Legion of LA is one of the most dominant criterium teams that America has ever seen. It was founded by two brothers from south central Los Angeles, Justin and Cory Williams.
Both successful cyclists in their own right, they decided to combine their talents and take L39ion of LA from the amateur ranks to the professional continental level in just a few years.
However, their ascension through the cycling ranks hasn’t come without it’s challenges. And 2024 appears to be a year of change. Will Legion of LA be able to sustain the success they’ve experienced?
🕰️CHAPTERS🕰️
00:00 – Opening
00:25 – What’s Next For Legion of LA?
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Legion of Los Angeles is arguably one of the most dominant Criterium teams that America has ever seen it was founded by two brothers from South Central Los Angeles Justin and Cory Williams both successful cyclists in their own right they decided to combine their talents and eventually take the team from the
Amateur to the professional Continental level in just a few years however their Ascension through the cycling ranks hasn’t come without its challenges in 2024 appears to be a year of change will Legion be able to sustain the success they’ve experienced in 1903 the first toour of France took
Place the most famous event in the world of cycling it ran from July 1st to July 19th and covered over 2,428 km and was eventually won by Maurice Garen 116 years later and over 5,000 Mi away two brothers in South Central Los Angeles were determined to make cycling known for other reasons
Justin and Cory Williams were both raised around bike racing and have won numerous accolades over the years though accomplished track ride Riders their specialty lies in Criterium racing which takes place on closed circuits with speeds of up to 30 mph and can last for
Up to an hour and a half up to and through 2018 the brothers were predominantly on separate teams that same year Justin decided to go at it alone and went on an absolute tear despite Riding Solo for the year he not only managed to win the US national amateur Criterium Championship but the
Amateur road racing Championship as well I know where to be and where not to be I understand how to use people to my advantage and that’s why even this year without a team I still managed to be successful after his star studied year Justin and his brother Cory decided to
Join forces in 2019 and create what is now known as Legion of Los Angeles the 39 that is used in the name is meant to pay homage to the street the two brothers grew up on their mission was simple to increase diversity and inclusion and cycling but it wasn’t
Going to be easy by any means to take on a challenge of this magnitude they were going to need some help luckily for them they were able to recruit the help with some loyal friends to embark on the challenge with them they also garnered support from one of the biggest brands
In cycling specialized bicycle components a company that was founded in 1974 and has been known for supporting the biggest Riders and winning the biggest races primarily on the highest level of the sport known as the world tour it was just the support Legion was going to need if they wanted to become
An immediate Contender on the crit racing scene like I like being surpris on how seamlessly things come together if there was ever any doubt whether or not Legion was going to succeed it was quickly thrown out the window in the first year of the team’s existence Cory
And Justin won nearly 20 races combined and in 20121 Cory Williams won 18 races alone and since the two brothers started the team well they’ve won a combined 74 Races they quickly accelerated to the top step of Criterium racing in America sprinting at top speed on the course and
In Lamborghini’s off course great there dropped the kit put this on camera in the in the release video but now I got to get this back to a donor I’m probably late as always later they were accomplishing their goal of changing the sport but was it For
Better or For Worse as a result of their success the team began to gain both positive and negative attention on June 18th 2021 just 3 years into Allegiance Journey Cory Williams decided to take on one of the biggest challenges of his career the US professional Criterium
Championship he held his own in the 100 22 men fied until the second to last corner of the race coming within arms length of the Stars and Stripes Jersey until tragedy [Applause] struck he was caught up in a crash falling short of his dreams as he lay there watching his hopes of Victory
Right away right before his eyes two years later he would bounce back and redeem himself but not by winning the US national championships Jersey but the B title just one year after his brother Justin had accomplished the same goal they had managed to keep it within the
Family and even though Corey had won and represented his home country of believ and his family with honor the move still brought criticism from some of the most passionate cycling fans around this was only adding to the ongoing turbulence the team was facing after several suspensions and passionate clashes with
Other teams things were beginning to look a little bit shaky to make matters worse at the end of 2023 they lost two major pillars of their team and they also announced a departure from one of their original supporters specialized bicycle components there was no doubt that Legion was going to need
To regroup and recommit to their mission and fast two brothers from South Central Los Angeles who are no strangers to overcoming a challenge many were betting against them when they first began their Journey but the team has managed to thrive for 5 years after skyrocketing to
The top of the podium in American crit racing will it survive another 5 years we’ll have to wait and see