LEGION'S Into The Lions Den Recap (The FASTEST CRIT I've Ever Raced!)

I was lucky enough to get a spot in the pro-mens night race for the first ever “into the lions den” criterium. With 100k in prizes up for grabs this race was bound to be the fastest crit I have ever raced. In this cycling breakdown video I try to answer some questions about this event, explain how the race played out, and give my overall thoughts on the success of this event.
Finish camera from / lucas_bourgoyne
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0:00 Into
2:10 Mens Interviews
5:54 Race Breakdown
19:10 Last Lap

[@stephenboshears4832]

“Everyone rode safe” Vegan cyclist NorCal Cycling: Doubt…

[@ryannelson9256]

And I loved Jeff's almost-comment on why he wasn't expecting to win. He was there, but you know he was so ready to dive into that rant. Kept it classy and didn't say anything.

[@kubackjeee]

​@@ryannelson9256 you can't say the truth about this fake niggas or you will be called racist etc

[@drchris103]

Jeff got robbed of that prime. I'm a Legion fan for obvious reasons but them having two teams in the same race and using the B team as leverage is cheesy af. I see why people were salty about it.

[@kr7epj4x]

Yeah the guy should have been relegated for deviation if they followed that part of the UCI rules. I am also a Legion fan and I think its fine if they bring a second team but they need to be 100% separate and can't work to benefit the other, otherwise its just doubling your team size while limiting everyone else to just 6 riders which is straight BS from a competition standpoint.

[@drchris103]

@@kr7epj4x Agreed.

[@asiantrick24]

It’s boring to watch an elite team keep on winning against lesser competition. I want to see legion racing against other elite uci team such as rally

[@drchris103]

@@asiantrick24 I wouldn’t say the teams they race are lesser teams, Legion just takes some inhumane training regiments but I would love to see them compete against UCI teams who do crits if there’s any out there.

[@asiantrick24]

@@drchris103 I'm in So Cal so I'm very much familiar with the crit scene here. Most of the guys they raced against have day jobs and the level of talent on Legion against these team are night and day. Feel like i'm watching Team USA basketball in the olympics lol.

[@RedNeckBiker109]

The first problem with USA Cycling is USA Cycling they get in their own way and are too old. This race should put USA Cycling on notice to get on board or get dropped. This race offered more in prize money then Joe Martin State race offered over the last three years. I've heard the Walmart Foundation is getting involved with Joe in the very near future so that may change. The need to bring new blood with it though. This idea is fantastic I hope there are more races just like this and USA cycling is kept out of it. Adopt the cycling rules that work for crits dump the fuddy duddy bureaucrats and pedal on. I think this idea has enough legs to really catch on. Its spectator friendly, sponsor friendly and the racers appear to love it. Great Job # L39ION

[@markcavandish1295]

Well said

[@pedalpatrol]

But they have to fix the streaming issue not really fan and media friendly...

[@CycoWarriorx]

Exactly RNB!

[@elijahkwon422]

@@user-nb5qz7ls2d USA crits

[@Ninjump]

@@pedalpatrol watching live off of Cory's camera was an awesome addition while also watching from the side of the road. Better than some of the disastrous USA Crits streams this year. Hopefully they increase to several streams from different riders next year and find a better way to package that up!

[@nathanharris768]

Well done Tyler. Glad to see you and Lucas linking up.

[@tonycrispin]

This seemed like it was a seriously cool event!!! Awesome that you were able to be a part of it and share the experience with us.

[@jjwa5410]

Happy to see a native Boston person represent the city so well!

[@competitivejunkie]

Vegan cyclist is from boston?

[@jjwa5410]

That's the joke - he isn't. Butcherbox was supposed to rep Boston but backed out because LEgion wouldn't let them put their sponsors on the jersey

[@TheVeloVibe_]

Great video and a great reminder of all the great athletes that are also great people off the bike. Thanks for all your contributions to the sport we all love.

[@KGrant88]

So sick! Killed it! Loved the different camera views.

[@nicholasloduca6668]

Was at this crit, and banging on the boards, so much fun to watch! Incredible atmosphere and great racing 👏👏

[@YesItsKevin]

0:57 ITS ME ON THE RIGHT WOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@mr._wattzon]

Awesome video as always! It was good seeing you out there rippin corners. 💪🏻

[@The2808erik]

If this isn't a UCI sanctioned event, I would have brought the most illegal bike possible.

[@sylusk9149]

Just show up on a motorcycle

[@haakman123]

If this isn't a UCI sanctioned event, they still can adhere to the UCI bike rules in their own ruling.

[@richhoward7050]

Starting a team with recumbent bikes, who is with me?

[@NielsHeldens]

Fuck it, turn up in a supra that was tuned beyond belief

[@philliptorres5944]

BB motors

[@walker5845]

Great to meet you before the race! You all looked fast and comfortable in that pack, and I’m glad you felt the crowd’s energy. Keep killing it out there🤘🏻

[@tevemullins8156]

Dope interviews and race footage. Thanks for capturing it all.

[@jefferymoore8019]

It was great footage. I think its great was Legion is doing for American cycling.

[@bait3027]

Legion has definitely brought cycling to another level in a positive way.

[@YesItsKevin]

it was awesome meeting you again! thanks for the socks... those will be my good luck race socks from now on...!

[@jamiewilkinsracing]

Wow... Great film, as always. Huge respect for jumping in with the pros as a cat2 and hanging in there. It isn't like racing the 1/2/3 would have been sandbagging! Huge respect to Legion as well, for what they're trying to create here and the vision they're putting forward. I'm not really in favour of them having two teams but when someone else puts together an event on this scale and with this level of forward thinking, well they can have two teams as well.

[@aischwartzable]

Again super awesome job vegan bro! I felt like I was right in there on that last lap. i’m not sure I share your optimism of any changes in USA cycling but here is to hoping!

[@robbandj]

Great way to bring awareness and attention to crit cycling. I applaud Legion for that. It got proper hyped. But bringing two pro teams to race mostly amateurs and masters teams? They could have made it a bit more fair. But hey, it's their own even and they are allowed to make the rules.

[@entombed_kills]

They just can't expect anybody to care or get hyped about this.

[@onezweithree]

@@entombed_kills yet everyone was. So stop with the hate and enjoy great racing.

[@MyDemon32]

@@onezweithree no

[@dillonvillain]

Yeah, gives off some nice rigged vibes. Make a race with decent prize money, but then race two teams, so you have much lower chances of having to dish out money to other teams/riders. Great idea and event, just a tad sloppy with the execution. I'm sure UCI would agree with how the other teams felt about them entering two teams. Doesn't help your plan of trying to make the US a destination for cycling.

[@fcktherich6913]

Maybe no other teams wanted to compete in another team's event.

[@nonamecat1]

Awesome racing man. Just to finish that race is impressive. We had a blast at this event and thanks for the shout out in the beginning!!

[@Matt28NJ]

Good win.

[@osfan25]

I hope this gains momentum and continues moving forward. The only concern I have is, I feel like we’ve been down this path before with Red Hook. That was a wildly popular event in NYC with big sponsors and now it’s gone.

[@thhorwitz1]

Bare in mind that this race series didn't cover ANY of the costs for riders to attend, register or stay overnight like other big races do. All I see in the coverage of this is Legion Legion Legion. Who else benefitted from spending the money to be at this race? Think about that for a minute.

[@Juan_More_Mile]

@@thhorwitz1 jelly

[@thhorwitz1]

@@Juan_More_Mile Jelly how? I don't think riders who attended the race realize how they're being used.

[@user-lf1zl1pn8g]

@@thhorwitz1 Yes , of course you don't see that. It's a regular domestic crit just like socal. It's not a huge State or Nats crit race , nor is it a stage race. Here in Socal ( which is where they are from) no crit covers cost of riders. The teams cover their own cost for riders. And of course you're going to se Legion everywhere, it's the most popular cycling team in America right now with good values to its team mission and meaning, that's marketing heaven right there.

[@Juan_More_Mile]

@@thhorwitz1 they have the choice to not attend. If you can do better then start your own. Also did you know this was the first one? There will always be room for improvement. The payout was the same for men and women which is huge. So either go out there and help fix things or sit down and enjoy your jelly sandwich

[@stevenbalderstone709]

Wow, that was an amazing race. Thanks for making the effort to put this video together.

[@jaybobd]

Love the positivity and you actually interviewing Justin Williams instead of just complaining about the race like others have done.

[@IHoMyPo]

Hopefully there's a repeat of this earlier next year to ensure more light and no rain. It was great to be able to chat with Demi Vollering after the race. Thanks for the recap!

[@jeremythompson3337]

Dude this video got me so hyped! Well done capturing the energy of the event. I felt like I was there on that last lap!

[@gravelpack8536]

I love that you make great videos that are fun to watch while getting into the moving parts def one of my favorite KZbinrs. Also Kyle is my hero

[@unconditional_positive_regard]

The event was AMAZING!!!! Dope content sir!

[@stephent2243]

That was really dark hey. Having one team working for another for half the race isn't something I agree with either. Seems like a great event for cycling though.

[@pmcmpc]

Cool event, but non-technical, flat, short course ... virtually no chance of breakaways. Pretty dull, and designed specifically for LEGION to win (with two teams), unsurprisingly. Would have been a much greater spectacle if they weren't just pork-barrelling prize money for themselves.

[@competitivejunkie]

@@pmcmpc you seem very biased…..

[@fcktherich6913]

@@competitivejunkie he has a point, if you make an event and then make your team twice as big as everyone else, or 10% of the field, and have all of them work together, it makes it easier for you to get the win. That's rigging a race anyway you look at it.

[@HeyNow-Media]

Awesome video. Good to see you there ripping it. Such a fun event!

[@ronaldhoward7908]

great video, great concept, & great job of finishing race. I felt like I was riding with the Big Boys. don't let me forget camera mans 4th place awesome!

[@tomfitz3324]

Great video! Explained the event very well and great interviews. Boy was it dark those last few laps😱 Like you I thought it would have a lot of crashes and glad to see it did not!

[@dr.joshuastevens9274]

You're very good as an interviewer/reporter in this video... more of this please ;)!

[@deltagchemistry12]

I missed these vegan cyclist crit videos and this content is amazing the interviews the race content! This is amazing! Shout out to @NorCal cycling for being my favorite racer

[@hvah]

This was the motivation I needed to start the indoor season on Zwift! =)

[@jlij8952]

Remember it’s a training ride. And we’re of full gaz..! #rideon 🤙😅

[@dmoyer2]

I was on the sidelines and this was such a fun race to watch. Great location too

[@AdamEwart]

Bro, that dark racing was mental af! Great vid though, cheers!! 👌👌🇦🇺

[@grumpywoodchucker]

Yo, that last lap was bananas dark. Scary stuff. Great job.

[@40datboysha]

This is super awesome. Rider numbers and a larger purse...COOL!

[@petervollers]

Dude, you do know this format has been tried before in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s with the National Cycle League. I was on the Pittsburgh Power owned by Franco Harris and then the Boston Banshees. We had races in ev major city and even London. Franco would literally make us huddle up before every race! Format never caught on and the team owners lost a ton of money. Hope it works this time.

[@hugoelias593]

Wow. What a race. Great job on the commentating !!

[@salimsanchez89]

This is just awesome. I hope cycling in the US can grow more in popularity. Perhaps one day every major city can have a pro cycling team.. one can dream right?.lol LOVE the permanent number concept too.

[@gregamann2327]

Great viddy Ty-guy! Putting our names on our kit (cycling or triathlon) makes sense to me!

[@davidduran9905]

Tyler, great to see the action and hear the comments from the trenches! Also super cool for your team next year. Are you gonna do a year end summary for the team like after the first year? Do a spot about your squad and its goals.

[@PinPointEnts]

You are inspiring the newbies. Keep up the good work

[@andrewsandoz8005]

Thanks for giving the results before the finish.

[@havock1013]

Effing awesome video, commentary, and insight.

[@ianbarr4716]

Tyler, FANTASTIC video here. Let's hope your speculation about US cycling is correct. Legion has done so much for the community here. Cheers.

[@bitminerbob6731]

Awesome racing format. Kudos to L39ION for upping the stakes in crit racing!!! And no worries if you got a spot there for your social media influence too. L39ION is more than aware of the increased brand awareness you can bring to an event like this. They're super smart for inviting you.

[@googlekonto2851]

This event was staged for l39ion. Fuck that. The one guy even mentioned that

[@elibaily]

Took my dog out for a walk in capital park and had no idea this was going on. It was an awesome surprise! I'm glad to see such a cool event in my city

[@leehchris888]

Great coverage Tyler! Hope they invite you back next year ;)

[@LoaforDie]

I watched every race live and in person on Saturday and joined the group ride with L39ION on Sunday. A weekend. I’ll never forget anytime soon.

[@Nawlins5]

I watched it live but wasn't a fan of Legion having two teams if the other squads were limited to 1 team. Maybe the other teams had a chance for two so correct me if I'm wrong.

[@maple4567]

All teams are limited to only one team. Since Legion organised the race, they obviously favoured their own and brought in two teams.

[@ltnpride69]

Pleasure meeting you and Jeff (norcal) this was a blast live.

[@stevew158]

Great video very informative and outstanding commentary

[@luisrico6531]

Man I wish I would’ve known about this! I live in Sacramento and had no idea!!! Love the different views and commentary

[@jeffv103]

I know right??!! I live in Alamo and would have driven up to watch! No advertising at all.

[@kidsafe]

It was a fun event, but many share Jeff's sentiment that team invites were not handled professionally.

[@cat2ebay575]

Yes, quite humorous to see the guy who solicits and monetizes others' free videos complaining about fairness. Just telling it like it is.

[@kidsafe]

@@cat2ebay575 If you won’t listen to Jeff, maybe listen to all the other teams that requested invites, but didn’t get responses, were “too dangerous,” were informed they are nobodies, or they should just field a women’s team. Legion can both be doing something generally good, but also be blinded by their own success. All eyes are on them, so missteps will be magnified.

[@rodrigofaria4498]

@@cat2ebay575 he's not forcing anyone or stealing anyone's videos, people who'd like to have their races analysed by him send it by their own free will.

[@cat2ebay575]

@@rodrigofaria4498 I never said forced, that's not what solicit means. I have no complaints, people can do whatever they want. It's a great business model, free content and all the upside. In case you haven't picked up on it, I am showing how easy it is to criticize from the outside without actually contributing anything. Finger pointing directly at myself and pretty much all others in these comments. 90+% of us bike racers are net takers from the sport and are always quick to complain when things aren't to our personal liking. Promoter where are my race results?!...the list is long and well known. It is the prerogative of Legion and any other promoter to run the event as they see fit. This was a novel experiment, I am sure it will get tweaked, but it's on the right path.

[@Matt28NJ]

Where/when did Jeff express this?

[@jetBlue_83]

Amateur Women 1st place: Meyrav Levy I don’t know the names of the other 2 though

[@jetBlue_83]

Camila Arenas, Ruth Allen, Mel Dorman were the other women in the field

[@MelissaAvery]

Camila Arena’s 2nd, Shantelle Tupaz the 15 year old junior from CBRE came in 3rd

[@eto2352]

Great take on the event! Hope they expand this event and keep USAC out of it. Stop drinking from the poisoned well and start something new. Great potential!

[@jimdelong987]

OMG! Loved the video! Thank you!

[@jeremysweeten2792]

I don’t always agree with Justin, but he is spot on with his assessment and objectives in this video. Very mature understanding of how sports work, succeed, and transcend original audience.

[@djconnel]

Nice work! Interesting comment on the efficiency of tail-gunning. That doesn't work in cat 5, 4, or 3, where a gap is guaranteed to form up-stream. Dave Towle is a genius.

[@pedeepete]

looks like such a cool event, i feel like if this was done well across the country the level below world tour will come to the states to race.

[@MelissaAvery]

3rd place is the one and only Shantelle Tupaz 15 year old Junior from CBRE Racing. 💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤

[@elkellenhabla]

Was there. Loved it. Great commentary

[@entombed_kills]

If Legion wins every race there will be no heroes, there will only be incredible boredom. Every great hero in history had a great nemesis and this is what really made the hero. Other than that - it is always more interesting to see the underdogs winning. Food for thought hopefully. To be more precise...bringing 20 people or 2 teams to every crit and just overpowering everybody else is boring and not interesting. They should challenge themselves and limit themselves.

[@jaydaeducator]

Then go beat them.....how bout that.

[@gravelpack8536]

I think what is so rad is that Legion is basically setting up a format to create a nemesis with this race.

[@thhorwitz1]

@@gravelpack8536 how so?

[@gravelpack8536]

@njkl creating a event is a huge investment in time, money and staff. The are trying to push the sport forward from the perspective of racers and it looks like they are actually doing it which is exciting and the sport will benefit from it.

[@Juan_More_Mile]

Limit themselves? Lol what…Tom Brady is too good, he should let others win…

[@JamieSmith-fz2mz]

A few kinks to work out, but it was an amazing first effort (mainly thanks to Kristin and the crew behind the scenes). You make a great point about how Europe is the natural destination. That’s USAC’s entire mission: to identify and develop riders for the Olympics and World Tour. That neglects the criterium world altogether. And why do we do that? Why can’t it be it’s own purely American way of racing? It should be. It’s far more exciting to watch.

[@dahliacecily]

Wow the footage is so cool!

[@PatrickLino]

This video breakdown is FREAKIN AWESOME. Salute to you Tyler!

[@Engineerbydey]

I watched the live stream that Cory had up and it was amazing!! Such a great event.

[@mikespringer7894]

Doooood that was DOPE. HAULING AZZ🔥🤘🤘🤘

[@bloodsord9]

I'm absolutely loving what these guys are doing and how the US crit scene is growing. I think it can become a second tier sport in the country. The races that have crowds are all amazing! There's just not a lot of them. Spectators love watching races. It's a very competitive sport that is very strategic and physical at the same time. This is actually very good take on organizing the event. Fans want to root for a team or their city. So well done!

[@AlexanderSio]

Great video and great performance!

[@dougfromsoanierana]

Very good points about the numbers and names. Team sponsors don’t win races, riders do, so let’s put them front and center.

[@iceguy8112]

The last crazy speed in the dark was just fking awsome

[@DanielHarvey1980]

i was the dude just after turn 3 being as obnoxious as possible :B my first irl crit after a year of youtube videos. had a blast. thanks!

[@danapierce147]

Brotha, the last lap was ridiculous Cray Cray! Surprised no crashes..

[@Avioto]

Whoa even Amy Pieters and Demi Vollering were there, that's awesome!

[@6295607]

This was the most epic KZbin Video ever made and it is life changing and defines one as a person forever.

[@Anderson_999]

"Sega Genesis style" 🤣 I'm definitely stealing that.

[@crbondur]

I like the idea of cities being represented. I kind of think this may lead to a pro crit series that runs throughout the summer and travels the nation, ala NBA, NHL, or NFL.

[@benjaminwolf9801]

That would be hella awesome! 6-8 races throughout the year with each team having a home city.

[@austinsympson2635]

VC hope you're right dude I'll jump on Legions train to get more Road racing in the US.

[@thecyclingsoldier6732]

USA Have such a vibe in the bike scene, might get over and race :P

[@TheBeautifulBike]

The ending sounded like wild horses galloping🔥

[@TheGridMedia]

Washington State bike Racing has state wide permanent numbers for the season, on the bike and rider

[@bretstevens262]

Great video!

[@spwb2k]

i was along the course cool race couldn't believe the pitch-black finish that was ballsy. No AmGen Tour of Ca last year so Sacto was hungry for a race like this.

[@sleepcycle8032]

I watched this live on Cory's livestream and wow it looked fast. I also couldn't believe how dark it was on those final laps and Lucas' cam really shows it. Thanks for the awesome content and congrats on the result in such a stacked field!

[@ricric9521]

Bought a Cannondale frameset from Justin years ago. Cool

[@MD-jf1ml]

Numbers need to be on side of shorts. Too hard to see on their backs. Love where it’s headed though!

[@A10FT200LBPUMA]

That was insane!

[@user-uh4tm6ft9b]

As a new fan of crit racing I thought it was dope that each team represented a city / numbers in back of the jerseys. I was super excited to see this race until I found out Legion had two teams. Big fan of Justin but that's just a bit unfair to the rest, however they did sponsor the whole event so it makes sense for shift the odds in their favor to win. What a tournament style crit racing work? Ex. have 4 shorter races - top two teams past on to the final where you race for the grand price?

[@AlexRodriguez-no8wd]

It always seem like the Corey* or Justin always winning? but nothing less- my palms were seating watching this. great job!

[@MarvinWestmaas]

Wow that was Amy Pieters I think who got second in the women's race, I never seen SD Worx in any of the crit races over there (us). Kinda bummed now she only got second :D *now to watch the rest of the video, been binge watching all day

[@wmathys]

Format reminds me of the NCL from the 90’s where different cities had franchise teams.

[@hippo4g93]

Great event for a great cause , a ticket across the pond is expensive, get more road races in the series

[@kaltonian]

it's amazing what a bit of prize money can do for cycle race, over here on the continent it's what it's all about

[@nealm6764]

That last lap was so dark it was crazy. I would have been terrified.

[@markconnelly1806]

Some ideas (some may have been implemented). 1. There has to be professional video coverage live and recorded. I have been to many crits where cameras were on all four corners and a film motorcycle was on the course. 2. Crit racing does not need large fields. The road is only so wide, so only someone in the top 20 or so in the group on the last lap has a chance of winning. Most of the rest are just riding in circles with no real purpose. 3. There has to be smaller packs of less than 50 riders and where there are multiple qualifying races throughout the day or week. Like in pro tennis. By the final round, your left with 25 of the best riders competing for the win. 4. Yes like professional keirin racing, you need teams with set numbers and even riders name on jersey. 5. There has to be printed material and websites promoting each rider with stats. So the spectators that know nothing can read something before the event. 6. You need crowd primes where someone goes around and gets money from spectators. 7. Have a raffle for a bike where spectators chip in money to participate. 8. Promote event as much as possible. 9. Have courses with a nice hill. Everyone likes hills. 10. Have more than four corners.

[@keepingitreal4514]

FUNNY!! When talking about the large purse up for grabs and " road rage Sega Genesis" acts of desperation ... LMAO 🤣🤣🤣

[@therondc]

Awesome recap. Here's my hope for a national crit league, building off what Legion started: - 8 crits around the country each year, one in each team's hometown - Hometown team plans the route, allowing them to play to their team's strength - Points series over the 8 crits for primes and finish order - Championship race at the end of the season. Or even a playoff where you just have two teams facing off in a race, head to head. - Put go-pros on at least 2-3 riders on each team, have them livestream. - Have a website where you can pay a subscription to watch the livestream feeds, allowing the user to click onto any of the go-pros feed, and go back and forth or watch multiple at once so you have perspectives throughout the peloton

[@marianomercado9054]

So basically USA Crits?

[@therondc]

@@marianomercado9054 I mean, to the extent that USA Crits is a series of crit races around the country with running point totals, sure.