Luke Lamperti will compete as a guest rider with L39ION of Los Angeles while Justin Williams will lead a contingency of L39ION teammates on a New York City Dream squad for the inaugural CRIT Championship on October 21 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Organisers revealed the ‘all-star,’ invitation-only lineup for pro fields, which will populate 10 teams for the special one-day event. L39ION of Los Angeles is the only Continental team in the field, while Miami Blazers and Austin Aviators represent US domestic elite squads. The balance of the field includes seven custom-built teams for the CRIT Championship.
The prize purse for pro women and men total $15,000, to be split evenly across both fields in 70-minute competitions across four categories – winner, most valuable pedaler (sprint competition), best young rider and best team. The Open Cat 2/3/4 men’s and women’s races will offer a $2,000 total prize purse, divided equally.
CRIT is the acronym for Circuit Racing International Tour, which was created by pro cyclist Justin Williams, who started Williams Racing development and co-founded the L39ION of Los Angeles US Continental team in partnership with Wasserman Ventures. The CRIT Championship is not sanctioned by USA Cycling, allowing Williams the freedom for an independent structure, including pro invitations, creation of one-day teams and other community events.
While all 10 teams will be part of the men’s pro race, only four teams include pro women. Organisers shared with Cyclingnews that because of limited availability, many pro women did not accept invitations to participate, and the women’s open 2/3/4 field will be combined with the confirmed pro women on race day. The $7,500 purse will be on offer for the pro women, while the open division riders will compete for $1,000 as planned.
In order to allow the majority of riders from the co-ed L39ION team to participate, Justin Williams moved part of the roster to his New York team, joined by Ty Magner, Alec Cowan, Robin Carpenter and Kyle Murphy in the men’s race. The L39ION squad will include Cory Williams, Tyler Williams, Eder Frayre, Lance Haidet, Sam Boardman and Lamperti.
Lamperti, the three-time US Pro criterium champion, is set to ride on the WorldTour level in 2024, moving from Trinity Racing to Soudal-QuickStep. With his off-season underway, organisers said he was looking for opportunities to be part of cycling in local communities, and he added participation in the CRIT…
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