Racing for l39ion

Racing for L39ION of Los Angeles....where do I even begin?!?

Safe to say that it's been exhilarating both on and off the bike and I couldn't ask for a better team environment....but let's unpack that a bit.

Heading into the 2024 season, I had no idea what to expect having signed with L39ION. This is arguably the most reputable team in the criterium (crit) racing scene here in the U.S, so with that in mind and being completely new to crits (coming from a roadie background), initially, I was suuuuper intimidated (mi did scared bad bad). With being a roadie in Europe for two seasons prior, I was unsure how successful I would've been with making the transition to crit racing. Yes, both involve racing bikes, but the dynamics of the two are drastically different. The European road racing I was exposed to involved racing for hours over climbs that seemed endless. Crit racing is rather short, spicy, and chaotic around a half to one-mile closed circuit. With that in mind, it was simply a matter of being open-minded and adapting to a new style of racing. At first, like with any new skill, it was somewhat challenging, but luckily, I have the best people around me who I've been able to learn from and have done a stellar job in guiding me while also providing a phenomenal and comfortable environment as a newbie. 

I'll always love the typical road racing, but racing crits has been way more fun; something happens every lap! Yes, lulls do occur, but when that brief moment's over, it's game-time and the action's back on again and it's just really cool to compete in a field like that. Having said all that, at the time of writing this (late May), I finally had the opportunity to race in my national champ jersey. It's always an honor to wear the Jamaican colors and although it can sometimes be overwhelming to be repping a small nation, it has been and will continue to be something special for me. Debuting the jersey was made even better given where the team raced i.e., the New York tri-state area...wul heap a Jamaicans deh deh (a lot of Jamaicans are there) and people from other Caribbean countries. Hearing their cheers during the races felt amazing, and I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity to represent my people in this capacity. 

Besides racing, I've come to appreciate the community-level events we've been able to do in different cities/towns. It always amazes me how many people show up at these rides to interact and chat with us. It's also nice to ride my bike and not worry about watts, efforts, and all sorts of metrics, and simply enjoy being with people who share a similar love for cycling.

To wrap up, riding for L39ION is something I take great pride in. Being a part of a team environment like this is a true privilege, and I'm stoked to see how the rest of the season unfolds. 

Thanks for reading:)

-Llori