Criterium Bogotá by Chicken Legs

Thursday, October 13th, 2016Saturday, April 11th, 2020 by Stefano Rizzardi

Here in Barcelona the evolution of the fixed gear movement has caused the creation of several cyclist realities, crews, teams, friendships, etc. And one of the most active and authentic group of the Barcelona’s scene is, without a doubt, Chickenlegs 100% Amateur Team, the name says all about their spirit.

Since years they move their “chicken legs” in Barcelona and Spain, by road, criteriums and alleycats. A few months ago we had to say goodbye to Jerson and Mace who have started a new chapter of their lives in Bogota, Colombia.

As we usually say, “what the cycling joins, doesn’t separate”, and RAW Cycling magazine was always in a great tune with Chickenlegs guys, inside and outside the cycling world, we want to keep this valuable friendship and take advantage of this direct connection with Colombia and the panorama of the urban cycling.

“The Chickenlegs have just arrived to Bogota and are already moving their ‘legs’ in the city!
After riding and discovering routes of the Bogota’s savannah, in this occasion we have been to the Criterium Bogotá. A competition performed in the XRP Cajica’s racetrack and it is for riders of different categories: fixed gear, single speed and road (route). It was a new experience for us because we didn’t know the local scene.
We were very well received, the Organization helped us with the registration and the guys of Falco Team welcomed us in all time and introduced us in the local scene.”

THE EVENT

It is the second edition of the Criterium Bogotá and, despite the difficulty of the organisation of such type of events; the organization makes every effort and dedication to take forward a big race like this.

Since the first time we saw many riders of different categories but, in our case, we focused in the female category of fixed gear, where Marcelina Sosnowska was going to participate.

Unfortunately the participation of women in the criteriums used to be very discreet and we believe that it is a challenge for organizers to try to increase the presence of women in these races. In the case of the Criterium Bogotá, the starting grid was made up of ten women, including local riders, from other cities in the country and some also from Guatemala.

The riders had a qualifying round where for 10 minutes they tied to get their best times, riding the 1.5 km of the circuit.

The women controlled and mediate their strength during qualify. Marcelina had clear that she wanted to end the race and complete all the laps, having in mind that the ride started to an altitude of 2,600m above sea level with the difficulties that this supposed, so she bet by save forces for the race.

After a few minutes the ride started and in the first laps all the riders were watching each other, until two of them decided to go at the front of the bunch and began to force the group to speed up and creating some distance with the initial bunch.

Step by step we were getting the end of the race and the audience didn’t stop to encourage. 3 laps to the end, the two riders who leaded the race kept their distance and Marcelina fought for the third-place not so far away from the two first. The bell rang announcing the final lap and everything was decided on the last three curves. The people screaming at the finish line, first and second were defined and Marcelina got the third position: “fuck! to this height nobody can breathe!”

It was a good ride experience, we meet people and had our first contact with the Colombian fixed scene in a competitive level. We enjoyed with all categories in a fast and demanding circuit, a lot of public and good vibes! An event that we hope that will grow up, improve and bring more local and international riders during the following years.