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The US-based National Cycling League (NCL) announced the first pair of teams invited to participate in the fledgling professional series of criterium events next year, the NCL Crit Racing Tour. The Miami Nights and Denver Disruptors, each with rosters of eight men and eight women, have been created by the NCL for earning opportunities and rider development in the sport of cycling.
The Nights will be led by former WorldTour riders Sergio Henao and Leah Kirchmann, while the Disruptors feature a number of criterium specialists who excelled in the American Criterium Cup, including pros Clever Martinez and Andrea Cyr, both silver medalists in the series.
The team director for the Nights will be Sebastian Alexandre, who led the successful UnitedHealthcare squad, while the Disruptors will have former pro Svein Tuft at the helm, who won 13 Canadian national titles during his career.
All 32 NCL athletes across the two teams will receive annual salaries, in addition to racing for a share of the $1 million NCL Crit Racing Tour prize purse as well as prize money from other races throughout the season.
The teams are expected to confirm registration as Domestic Elite squads in the new year, which includes rankings on the USA Cycling National Road Calendar that are used for invitations to the US Pro Road National Championships. The Domestic Elite level also provides eligibility for consideration in team points in the American Criterium Cup events in addition to the NCL race series.
“The Denver Disruptors and Miami Nights are the start of a revolution in American professional cycling. There is so much untapped cycling talent out there and we’ve rewritten the team model to showcase top-level pros and provide a pathway to success for our development riders,” said Reed McCalvin, vice president of Teams and Athletes with the NCL.
“We’re excited that our vision for professional sports – the first gender equal and gender integrated professional sports team concept – combines both men’s and women’s racing and creates opportunity for teams in the United States to grow.”
The Denver Disruptors will be led…
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