Alabama Cycling Classic
20+ hours of driving from PA to AL for ~90 mins of racing, and we loved every second of it.
Over the weekend, TSL riders slowly came together down the eastern seaboard to finally assemble in Anniston, AL to race the Sunny King Criterium and (the cancelled) Piedmont Road Race. Our roster was looking good- Davey Dawson and Justin McQuerry, two veteran crit racers and weathered bike racers, Sait Arana, the Colombian sensation who’s nothing but pure talent , and Andrew Scott, our most recent U23 signing who brings extensive European experience from his 2018 season abroad.
Andrew first kicked off the trip driving down from Princeton, NJ where he met Davey near Philadelphia; the two then drove to Blacksburg, VA, where they met with teammate John DeLong and where Sait picked up the caravan. From VA the trio drove to Atlanta where Justin had flown in, and then the whole squad arrived in Anniston Friday night, right at packet pick up. Words are one thing, but watch Justin’s vlog to fully understand what went down.
Saturday brought with it an easy morning spin, a solid nap, a trip to the grocery store, and then final bike preparations for the crit later that night. We got word that the 90 mile road race had been cancelled due to inclement weather (it didn’t end up raining) and needless to say, Andrew was most disappointed. With just one race to do and 12,500 dollars on the line, it really was all or nothing.
The race went off hard, and as Davey put it, “never eased up.” Primes, breaks, and counter attacks rained down from every team, stringing the field out to a single file line for a healthy bulk of the race. Sait proved he’s coming into top form, winning the field sprint for 15th, as a break up the road finished ahead of the field.
Team owner Ryan DeWald when asked about how he felt not racing Sunny King responded, “How cool is this? Four guys getting ready to ride a national level event in Alabama and I didn’t have to go. I’m super proud of Davey for stepping up leadership skills and guiding the team. Can’t wait to watch from my living room.” The team is clearly stepping up its organizational skills, as TSL prepares to split squads in upcoming races- with Andrew as the 12th signing, this allows two, 6-man rosters to race anywhere at the same time. Ryan, Davey, Corey, Parker, and Justin are now preparing for their upcoming European UCI block, as Sait, Mike Jones, Johnny, Adam, and Andrew prepare for Speedweek.
A huge thanks to our sponsors Giant, Speedsleev, Shimano, Vie13, Mad Alchemy, Guayaki, Precis Engineering, and Pizzeria Geppetto for making all of this possible.
