Community, Video, Road RacingTo Be DeterminedJune 24, 2013Criterium, Harlem

Skyscraper Harlem Criterium

Community, Video, Road RacingTo Be DeterminedJune 24, 2013Criterium, Harlem

Despite fears to the contrary, the weather held and this season's edition of The Harlem Skyscraper Criterium was run under sunny skies. In addition to having Team Sixcycle-RK&O race in multiple fields during the day, team partners Sixcycle Performance Technology and Photo Rhetoric sponsored this year's women's race, and as a result the team was given a prime tent location at the start/finish.

The team headed up early in the day to set up and to help put on the children's races. The Skyscraper Harlem Criterium is New York City's oldest criterium, and while the race has changed over the years the children's races have remained a steady constant. These races, spanning multiple age groups, never fail to produce the greatest number of smiles and the most enthusiastic support of any of the fields held on the day. Perhaps not surprisingly, they also end up being the safest of the races…

Matt Richards of Sixcycle Performance Technology was in attendance to help run a handful of the fields and had this to say:

It's great to see kids as young as five and six coming out to race. They really do seem to enjoy this a lot more than the adult fields. It's great for the sport and our community should do more to encourage children's racing. I was lucky enough to ride the back of the five to six year field and I'm happy to report that my return to racing has thus far been a success.

The day held fields for 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12 year olds before moving on to the citizens race and then the amateur adult fields. All youth participants received medals, juice boxes and pretzels, which is more than most of the adults can claim from the day.

When asked about the opportunity to have a brand presence at the race, Matt responded with:

This type of exposure is very effective for small business such as mine, as I suppose it would be for more established brands. So when the opportunity arose, we threw together some banners, popped up the tent and ended up having a great day. I got to connect with people I hadn't seen in years, and made a lot of new friends. It was a fantastic way to celebrate my first full time week working on Sixcycle Performance Technology.

All in all it was a great day for the team and our sponsors. We're hopeful that we'll be able to bring more of our partners and friends to upcoming events.