L39ION Brothers win big with new CRIT Championship event

 

“It’s massively intense. There’s a lot of crashes. There’s a lot of people screaming at each other and full contact—and that’s what makes it fun,” brothers Justin and Cory Williams told us about criterium racing last time we caught up with them. CRIT racing has competitors cycling through often-dense city locations at speeds of up to 30 m.p.h. with fields of up to hundreds of racers zipping through a closed circuit. It’s one of the ways the sport is evolving to reach an entirely new generation, more like F1 racing or major sports events than the long-form races that have long defined the sport.  

 

The LA-based brothers formed L39ION (pronounced “Legion”) in 2019, inspired by their love for cycling and desire to promote diversity, representation, and inclusion in the cycling world and beyond. And they’ve been busy. In addition to being the “winningest team in America,” and Vuori partners, L39ION collaborated with Boston University's Sargent College to provide elementary school curriculum on bike riding and nutrition through their Cycle Kids program.  

 

But they weren’t satisfied there. As the brothers told us recently: “The dream would be to see cycling live on a level where criterium races feel like massive festivals and we get to tell some awesome stories and build incredible heroes. That’s really my goal.” Vuori is thrilled to share that dream became a reality on October 21^st 2023 with the CRIT Cycling Championships in St. Petersburg, Florida. The stadium-sized race featured heats for both men and women, live music, yoga classes, a 5K, and more, making this event the realization of a lifelong dream for many in the cycling community. Good friend and team photographer Kit Karzen took to his social media to share his pride in watching Justin Williams make this dream event a reality, “I’ve had the privilege to document Justin Williams the past three years as he uses his influence to shake the metaphorical tree of American cycling to release its old, withered branches and grow something new. Something that didn’t cater to the old guard and outdated ideas, but a re-imagination of the American cyclist.”  

The William’s brothers already have so much to be proud of when it comes to the influence they have had on the world of CRIT Cycling. The pride they take in growing awareness around the sport and the passion they bring to increasing it’s diversity are nothing short of inspiring. With the addition of this new massively successful Championship event we have a feeling they are just getting started.  

All photos provided by Kit Karzen