This week has brought news of a fresh format that will save cycling in the USA - Formula Fixed. The organisers promise fixed-gear bike racing on tight, twisty, indoor tracks, designed for both an in-person and online audience, beginning at the end of this year. It sounds fun, and it’s the kind of thing I would go to if it was put on in my home city of Bristol. In fact, all power to the people behind it and I hope it does become a success. Anything that gets people enjoying bikes is a good thing.
However, Formula Fixed is not the first of many attempts to ‘fix’ cycling in the US - it follows things like the National Cycling League (NCL), which had big ambitions, city-based franchise teams, huge celebrity-backed investments and a big prize pot. There have been various bright burning, but short-lived ideas to get the American public back into bike racing, and this is just the latest. Perhaps this one will succeed, but allow me to explain my pessimism.
