MEET THE RIDER DimiDemishey, 36, is abike mechanicby trode and akey member of NLTCBMBC'...
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tlfcBilBCoye] anolhorclub?
We started as a bunch
offriends going for a beer or three. North London Thunder Cats Black l\4etal Bicycle Club was kind of a joke at first but
now we're semi,pro. It was a natural progression. I didn't choose NLTCBMBC; NLTCBI\4BC chose me!
What'rdltterent
aboutcrltr.clng compafodlo otherlorm3? Fixed-gear crits just need different kind of skills, experience and explosive power or preferably a combination of all three. You need to push the pedals hard to go forward at the right time and push back when you're in the red to slow down.
llowdoyoutraln? lvly training is very different depending on where in the season I am at that moment.
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lt can be gymj long, steady winter base
miles;turbo;rollers; weights;swimming;
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intervals session; or ridlng in power zones
forasetamount of time. I normally spend six days a week training or racing and chill on Sunday.
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: Whydldyourtop , reclnget20and : whetmadeyou rtartag.ln? : I moved to lreland and , wasjust enjoying life, : travelling, meeting
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new people and doing what most young people do. When I moved to London I started commuting
thenlboughtafixedgear bike, started meeting new people and racing Red Bull minidromes, tunnel sprints and alleycats. ln 2012, a few of my friends and I decided to race The Hunt. Without much training I gave it a go. I had so much fun for about 1O laps, it gave me a hunger for racing.
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q"-G;n t, of fixed-gear crit racing, attending events in Europe and the USA. Jess Morgan, a marketing manager at Rapha, has also flung herselfinto the world offixed irits afrer racing track for the previous four years. She shares Rob's desire to
promote cycling and racing in rvith commirted amateurs and rhose new to racing. Her presence, along rvith that of Caz and Kris Matoyic, is a valuable inspiration to female riders _ their obvious enjoyment for racing and willingness to get stuck in is rvl-rat women really like to see. a rvay thar resonates
INSPIRED BY THE RED HOOK The arrival ofRed Hook Crit in London back in 2015 had a big impact on NLTCBMBC's exploits in other ways, roo. "Seeing these really rvell-run teams coming to the UK and
"My personal aim is ro keep improving, and to show that you can juggle a full-on job witt training a_nd racing," says Jess. "On a wider note it,s ,o ,rppo,i the women's 6xed scene in the UK .lust by being visible,
annihilating guys I thought were fast, that really opened my eyes," Rob explains. "l saw what other guys rvere doing across America and Europe and knew that should be happening in the UK, too. That's when we flung ourselves out into the world of social media at.rd started to buiid a following to get our name our there a bit more. I think it helped fuel this clrrrenr fixed-crit wave we,re riding; ir
pool ofriders needs to grow in order to keep rhings fresh and excirjng." At the most recent Red Hook Criteiium in
certainly inspired more people to create teams.,, It rvas also to inspire NLTCBMBC to crack on rvith their own events. Though they'd been running track days at
attending races and encouraging others. Tl.rere,s an excellent group ofwomen rvho currently race in these things, but the
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London, a high-octane circuit race ridden on fixed_gear bikes, NLTCBMBC entered a team of five women, builJing on the momentum gained from last year,s inallgural event.
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URBAN CYCLIST
AboYe Dimi Demishev swapped partying for racing in 2O12. He hasn't looked back since
Right 'Cazakstan' lives for three simple reasons: riding, racing and damn-hot sauce
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