Meet Azyra Franklin, a Competitive Junior Cyclist Who's Aiming for the Top
Azyra “Zee” Franklin, 15, is a competitive cyclist with big dreams. But these dreams almost didn’t happen. Franklin’s story is the epitome of timing, preparation, and the steadfast support of those around her.
Franklin was exposed to cycling and everything that comes with “bike life” at an early age, but at first she couldn’t have been less interested in any of it. Her dad, Sir Colin Franklin, is an avid cyclist and community staple, and he took note of the growing cycling trend in the Black community. But the more he encouraged Franklin to ride her bike, the more she resisted. The tug of war between father and daughter persisted until Franklin’s younger brother, Malachi, who’s five years her junior, took an interest in learning to ride a bike. Suddenly, at the age of eight, Franklin wanted to learn how to ride as well.
“When my brother started riding a tricycle, I didn’t want him to learn how to ride a bike before I did. In my eight-year-old mind, it was a big deal,” Franklin told Bicycling.
Franklin’s Teflon-like resistance to cycling crumbled as she rode longer distances with her father. This metamorphosis seemed to happen almost overnight. Soon, the fresh-faced youngster with shoulder-length, blonde-tipped locs began reaching for her helmet and bike by choice. As her desire to ride on the road grew, she started cycling with the local club, Getting It In Cyclists (GII), on afternoons and weekends.
“I was very proud of my 20-mile bike rides. It was like, really, really fast. And I enjoyed riding with other people,” Franklin recalled.
A quick study, Franklin honed her skills on group rides against more experienced riders. As she learned how to outmaneuver stronger cyclists, she soon found herself at the front of the peloton. When the group returned at the end of a ride, Franklin would feel it necessary to apologize to older riders for dropping them on a hill or out-sprinting them on a straightaway. She respected the members of her cycling community and the lessons they taught her.
When she turned 9, Franklin was prepared to test her skills. She toed the line of several local criteriums and road races. Though her cycling experience was still limited, her ability to remain calm while applying pressure on her competitors allowed her competitive edge to shine.
Franklin’s cycling life was abruptly interrupted when her father broke his wrist and hurt his back. Sidelined, he could no longer train with her at the pace or level that she required to continue excelling. Her father switched from her training partner to coach and “SAG” (support and gear). “I was sad because I couldn’t ride with him anymore, but I still had other people to ride with,” Franklin said.
When Franklin’s cycling community of GII, Artemis Racing, and other local clubs noticed her father’s absence in the peloton, they watched out for her on long rides, mentored her, and challenged her as her father would. “I had to do what I had to do,” Franklin explained about working to stay with the group. Cycling was fun, but it was also work.
Franklin encountered Clifton “Unc” Gray on one such ride. Gray, a well-respected cyclist in his own right, noticed that Franklin was hanging back. “She was being respectful to the adults because she didn’t want to leave them,” Gray said. He challenged her decision to ride easier, and at the next group ride, Franklin got behind his wheel.
“I thought he was very, very funny, and he was very fast,” said Franklin, recalling their first meeting.
Since then, Gray has been Franklin’s “domestique.” An avid trash talker, Gray reminds Franklin that he won’t let anybody beat him. “She’s going to have to earn it,” said Gray. “I don’t care if she’s on a tricycle, if I beat her to the finish line, I’m taking that ‘W’ baby!” Outside of group rides, Gray continued teaching Franklin and became her mentor: “Don’t get fixated on the wheel, act like you belong, and don’t be afraid to be verbal.”
“Uncle Cliff will always tell you that he ain’t no coach—that’s what he always says,” Franklin said. “He’s just the guy who knows stuff, and he’s gonna share the knowledge.”
These nuggets of wisdom, coupled with curb hopping, pedaling drills, and cornering skills, significantly helped Franklin’s bike-handling skills and confidence. Riding in a primarily male peloton, Gray was especially protective of Franklin. If cyclists tried to overtake her, Gray would remind them, “she’s not done yet.” Other times he would roll to the front of the peloton to give her a chance to recover under pressure.
Franklin didn’t mind the pressure. In fact, by 2017, she not only doubled her race entries, she also broadened her experience by venturing outside of the local race scene. One of her most memorable road races was hosted by the Miller School of Albemarle, which boasts a noteworthy development program for junior cyclists.
“It was definitely one of the harder races that I did. I remember getting my butt kicked on the first climb, and the last climb was very, very hard,” she said.
Though she did not win that day, she gained so much more. Watching the school’s cyclists display their skills, tactics, and efforts captivated Franklin. As vividly as Franklin remembered the hills, she remembered the school: “My dad told me that it was a school for cyclists, and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a thing. I gotta go there.’” As her cycling goals became clearer, Franklin set new ones and strived for higher heights.
However, a series of personal losses would follow. Her paternal great-grandfather, who she helped to care for in his later years, died. Two months later, her aunt “Nunny,” who Franklin was incredibly close with as a child, also passed away. Such compounded loss was overwhelming. “I did kind of shut down a little bit for a while,” she said.
But unlike in earlier years, when she struggled with losing her grandmother, Franklin now had an outlet: her bike. “I just started riding my bike more,” she said. She rode to cope with losing so much in so little time. Cycling didn’t make the loss any less, but it allowed her mind to wander, and rather than focusing on what was no longer, she focused on what could be.
“It made me race more angry, I guess like more aggressive,” she said. Redirecting her anger surged Franklin to the front of the peloton, resulting in seven podium finishes that season, in 2018.
Franklin’s time in the saddle became more prescriptive as she worked to become a more formidable competitor. To support her broader cycling goals, she transitioned to Kelly Benefits Strategies (KBS) in 2019, a team known for training junior champions, state and national Champions, and professional cyclists. Franklin is the first female of color to join this elite racing team. As a developmental “devo” team member, KBS director Marc Frazer stressed that he didn’t want Franklin to focus on winning. Instead, he wanted her to become a better cyclist simply by “riding her bike and having fun.”
As the only girl on the devo squad at the time, fun involved work. “Riding with a bunch of teenage guys helped me [to] get better because I had to be more aggressive and turn myself inside out to keep up with them. Because they were not gonna go easy on me because I’m a 13-year-old girl,” she said.
Frazer saw in Franklin what many before him have noticed: “It’s so cliché, but it’s her genuine love. Zee is always down to ride, and she has a great attitude.”
Franklin’s work ethic and willingness to explore new opportunities left a similar impression on KBS director Nima Ebrahimnejad, a 1992 Olympic cyclist. As Franklin worked on speed, strength, and endurance, Ebrahimnejad began working to position her in an academically and physically challenging environment.
In 2021, Franklin’s dream was realized, and she was accepted into the Miller School of Albemarle in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1878, the co-ed day and boarding school currently has a student body of 215 students—of which only 20 percent are students of color. Franklin is the first Black female to join the school’s elite cycling program.
Her team director, Frazer, notes that even with the program’s longstanding success and its cyclists racing at the highest levels, helping Franklin get into the Miller School might be its biggest accomplishment—“bigger than having a kid living in Spain to race, in the grand scheme.”
Like the KBS directors, Miller School assistant director and performance coach Justin Bowes immediately took note of Franklin’s maturity and calm demeanor, her dedication to learning the sport, and her willingness to be “unselfish in a very selfish sport.” As a varsity team leader, Franklin “sets a very professional tone,” Bowes said.
Outside of cycling, her dedication is similarly unquestionable. In attending a school with an annual tuition cost of over $50,000 for a boarding student, Franklin’s academic efforts parallel her determination to improve on the bike, and she maintains a 3.5 grade point average. “Her ability to focus on concepts and subjects that may not come easily for her,” Bowes says, sets her apart from her peers. As such, Franklin was fortunate to receive a scholarship that covers most of her tuition costs.
As Franklin’s cycling community grows, she wanted to provide a way to connect with everyone (while being conscious of costs). By combining her two favorite activities, cycling and drawing, she worked with Pactimo to design her own cycling kits. The Speedy Butterfly kit—a hypnotizing combination of pastel hues with the motto “Trust the process! Do the work!”—signifies her grandmother, who wanted to be reincarnated as a butterfly. Her second kit, depicting a fist breaking chains with a bold 1865 in print, is a celebration of Juneteenth. More than 200 pieces sold, with a portion of the proceeds going directly to Franklin to help offset personal expenses. (The kits were in limited supply, and the sale ended on May 8, though you can view the designs here.)
“Whenever she makes it to Worlds, the Olympics, or wherever she goes, I’m going with her,” says Franklin’s mechanic, Donald Rucker of Patapsco Bike Shop.
“I do want to go to Worlds. I do want to go to the Olympics. And I’d like to do pro crit racing,” Franklin said.
Wherever cycling takes Franklin next, her community will be rooting for her all the way.
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