USA Speedweek - Ribble Rebellion on a Roll

29 April 2024
  • Ribble Rebellion continues to disrupt the crit scene, claiming a pair of victories and several top tens during USA Speedweek.

    The USA Speedweek CRITS Speed Week Series sees the worlds top crit racing teams go head to head in the Southeastern US. The series consists of eight crit races spread over eleven days, with the states of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina playing host to the the best crit racers. It all kicked off in Athens, Georgia before heading across the border into neighbouring staets before concluding back in Georgia on Sunday May 5th.


  • Greenville Cycling Classic

  • Thursday saw Matt Bostock and Jim Brown open up proceedings with super-impressive 4th and 6th place finishes in Greenville, South Carolina. The technical L-shaped course provided plenty of thrills (and thankfully few spills) to excite the on-watching spectators who were treated to the sight of 30mph+ cornering around the tight and twisty circuit. As is ever the way with such city centre crits, the action was fast and frenetic from the off, with a break going clear in the early stages and going on to lap the entire field. But after rejoining the bunch, the breakaway participants were left to fight it out in a sprint, with Ribble Rebellion delivering Matt to the line in 4th and Jim 6th.


  • Spartanburg, South Carolina

  • Ribble Rebellion arrived with a plan and executed it perfectly to secure their second win on US soil. Echoing the events of the first race, it was left to riders from the initial break to fight it out in a hotly contested bunch sprint, with Jim Brown taking the plaudits just ahead of Al Murison in 3rd. Team Captain Joe Laverick give us his insight into how the race played out.

    "Mission accomplished. The plan was to stay committed to riding the front and making sure riders did lap the field… Still getting used to those US lap rules – lapped riders can help in lead-outs for those ahead, so the plan was make sure we always kept the boys out front.” Two in the break, the team rode the front for two thirds of the race, making sure the break didn’t get caught, and more importantly they couldn’t lap the field, keeping the bunch well under control, leaving Jim and Al to do the business up front. Tactically beautiful. Executed to perfection".


  • Atthens, Georgia

  • In a virtual repeat of race one, Ribble Rebellion produced another supreme display of city centre crit racing to place two riders inside the top six in Athens, Georgia. Matt Bostock narrowly missed out on a deserved podium, finishing 3rd in a four man sprint that was to decide the final podium positions. Cole Davis crossed the line a further 19 seconds back to take a lonely 6th.


  • Peachtree Corners, Georgia

  • Another dominant performance from Ribble Rebellion saw Cole Davis secure his second victory of the season in the northern Atlanta suburbs. The Californian once again displayed his class to cross the line a full nine seconds ahead of a group superbly marshalled by teammate Jim Brown. Jim eventually finished sixth, and Matt Bostock finished 10th, capping off another hugely successful outing for the team.


  • Spin the District - Union City Crit, Georgia

  • Cole Davis weathered a storm during the final lap of the Union City Crit to finish fifith overall. A Reign Storm to be precise. In what was to prove a rarity during Speed Week, the majority of the field all entered the final lap in contention for the win. But it was the Reign Storm team who proved strongest. Despite finding himself in the middle of the entire Storm leadout, Cole managed to finish best of the rest to keep up his excellent record of results during Speed Week.


  • Above Image: Jim and Cole celebrate finishing 1-2 in the College Park Crit, signing off from US Speed week with four wins between the pair.

  • Spin the District Criterium - Hapeville, Georgia

  • Al Murison secured his first podium of the week in Hapeville, Georgia. It was just reward for a gutsy ride that saw Al go solo to bridge across to a four-man group with less than 10 minutes of racing on the clock. Now in a group of five, Al and co set off in hot pursuit of a lone breakaway rider who lay just a handful of seconds up the road. Once this lone rider had been despatched, the five steadily increased their advantage over the peloton. Such was their gap entering the final phase of the race, it soon became clear that the winner would emerge from this group. And despite engaging in some last lap cat and mouse tactics, the five held firm to keep a now rampaging peloton at bay just long enough to contest the sprint. Al's superb efforts saw him clinch third and the final podium place.


  • LaGrange Cycling Classic - LaGrange, Georgia


  • Spin the District Criterium - College Park, Georgia

  • Ribble Rebellion signed off from US Speed Week in style, clinching the top two podium positions in the College Park crit. Heading into the final lap it was all to play for, and it was Cole Davis who caught everyone by surprise, dashimg clear as they entered the final corner. For all the world it looked as though the win was his for the taking. However, teammate Jim Brown rocketed past just before the line to take the win and secure a fabulous one-two for Ribble Rebellion.


  • Above Image: Jim sprints to the win in Spartanburg.