Race 1 of 10: Athens Georgia

Twilight is a right of passage. For bike racers but also for the college students that go there. To say you’ve raced Twilight is a badge of honor. To win, you cement your name in history. It’s where you go to see if you really are a true bike racer. To see if you have what it takes.

Twilight is the first big one of the year. It was our official debut. A chance to prove ourselves, dust off the cobwebs, and race together for the first time. Would we execute our race plan? Could we communicate as a new team? Could we achieve all we thought we could? Athens would set the tone for the season. Although we were effectively a new team, it felt as if we had already been racing together. The women had the strongest squad in the country: Alexi, Sky, Sam, and Julyn lined up for Speedweek. The men were the same: Noah, Tyler, Monk, Tanner, Cory, Spencer. Both squads have riders who have podiumed and/or won Twilight, and we have support that bests most teams in the world: Canyon Aeroad’s, SRAM Red, Zipp 454s. If any rider wants speed, they ride what we ride. 

After landing, getting race bikes adjusted and set, we were ready. The days leading into Twilight included Greenville - one of the darkest, hardest, most technically savvy races of the year that shares remarkable resemblance to Athens itself. Noah lapped up and finished 2nd for the men. The women missed the move but raced with heart to bring it back. And Spartanburg – the fastest race of the year. Only a romantic would think a break can stay away, but in a season already shaping up to be the fastest and toughest in history, Tyler managed to stay away in a break coming within 10 seconds of lapping up. Sky sprinted to 3rd. Day 3 was Athens. 2 days. 2 podiums. We clearly had the team and the legs. 

Twilight was everything. Athens proved again why Twilight is the greatest event of the year. No race has more people – save maybe Tulsa. No race holds a candle to the combined sense of speed, danger, thrill, and drama that Athens shares. Men’s and women’s fields shelled – less than 50% finished. Alexi, Julyn, Sam, and Sky played a near perfect team race. Always present. Never fearless. They were accomplishing technical impossibility: getting every move right. It was 4th on the night. Perhaps we hoped for more – but the women showed all weekend how much promise there is for the rest of the year. For the men, nearly from the gun, Gibbons, in his best form, rode away. Few could bridge, but the boys missed it. Perhaps first-race-of-the-year mistakes were rearing their head. They risked completely everything to bring it back. Tyler and Noah relentlessly trying to bridge. After a restart, the men tried once more, but couldn’t quite make it. Not a result to write home about, but there we were – knowing what went wrong and precisely what needed to be done moving forward. Thus, we could celebrate, in the confidence we have for one special year.

Post Twilight, we joined the community for a We Ride presented by WRDevo. This capped off the weekend. It’s why this team exists – sharing the joy of the racing and riding with the community. We rode with racers – laughing about what had happened the night prior – and fans who shared their own experience. This is perhaps the thing we will look forward to most at every event we visit the rest of the year. It makes Speedweek the resounding success it was: new teammates, new equipment, new friends, and renewed confidence. Both squads showed what we were capable of all weekend. With some mistakes, we’ve already gotten on the phone, addressed those issues, and will move forward to the next one."