About
Spin The District
Three unique venues, three historic downtowns, three epic days of racing.
Spin The District is an annual cycling series consisting of bike races and family-friendly festivals just south of downtown Atlanta. It is entering its seventh year as three premier cycling events (held in the ATL Airport District – Hapeville, Union City, and College Park, GA), inviting cyclists of all levels to experience these diverse and vibrant communities of Georgia. The event features a variety of criteriums designed to accommodate riders of different skill and experience levels.
Beyond the races, Spin The District offers a lively mix of music, food trucks, kids’ activities, and an artist market, creating a vibrant atmosphere that draws crowds to cheer on the cyclists. It’s a fun and rewarding experience for participants and spectators alike.
With riders from over 34 states, 17 countries, and 5 continents, Spin The District has become an international cycling destination.
What is Speed Week?
One week of every year, from Friday night to the following Sunday, Speed Week sets up a series of elaborate bicycle races wherein elite cyclists from around the world converge to race in the criterium style—meaning they race on a closed circuit through city streets, delighting fans and onlookers. Street festivals are arranged around each event by local organizers, providing commercial opportunities that boost the local economy while promoting positive community engagement.
Speed Week takes the fun on tour by combining a week’s worth of criterium races into a single competition, with major prizes for the top finishers with the most combined points from all of the week’s events. The races are held around the Southeast to allow top competitors to travel easily between them. Traveling also helps us to spread our positive economic impact to a handful of cities, raising awareness of each locale among cycling enthusiasts.
What the heck is a Criterium (AKA Crit)?
Imagine this: dozens of cyclists packed together, flying through city streets at insane speeds, whipping around tight corners, elbow to elbow, all fighting for the perfect position. The air is thick with the sound of whirring wheels, screeching brakes, and the occasional panicked yell of “HOLD YOUR LINE!”
Welcome to the beautiful madness that is a criterium (or “crit” for short). If road racing is a long chess match, a crit is chess played with flamethrowers on roller skates—fast, aggressive, and unpredictable.
The Basics: What Makes a Crit a Crit?
A criterium is a high-speed cycling race held on a short, closed circuit—usually a city block, a downtown loop, or even an industrial park (because nothing says “thrill ride” like dodging potholes near a warehouse). Unlike traditional long-distance road races, crits are:
- Short and intense – The course is usually 0.5 to 1.5 miles per lap (800m – 2.5km), meaning riders pass the same spot over and over. Good for spectators. Bad for riders who just barely avoided a crash last lap.
- Timed, not distanced – Instead of riding a set number of miles, crits are raced for a fixed amount of time (like 30, 45, or 60 minutes). When the clock hits zero, the riders have a few laps to go before an all-out sprint to the finish.
- Crazy fast – Speeds regularly hit 25-35 mph (40-55 km/h). And no, there aren’t brakes on those corners—just guts and prayers.
Why Crits Are Basically a Gladiator Sport
Corners, Corners, Corners
A crit isn’t a straight-line drag race—it’s a maze of sharp turns, narrow streets, and hair-raising 90-degree corners. The best riders don’t just pedal hard—they handle their bikes like fighter pilots.
Drafting and Attacking
Sitting in the middle of the pack (a.k.a. “the peloton”) saves energy because you’re drafting behind other riders. But if you’re stuck too far back? You’re toast. Meanwhile, the brave (or foolish) few might attack, trying to break away and hold the lead before the group swallows them whole.
Prime Laps (“Preems”)
Every so often, the announcer calls out a “PRIME LAP!”—which means bonus prizes (money, gear, maybe a sandwich?) go to the first rider across the line. This immediately turns an already intense race into an absolute dogfight.
Sprint Finish Mayhem
The final laps? Pure carnage. Everyone jockeys for position, lead-out trains form (teams working to launch their sprinter), and then BOOM—a high-speed drag race to the finish. Someone wins, someone bonks, and someone probably almost crashes but miraculously stays upright.
Why Should You Care?
Even if you don’t know a derailleur from a donut, crits are thrilling to watch and even wilder to race. They’re the most spectator-friendly form of bike racing—nonstop action, multiple laps so you don’t miss anything, and a front-row seat to daring attacks and last-second heartbreaks.
So join us at Spin The District, grab a snack, find a corner, and watch the madness unfold. Just maybe don’t stand on the outside of a turn. Trust me.