Justin Williams (L39ION of Los Angeles) acknowledged he still experiences “sharp pain” from a broken wrist which he suffered at Tulsa Tough’s Blue Dome Criterium in early June, the opening round of the American Criterium Cup, as he relented against better judgment to jump back into the criterium fray just one month later.
He made surprise starts at the Salt Lake City Criterium doubleheader when he was “getting the itch”, and then the Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, where he finished second in the men’s pro race to reclaim the SoCal state championship jersey.
“I just needed an outlet, and my bike is my outlet,” Williams told Cyclingnews about making an early return to racing.
“Feeling the tires, feeling the momentum and really just having fun with the bike again. There's definitely pain still there, sharp pain. Painful moments like hitting bumps or dodging the cracks, having to yank the bars to the right.”
Along with the fracture, he suffered a torn bicep and “crazy bruising” from a hard crash on June 7. His desire to get back on his bike won over the advice from his brother Cory Williams (Miami Blazers), and his doctor, to give the injuries a few more weeks to heal. His doctor had called to schedule another X-ray of his wrist, but instead asked about a social media post from Williams that revealed he was racing.
“I was like, my bad. So I just sat at the back and I stayed out of trouble,” Justin Williams said about joining L39ION in Utah. “And it felt really good to not have pressure. It was the first time I've raced without pressure in four or five years.
“I'm doing OK. I think mentally, it's been a bit of a struggle, navigating all the ups and downs of the sport recently. So I would say overall, I'm just OK. I'm happy that it's the injury is not worse. I think it could have been worse,” the three-time winner of the Blue Dome Crit at Tulsa Tough admitted.
Racing and responsibilities
When Justin Williams co-founded L39ION of Los Angeles with his brother Cory in 2019, it was all about a single, co-ed team working for diversity and inclusion in the sport. By 2023 his Williams Racing Development business branched out to add the Miami Blazers and Austin Outlaws, which was done specifically to “create competition” with career opportunities for more riders.
He finds it rewarding and exhausting at the same time.
“It’s a pretty extreme workload,” he admitted. “I was fully running one team and able to fully function as a cyclist and still winning. And obviously, like I haven't won as much in the last couple of years, because my attention is somewhere else.
“In my head, I figured, it was going to be 120% for a couple of years. I think that I've over-welcomed my stay a bit. I am worn out and I could feel it in my training, I can feel it in my thought process and creativity.”
It was extra sponsorship money attracted by L39ION’s success that allowed for the expansion, which now provides jobs for 35 riders plus staff. But naysayers called this “collusion” and Williams said he found “this collusion thing confusing”.
“We actually were trying to create competition, because the sport needs it,” he said. “In 2019 we just had L39ION, and we dominated every day. In 2020, in 2021 we just had L39ION and we dominated. So then we started the Miami Blazers with the hope of engaging another demographic on the east side of the country, but also creating opportunities for more athletes coming back from Europe.
“And then when we started the Outlaws, it was kind of the same concept. Do we have enough momentum to create a third team in which we can build around someone like Lucas Bourgoyne and get him the help that he needs?
“We typically give people a couple of years to settle in and to grow. I think being able to leverage the position that I'm in right now to give opportunities to Caribbean riders, to black riders, the cycle is working.”
He mentioned Austin Outlaws riders like Conor White, who was the 2023 Caribbean road race champion and Amber Joseph, who is the four-time ITT champion of Barbados, as a few of several examples.
“We have a couple riders coming from Belize next year. We're looking at a couple Trinidadian riders for next year, too. We feel like we're doing our job by giving opportunities to riders who deserve it.”
Williams stressed that it was all about opportunities and providing a comfortable learning environment as well, where riders can “be themselves, to race, and to really pursue their dreams in a way that they feel like they can.”
He said he is very proud of Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) of Eritrea with grabbing global attention by earning three wins at this year’s Tour de France. Girmay started road racing just five years ago with a club team based in Switzerland. This year the 24-year-old is the only Black African represented at the French Grand Tour.
“As much as people act like professional cycling is super diverse, it's not very diverse or inviting. I think Biniam’s talent, especially with the team that he's on, outweighs his cultural difference. I think that now he's winning races, let's hope, fingers crossed, that he'll have more of a voice. Hopefully, moving forward, he can speak more of his truth and be supported in in that.”
The recovery from his injuries in Utah gave Williams more time to watch some of the Tour de France. Now, he can add to his growing to-do list a way to make an in-person connection with the WorldTour rider.
“Actually, we keep up with each other a little bit on social media, but obviously he's doing this WorldTour thing. So we haven't gotten to meet yet, but it's definitely my dream to to go on a couple rides with him.”
