The First NCL Race Is in the Books. Here's What Happened.
In the inaugural race of the brand-new National Cycling League, the Denver Disruptors posted a dominant night on a fast four-corner crit course at the Miami Beach Invitational on Saturday.
The new league, which boasts a four-race season, is offering a novel and forward-thinking approach to bike racing by featuring crit-style scoring while combining men’s and women’s teams under one unified score by the race’s end. The league is also promoting itself as the first “majority-minority and female-owned professional sports league.”
On a warm South Florida evening, the women’s race rolled first, going for 25-laps around the circuit.
The Disruptors’ women’s squad went head-to-head with the local team—and the only other team set to compete in all four NCL events—Miami Nights, jumping out to an early lead as they took 1-2-3 on the first lap.
Teams are awarded three points for finishing a lap first, two for second, and one for third. That point structure remains throughout the race until the final lap, where point values are tripled.
By the race’s halfway mark, Denver held a sturdy 33-to-15 lead.
A few other teams made their way into the points. CCB Alpine Carbon notched 16 points over the race, while Goldman Sachs ETFS Racing scored nine.
Denver also substituted riders frequently throughout the race—another element of the NCL’s unique approach is the allowance of mid-race subs—in order to keep their legs fresh and rack up points.
Still, the battle was mostly fought between Denver and Miami, with Denver eventually finishing the race with 69 points. Miami finished second with 53.
Of course, an NCL race isn’t over until both teams’ women’s and men’s squads compete. From there, both sides of the teams’ scores are added, with the highest combined total winning.
Looking to defend their women’s lead, Denver’s men’s team charged full steam from the opening gun, sprinting from the race’s earliest laps to garner as many points as possible.
A few other teams got into the points column, with the Texas Roadhouse team (racing with the Goldman Sachs’ women) scoring 23 and Kelly Benefits Cycling netting 10 points.
But just as in the women’s race, Miami Nights’ men’s team proved to be Denver’s closest competition. Still, the Denver Disruptors’ men mirrored the women’s total, with 69 points of their own.
Meanwhile, Miami scored 40, which gave Denver a comfortable 138-to-93 win on the evening. Goldman Sachs ETFS/Texas Roadhouse rounded out the podium with 32 points.
For finishing first, the Denver Disruptors left the race $7,500 richer. Miami Nights and Goldman Sachs ETFS/Texas Roadhouse earned $5,000 and $4,000, respectively. The other seven teams who raced took home smaller cuts of the night’s $30,000 purse.
At season’s end, the competing teams will split an additional $130,000, based on standings. The league winner will get $45,000. And any team who wins three out of the four races will net a team a $100,000 bonus. Should the Denver Disruptors win all four races, that total increases to $700,000.
The next NCL race is scheduled for May 14th in Atlanta. You can watch NCL races and full-race replays on GCN+.
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