The organsier of the international fixed gear criterium series Red Hook Crit has confirmed that the popular series will not continue into 2019. While efforts to host the races have temporarily halted for the coming year, the organiser has promised to look at relaunching the series in 2020.
A statement on the Red Hook website reads: 'After careful consideration of our options, we will be taking 2019 off. Instead, our efforts will be focused on raising support and developing plans for the continuation of the Red Hook Criterium Championship Series in the years to come.
'We appreciate every athlete, sponsor, volunteer, photographer, videographer, staff member and fan who helped us build the Crit into what it is today and look forward to the next time we can bring everyone back together at the RHC.'
The Red Hook model was heavily reliant on sponsorship, primarily counting on funding from Rockstar Games, the company behind the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises.
It also relied on the entertainment spectacle of fixed gear races that stems from high-paced racing without the use of brakes, often pitting a real range of riders from professionals to couriers up against each other.
While it seems funding remained steady, it was the cost of hosting that caused the organiser to pull the plug.
Series founder David Trimble told Velonews that despite income remaining the same, the cost of hosting two events in 2017 became akin to hosting four in 2018. 'It wasn’t like our budget got cut in half last year — the event’s costs just went up,' he explained.
Trimble also stated that the finances were there to continue in 2019 but at a much lower level than previously operated, something he was unwilling to do.
The series had grown to four legs since its creation in 2008 with Barcelona, Milan, London and Brooklyn, the event's original home. However, due to increased fees, 2018 saw the suspension of Barcelona and London.
The London leg - which debuted in 2015 - was traditionally hosted in the Greenwich Peninsula region and it is rumoured that the local council hiked fees by 50% from 2017 to 2018.