Description
April 9, 2023
National Cycling League Cup 2023 – 1 – Miami Beach – Miami Beach
The National Cycling League (NCL) is cycling’s newest racing series, which aims to grow the sport in the USA through a series of criterium races in four major US cities.
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April 9, 2023
National Cycling League Cup 2023 – 1 – Miami Beach – Miami Beach
The National Cycling League (NCL) is cycling’s newest racing series, which aims to grow the sport in the USA through a series of criterium races in four major US cities. With more than $1 million worth of prize money on offer for the teams competing, this new addition to the US domestic calendar is sure to attract the attention of many. The NCL Cup is a series of criterium races which takes place over four rounds in Miami, Atlanta, Denver and Washington, with each race consisting of 60 laps of a 1-2km-long circuit. The teams competing will consist of both male and female riders, with points scored in both the men’s and the women’s races contributing equally towards a team’s overall tally in the league. The format of each race is not too dissimilar to a points race on the track, with team points on offer at the end of each lap. Three, two and one points will be available for the first three riders across the line, with these points being tripled to nine, six and three on laps 30 and 60. Teams will also be allowed to substitute riders in the pits during the opening 25 laps, meaning that teams won’t be hindered in the event of a crash. After both the men’s and women’s races have finished, all of the teams’ points will be accumulated and the winning team for that race will be crowned. After all four rounds of the series, the team with the most race wins will be named the overall series winners of the National Cycling League. The NCL was co-founded by a group of successful people from both inside and outside the sports industry who all shared a common passion for the sport of cycling. They did this with the aim of making bike racing more accessible to the average sports fan by reducing the knowledge barrier, as well as the time investment, making races shorter, faster and more action-packed.
The Denver Disruptors dominated the Miami Beach Invitational on Saturday in Florida to take the first lead in the National Cycling League’s four-race criterium series, scoring 138 total points. The Miami Nights posted 93 points, good for second place in the standings.
Texas Roadhouse Cycling made noise in the men’s race with 23 points and boosted their overall position with co-ed partners Goldman Sachs ETFs to finish in third place, 13 points ahead of the Foundation Cycling (men) and CCB-Alpine Carbon p/b LLG (women) pairing.
The Denver Disruptors are now the only team among the 10 invited squads in the NCL Cup which could bank the $700,000 cash prize for the Quadruple Crown, a sweep of all four national events. All teams remain eligible for the Triple Crown, a $100,000 prize for one team winning three events.
The field of 10 women’s team opened the full-on 25-lap sprint contest, with points earned on each lap for the top three riders, riding in a clockwise direction on a one-mile, four-corner course in the heart of Miami Beach under bright, blue skies late Saturday afternoon.
Team Roxo Racing earned a front-row placement from winning a qualifier virtual event on Friday, but straight away, any advantage at the start line melted away in hot 90-degree Fahrenheit temperatures and the pulverising power put out by the Denver Disruptors and Miami Nights.
Tactics to maximise an advantage with fresh riders on pit stops and substitutions came into play for the huge lead generated by the Disruptor women, led by former WorldTour veteran Leah Kirchmann. She completed all 25 circuits and amassed the majority of points for her team, almost a third of 69 scored, but said they made the most of the new rules.
“Our strategy was to use our collective strength as a team to score consistent points throughout the race. We were strategic with substitutions that allowed us to put fresh riders into the race at key moments to score points for the team. We also wanted to set up the men’s team to start with a points advantage. We actually scored an equal number in the end in our races which is a fun statistic and shows our team strength,” she said about each squad posting 69 points for the balanced attack.
“We were always in the front and in control of what was happening in the race. Our coach, Svein [Tuft], also offered useful coaching tactically. It was a fun venue to be racing right along South Beach in Miami, with lots of people out to cheer! The course itself was fairly straightforward and very fast, which favoured fast sprints.”
Relentless speed and the heat wore down many of the competitors, as many of the women’s riders on the smaller unified teams seemed to struggle in positioning fresh legs and keep the Disruptors and Nights from scooping up points.
Team Roxo Racing was a surprise not to make an impact in the women’s race. Along with its men’s partner team Voler Factory Racing, Roxo Racing had started on the front row of the criteriums, having won virtual races on Friday night for the grid placement advantage, but only took a single point on Saturday. The combo team went first to worst and finished in 10th place.
Results :
 is cycling’s newest racing series, which aims to grow the sport in the USA through a series of criterium races in four major US cities. With more than $1 million worth of prize money on offer for the teams competing, this new addition to the US domestic calendar is sure to attract the attention of many. The NCL Cup is a series of criterium races which takes place over four rounds in Miami, Atlanta, Denver and Washington, with each race consisting of 60 laps of a 1-2km-long circuit. The teams competing will consist of both male and female riders, with points scored in both the men’s and the women’s races contributing equally towards a team’s overall tally in the league. The format of each race is not too dissimilar to a points race on the track, with team points on offer at the end of each lap. Three, two and one points will be available for the first three riders across the line, with these points being tripled to nine, six and three on laps 30 and 60. Teams will also be allowed to substitute riders in the pits during the opening 25 laps, meaning that teams won’t be hindered in the event of a crash. After both the men’s and women’s races have finished, all of the teams’ points will be accumulated and the winning team for that race will be crowned. After all four rounds of the series, the team with the most race wins will be named the overall series winners of the National Cycling League. The NCL was co-founded by a group of successful people from both inside and outside the sports industry who all shared a common passion for the sport of cycling. They did this with the aim of making bike racing more accessible to the average sports fan by reducing the knowledge barrier, as well as the time investment, making races shorter, faster and more action-packed.
The Denver Disruptors dominated the Miami Beach Invitational on Saturday in Florida to take the first lead in the National Cycling League’s four-race criterium series, scoring 138 total points. The Miami Nights posted 93 points, good for second place in the standings.
Texas Roadhouse Cycling made noise in the men’s race with 23 points and boosted their overall position with co-ed partners Goldman Sachs ETFs to finish in third place, 13 points ahead of the Foundation Cycling (men) and CCB-Alpine Carbon p/b LLG (women) pairing.
The Denver Disruptors are now the only team among the 10 invited squads in the NCL Cup which could bank the $700,000 cash prize for the Quadruple Crown, a sweep of all four national events. All teams remain eligible for the Triple Crown, a $100,000 prize for one team winning three events.
The field of 10 women’s team opened the full-on 25-lap sprint contest, with points earned on each lap for the top three riders, riding in a clockwise direction on a one-mile, four-corner course in the heart of Miami Beach under bright, blue skies late Saturday afternoon.
Team Roxo Racing earned a front-row placement from winning a qualifier virtual event on Friday, but straight away, any advantage at the start line melted away in hot 90-degree Fahrenheit temperatures and the pulverising power put out by the Denver Disruptors and Miami Nights.
Tactics to maximise an advantage with fresh riders on pit stops and substitutions came into play for the huge lead generated by the Disruptor women, led by former WorldTour veteran Leah Kirchmann. She completed all 25 circuits and amassed the majority of points for her team, almost a third of 69 scored, but said they made the most of the new rules.
"Our strategy was to use our collective strength as a team to score consistent points throughout the race. We were strategic with substitutions that allowed us to put fresh riders into the race at key moments to score points for the team. We also wanted to set up the men's team to start with a points advantage. We actually scored an equal number in the end in our races which is a fun statistic and shows our team strength," she said about each squad posting 69 points for the balanced attack.
“We were always in the front and in control of what was happening in the race. Our coach, Svein [Tuft], also offered useful coaching tactically. It was a fun venue to be racing right along South Beach in Miami, with lots of people out to cheer! The course itself was fairly straightforward and very fast, which favoured fast sprints.”
Relentless speed and the heat wore down many of the competitors, as many of the women’s riders on the smaller unified teams seemed to struggle in positioning fresh legs and keep the Disruptors and Nights from scooping up points.
Team Roxo Racing was a surprise not to make an impact in the women’s race. Along with its men’s partner team Voler Factory Racing, Roxo Racing had started on the front row of the criteriums, having won virtual races on Friday night for the grid placement advantage, but only took a single point on Saturday. The combo team went first to worst and finished in 10th place.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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