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I've never watched any other crit racing to compare to but the crashes at RHCs do seem to be pretty high impact, wouldn't brakes (and freewheels) mean that riders had more of a chance to slow down before hitting others/motos etc?
Some of the crashes seem to be due to riders clipping pedals or going into corners too fast, again possibly a product of the fixed, brakeless nature of the bikes?
People ride like cunts when they're racing on the track, I can only imagine how much worse the riding must be when the requirement to maintain a certain speed/trajectory in order to keep yourself upright is removed by being on flat ground.
M_V-
Some people do clip their pedal and fall off or just lose grip and fall off, but I see it happening in equal amounts in road crits. Hell I've seen people fall off going in a straight line in road crits.
Most crashes give no time to respond for the person behind, just like in the any crashes in the pro peloton on TV, when you're that close together your only hope is to avoid the crash not stop before it.
Sumo
Not a single one of the crashes I've seen in any Red Hook could have been avoided with a brake.