Athens Twilight Preview: Dessert Before Dinner
The sweetest of the crit titles also happens to be the first of the big prizes in a season of high-speed American racing
Most crits wish they were like Athens. Other crits think they are like Athens. But, in reality, Athens is a one-of-one – nothing is quite like it.
Athens Twilight, the first of our distinguished Monuments of Criterium Racing, is the platonic ideal of a criterium. A short 1-kilometer course, four corners and thousands of fans under varying degrees of inebriation cheering all race long. It is, by nearly every metric, the epitome of what criterium racing hopes to be about.
The race began in 1980 and has 44 years of history to build that mystique. Every year, conveniently placed around the end of the spring semester at one of the rowdiest college towns in the SEC, the race has ridden a confluence of factors to bring equal parts speed and party to downtown Athens, Georgia. What’s more, the race is enthralling enough to have a year-long legacy in the town. Come summer, spring, winter or fall, any mention of cycling to a local will encourage a comment about the race – it has that kind of effect.
In this year of another sea change in American cycling, Athens seems to have an outsized importance. Teams have fallen by the wayside, and races dwindle, but not Athens. On Saturday night, as it has for over four decades, Athens will welcome America’s fastest to its dimly lit streets under towering Oak trees; and set the tone for the rest of the season for the community of racers who make up the American cycling scene.
The course: not all four corner courses are created equal
Athens is, on paper, a straightforward course. Four corners, one-kilometer, with two short transitions and two long straight-a-ways. Once again, Athens is a consummate criterium and the course only reinforces that with all of those basic ingredients on full display.
That being said, not all four-corner criteriums are the same and Athens has a lot of intricacies that make the course unique despite its basic look and feel.
First and foremost, the men’s race is on the long side at 80km. While it is not the longest – that title goes to the Clarendon Cup which is part of the Armed Forces Classic – it is beyond the typical elite distance of 60-90 minutes. Last year, the race was just shy of an hour and 45 minutes, and while 15 minutes might not seem like a huge difference, it does give more room for a breakaway to escape in the middle of the race after the initial culling period and before the final lead-outs ramp up.
Unfortunately, the women’s race is only half the distance of the men’s race at 40km and does not have the same dynamism. Last year, the winners completed the race in just over an hour. However, the women’s race has a similar history of shattering into small groups with lapping up happening relatively frequently.
Nevertheless, what is the same between the two races is the importance of the pinch point that comes from a tight turn three and a steep pitch on the final straight that starts the sprint early. This one-two combination makes the race selective early, with crashes and attrition taking huge chunks of the competitors out of the game, and makes for a long strung-out sprint with the lead out into turn three on the last lap a vital point of order in deciding the final sprint.
Women’s preview: A revamped L39ion of Los Angeles versus a strengthening field
Start time: 7:00 PM Eastern
Distance: 40km (40 laps)
Previous year's winner: Alexis Magner
Total prize purse: $6,000
In the women's race, the narrative is the same as it has been the past few seasons: can anyone top L39ion of Los Angeles?
With Alexis Magner (nee Ryan), Kendal Ryan and Skylar Schneider claiming wins for the squad at the three previous editions, the team will once again be favored. However, Skylar and her sister Samantha Schneider are no longer on the L39ion roster, as both were part of an offseason transfer to the Miami Blazers which is admittedly part of the same Williams Devo apparatus as L39ion.
Outside of the two Williams Devo teams, there are some questions surrounding who exactly will make it to the start to challenge the most recent Athens champions. Last year's runner-up, Andrea Cyr, and the overall winner of the American Criterium Cup, Paola Munoz, are both on the start line, however, they are listed as competing for their former National Cycling League team. Since the NCL ended abruptly on April 15, Muñoz has signed with Goldman Sachs ETF Racing and seems likely to be on the start line for them, while Cyr’s status is unknown as she has not announced a team for the rest of the season.
Beyond those teams, the 80-rider-strong peloton should see noteworthy performances from several top criterium teams, including DNA Pro Cycling, with Harriet Owen and Rachel Langdon, LA Sweat Racing and AUTOMATIC | ABUS Racing who beefed up their women’s line-up adding riders like 2012 Olympian Arielle Verhaaren. Lastly, and perhaps most significantly, Coryn Labeki from EF Education-Cannondale is returning to the domestic scene to race Athens and will be a one-woman wrecking crew that could steal the win away from everyone in the final if she finds her way towards the front as she did in Knoxville last year at Nationals.
Men’s preview: Parity in numbers
Start time: 8:30 PM Eastern
Distance: 80km (80 laps)
Previous year's winner: Bryan Gomez
Total prize purse: $6,000
On the men’s side, the framework to build contenders from is less than clear because, frankly, we have yet to see the big teams in their current configurations this season after a massive reshuffle in the off-season.
Nevertheless, the logical place to start naming contenders seems to be the newly re-styled REIGN Storm Racing. The team which was American Cycling Group and Best Buddies before that has the two-time defending champion Bryan Gomez AND last year’s runner-up Danny Summerhill on the roster for this year. Between the two of them, they can win this race in every potential combination, with the added strength of a well-rounded six-rider team to back them up.
If it’s not REIGN, look for the three Williams Devo teams to be the next best bet with L39ion, Blazers and the Austin Outlaws all boasting refurbished six-rider teams. Cory Williams, Noah Granigan and Tyler Williams will lead the Blazers after the latter two riders signed with them following the shuttering of the NCL, while Robin Carpenter and Ty Magner lead L39ion. Lastly, while the Outlaws are the greatest unknown quantity of the three teams, Lucas Bourgoyne is not, as the Texas sprinter is a rider to contend with in the final.
Beyond those teams, Ribble Rebellion is an interesting package with the team from the United Kingdom pledging to “disrupt” the global crit scene. And while that is a lofty goal, they did see success in Redlands with their player/coach/gravel guru Joe Laverick finishing on the GC podium and Cole Davis, a former US junior national champion, nabbing a stage. Work Hard Be Humble, CRCA Foundation, DDP Elite, UTC - ButcherBox Cycling and SQUADRA MIAMI are other teams that will bring strong riders and a full complement of six to the race and could spring a surprise result as the pecking order continues to be set for the 2024 racing season.
Beyond those teams, the start list is deep, perhaps as deep as it has been in years, as 160 riders are currently registered for the professional race that begins at 8:30 PM Saturday following the women’s race at 7:00 PM.