The stress and anticipation is over. The battle is settled.”
Photos by Christopher Lee.
