Red Bull launches brutal 'Last Stand' elimination/crit race

If you were one of many who watched the elimination race during the Olympic omnium event with pitiful glee, Red Bull may well have something to whet your sadistic appetite.

The energy drink company's new 'Last Stand' race which mixes the brutality of an elimination race with the length of a circuit criterium race is set to come to the Texas city of San Antonio on October 15.

The race course will run, rather fittingly, on a half-mile circuit around the famous Alamo battleground.

Racing will start with a 15-minute qualifying group session at 1.45pm that will determine - via on-board transponders - the 50 fastest male riders and 30 fastest female riders to battle it out in the finals race later on.

That final races will see riders race around the half-mile criterium circuit that features nine turns, with the last rider at the end of each lap eliminated. There will be four races including male and female races on fixed gear bikes and geared bikes.

Unlike the race's track-based brother there will be no free laps or passes for laps that feature a crash, mechanical, or withdrawal.

The brutality of the event is what makes its location so fitting. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Alamo here's a pracis: the battle saw a band of around 200 Texan soldiers - including the famous Davy Crockett - stand against a force of 1,800 Mexicans for 13 days in an ultimately fatal last stand during the Texas Revolution.

That battle quickly became part of American folklore, as it motivated thousands of Texans to join the fight, and Red Bull's 'Last Stand' will look to capture some of that legendary patriotic power as 600-or-so participants are whittled down to 50 riders who will battle it out in the evening's Last Stand race.

Red Bull spokesman Jimmy Coleman told Texas news outlet mysanantonio.com that the Last Stand "is an event that takes the typical race format and gives it a Texas-style overhaul with the eliminator format."

Take from that what you will about Texans, but San Antonio city councilman Robert Treviño simply expressed his delight at having the event in the city.

“This is doing multiple things,” Mr Treviño said. “It highlights us as an active city and highlights the great assets of the city; its history and cultures, and it’s appealing to an international audience. To think someone in India could be watching: that’s amazing.”

If you're going to be in the area in October, or are so enticed by the idea that you fancy making a special trip, applications to take part in the race are open to the public.

It will be interesting to see if this race format takes off. The brutality of it alone should be enough to draw crowds to the mexican event.

The last American novelty race we covered here, the Marymoor Crawl, went on to become a big hit, even being picked up by the professional Revolution track race series.

The premise for the Marymoor Crawl is essentially an anti race which forces riders to track stand and not cross the start line until the bell rings, at which point the first rider to complete a lap wins.

Whether Red Bull's 'Last Stand' has the same staying power as the Marymoor Crawl, we'll see, but we're sure to hear plenty more about the format come October.