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Minneapolis, MN

This Friday night is the first installment of the roller race series entitled “Cold Sprints.” This four part series is offered as a form of off-season competition for cyclists of all styles and abilities. Organizers are expecting a wide range of contestants and spectators for the event. Mountain Bikers, Track Riders, Roadies and Alley Cat racers are expected to pony up the $5 entry fee that goes directly to The Second Harvest Food Shelf.

The event starts at 7pm with entrants doing a 20 second qualifier. Based on the results of all the qualifiers up until 9pm the top 16 men and the top 8 women will be entered into a single-elimination tournament of 500m sprints to dub the Cold Sprints Champion. The top 3 racers in both fields will win some cash prizes for their efforts, but in the end the charity will be the big winner as spectators will also be encouraged to donate a beers worth of cash to the area food shelf.

After the champion is crowned organizers are planning on opening up the rollers and equipment to groups of friends for “grudge matches” against one another, so even if you aren’t competing you can still go up against your buddies in match for bragging rights. These small mini-tournaments will cap off an evening of exciting racing at Grumpy’s Bar and Grill in Downtown Minneapolis.

The set-up of the event is simple. Two sets of rollers with a bike mounted to a fork clamp and platform pedals with an adjustable cage. The gearing is set at 48×16 to keep racers at a very light gear forcing high RPMs at the top end. While not 100% traditional roller racing, it allows for a true cross section of the cycling community to participate in what truly amounts to a niche sport.

The event is made possible through generous support from Grumpy’s Bar and Grill, Behind-Bars Bicycle Shop, One on One Bike Shop, Retrosoft, Burlesque Design and Little Guy Racing. All of these sponsors and a group of dedicated volunteers have made this event possible and they all hope that you come on down to Grumpy’s on Friday night to eat some food, drink some beer and watch some crazy roller racing!