Heated aggression on a blisteringly-hot day of racing ignited sides at the conclusion of the men’s opening contest at the Salt Lake Criterium doubleheader, with final-lap controversy between Michael Hernandez (Best Buddies Racing built by HGR Construction) and Justin Williams (L39ION of Los Angeles) spilling over to fiery exchange of words, then fists.
The physical altercation between Hernandez and Justin Williams, which happened after the race, resulted in disqualification and a 72-hour suspension of both riders by the chief referee, as well as fines – $500 for the Best Buddies team leader and $250 for the L39ION team co-founder.
The ruling was made in accordance with USA Cycling rule 8A3(a) for “acts of violence” among riders. USA Cycling is actively looking into the matter, which could lead to additional suspension time for one or both riders.
Before the DSQ decision, the L39ION of Los Angeles squad had scored a royal flush with the top five spots in the sixth stop of the American Criterium Cup event, Ty Magner easily taking the victory, trailed by Tyler Williams in second and Justin Williams in third. After the DSQ, Cory Williams moved into third, with Alec Cowan fourth.
The L39ION of Los Angeles team referred to “uncontrolled acts of aggression” in Saturday’s races in downtown Salt Lake City, also making reference to some aggressive behaviour in the women’s race as well, and pulled both teams from competition in Sunday’s second day of racing in Salt Lake Criterium – Sugarhouse Park. The statement said this was “prioritising our team’s safety”.
Intense heat in sunny Salt Lake City reached 98F (36C), with road surface temperatures reaching 130F (54C), for Saturday’s races. Both the women’s and men’s contests were shortened from 70 minutes to 60 minutes because of the extreme weather. Ice packs were not enough, it seemed, to reduce the volatile conditions.
The men’s race featured a number of crashes, and a lot of pushing and shoving as the peloton was strung out for the final laps. On the penultimate lap, Curtis White (Best Buddies Racing) was at the front of the field and when he pulled off the L39ION train took over, with Hernandez trailing Cory Williams in seventh place.
Chaos ensued on the final lap, as Hernandez took the inside line on the first corner and almost went down when he went into the gutter and bounced off the curb. Cory Williams was on his outside shoulder and swerved and then had to reclip his right foot…
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