When the newly formed National Cycling League (NCL) launched its first event in Miami on 8 April 2023, many long-time racers in the sport predicted it would not last 12 months. Well, the racers were wrong, but only by one week.

On Monday 15 May 2024 the NCL announced, “We will cease operations of our NCL-owned teams, which includes the Miami Nights, Denver Disruptors, and Atlanta Rise [new for 2024], effective immediately,”

After raising $7.5MM from high profile investors, hiring well-known pro riders for the NCL owned teams (Miami Nights, Denver Disruptors), inviting ten elite amateur teams to join and holding open-to-the-public training camps, the “future of pro cycling” in the USA held just three events in 2023 before calling it quits and cancelling all plans for 2024.

Cycling Weekly reports that NCL teams and riders were abruptly made aware of the change during a four-minute Zoom video conference call Monday morning, with riders on NCL owned teams told that no salaries would be paid after 30 April.

But NCL officials remain hopeful of a comeback after “restructuring and rebuilding for the 2025 season.”

Unfortunately, everyone here at Gran Fondo Daily saw this coming from the first day. While we hoped the NCL would succeed, for all the money, big talk, celebrity investors and hype about reinventing road racing in the USA, we were a bit surprised that it didn’t last at least two seasons. But hey, it’s part of a dying domestic road racing scene and how could we realistically expected any other outcome.

Photo Credit: NCL

© 2019-2024 All Rights Reserved Gran Fondo Daily