The Atlanta Rise, Denver Disruptors, and Miami Nights Announce their 2024 National Cycling League (NCL) Cup Team Rosters

December 21, 2023

The teams’ rosters include returning 2023 NCL stars, national team members and champions, former World Tour riders, and 2024 Paris Olympics hopefuls

 (Miami, Fla, December 21, 2023) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – After a successful inaugural season, three teams from the National Cycling League announced their 2024 rosters. Two second-year teams, Denver Disruptors and Miami Nights, will include riders from 2023, plus talented rookies and familiar names. First-year team Atlanta Rise has a roster full of rising stars and Georgia cycling stalwarts. In addition to the NCL Cup races, the three teams will compete in a full domestic race calendar, including road races and stage races. Selected individual riders will begin competing in January as members of their national teams, then all the riders will come together for team training camps and debut in their 2024 team kits in early March.

“Year two of the NCL will build off the 2023 success, where we launched a league, brought cycling races to three major U.S. markets, and unveiled two new cycling teams,” said NCL CEO Andrea Pagnanelli. “For 2024, we added a new team, the Atlanta Rise, to tap into the rich cycling culture in Atlanta and challenge the current contenders for the NCL Cup.”

The Miami Nights squad strengthened their roster in the off-season and is ready to repeat as NCL Cup champions in 2024 and challenge for race wins and podiums across the domestic race calendar. Leading the men will be Clever Martinez, who won NCL Atlanta. He’ll be joined by former USA Cycling Pro Road Tour champion Tyler Williams, 2020 Venezuelan National Road Race champion Robert Sierra, veteran Australian Jonathan Clarke, and international stage winner American Colin Joyce. There is no lack of team leaders on the women’s side, as multiple riders won races in 2023. Cuban sprinter Heidy Praderas finished second at the inaugural NCL Denver and won a stage of the Tucson Cycling Classic. Her teammate, the 2023 American Criterium Cup Champion and former Chilean National champion, Paola Muñoz, picked up wins at NCL Denver and both days at the Salt Lake Criterium, as well as 12 top-five finishes last season. Also chasing wins and podiums will be two-time American Criterium Cup overall runner-up Andrea Cyr and two-time Venezuelan Olympian Daniely Garcia. With wins across the globe and years of experience, these established pros will be looking to guide the development of rising stars Melsey Perez and Brittany Parffrey.

After finishing runners-up in last year’s NCL Cup competition, the Denver Disruptors will be led by three returning riders from their 2023 roster: Ava Hachmann, Ulises Castillo, and Noah Granigan. Intending to bring the NCL Cup to the Mile High City, the Disruptors have added a combination of seasoned veterans, promising young talent, and former National Champions. Stephen Bassett joins the Disruptors after four years of international racing with Human Powered Health. Former World Tour race participant Daphne Karagianis will help develop the up-and-coming stars on the women’s team. Other notable additions to the team are U.S. National Team Rider Cassidy Hickey, multi-talented Danielle Morshead, and four-time Tour of America’s Dairyland podium finisher Grace Arlandson. On the men’s side, 2022 U.S. U23 National champion Cooper Johnson and five-time U.S. Track Cycling National champion Grant Koontz add additional firepower to an already strong Disruptors team.

NCL’s newest squad is the Atlanta Rise Cycling Club. Focusing on being more than just a team, the Rise’s goal is to create an inclusive community of passionate cycling fans and Atlantans who view their team as a mirror of life in their city. The team is a blend of veteran riders and young stars coming from various corners of Georgia and across the pond.  Dr. Ruth Allen (England/Atlanta, GA), Quentin Goossens (Belgium/Atlanta, GA), and Caleb Landgrebe (Peachtree City, GA) bring European experience to the Rise, while Elizabeth Harden (Demorest, GA), Kara Lilly (Savannah, GA), Brock Mason (Atlanta, GA), Joshua Meyers (Atlanta, GA), Lucas Strain (Eatonton, GA), and Jon Brock (Atlanta, GA) will add local Georgia flare to the team. After his successful year as a development rider for the Denver Disruptors, David Davenport steps up and joins Atlanta for 2024.

“We’re excited for year two of the NCL. After battling it out for the 2023 NCL Cup, the Denver Disruptors and Miami Nights strengthened their rosters. Both teams will be forces across stage races, crits, road races, and, of course, the NCL Cup,” said Reed McCalvin, VP of Teams and Athletes. “The new team in the NCL, the Atlanta Rise, found local stars and recruited riders with amazing European racing experience, which will make them instant contenders at every race they compete in.”

All teams will have eight women and eight men on their final rosters, plus a head coach and further team support. Look for the final rosters to be announced before the team’s training camps. The complete list of teams participating in the 2024 NCL Cup will be announced in the coming weeks.

ATLANTA RISE 

DENVER DISRUPTORS

MIAMI NIGHTS

Media Inquiries: info@nclracing.com

About National Cycling League

Founded in 2022, the National Cycling League (NCL) is transforming professional cycling into a world-class spectator sport. The inaugural 2023 NCL Cup included races in Miami Beach, Denver, and Atlanta. Visit nclracing.com for more information.

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