Newbie to racing in the U.S.

With a few weeks of some much-needed downtime, R&R, and chocolate-making back home in Jamaica, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on all that's happened since I packed my bags, headed for the U.S., and began my season with L39ION of Los Angeles. It's been nothing short of eventful and that has surely influenced my mentality and excitement for the season. Riding my bike is something I truly enjoy, and with this transition from European to American racing, I've now come to better appreciate how much I like establishing and chasing specific and clear-cut goals while also having fun on two wheels. Having gotten used to the European style of racing (i.e., racing for hours, narrow roads, huge climbs, etc) in all honesty, I was a bit nervous at the thought of switching to criterium racing. Thoughts like 'Will this be a mistake?', 'Should I pass up the opportunity to race with L39ION and try to find another team in Europe?', etc ran rampant through my head. Eventually, I told myself 'gyal mek up yuh mind and stop stress out yuhself' (girl make up your mind, and stop stressing), signed with L39ION, and I have zero regrets.

I was so eager to enter the 2024 season with my new team. In a way, it was like a clean slate as I had to learn new things and adjust accordingly. My time in the U.S. started in late January/early February with small local crits where I could figure out my strengths and weaknesses; essentially getting my feet wet for the races ahead (quite literally too as it was POURING RAIN at my first crit). It was also a breath of fresh air training in a new environment, discovering new routes, meeting new people AND riding at 'pro hours' (when in Jamaica I usually head out anywhere between 5 & 6a.m and I hate that for me). Before I knew it, I found myself thrown into a couple of road races that were somewhat reminiscent of my time in Europe; namely Valley of the Sun and Redlands Bicycle Classic (special shoutout to Kim, Cari, Andrew and Syd <3) and even got to race in Belize! My last set of races was at Speedweek where I competed in Greenville, Spartanburg, and Athens, and that's where I got the first real taste of the criterium scene (shoutout to the L39ION Lionesses and their stellar performances there!). Not only was it eye-opening, but extremely exciting. The racing, team, and community atmosphere truly convinced me that this is where I want to be.

Now thinking about all that's been going on, it came and went in a blur and I try my best to soak up every minute. I've been having a great time with L39ION, all of Williams Racing Development (WR Devo), and the awesome people I've had the privilege of meeting, interacting, and riding with. To think that it's already mid-May (at the time of writing), time has really flown by.

Besides racing, thanks to WR Devo, I've had other great opportunities to get my face out there in the cycling space. I would've never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd get to work with/be featured on the pages of well-established brands such as ASSOS of Switzerland, Factor Bikes, SRAM, and Giro. It's beyond cool to not simply be a user of their products, but to an extent, be somewhat of an ambassador. Generally speaking, I also think these sort of interactions contribute to the establishment and/or development of great relationships among those involved. We all love cycling over here.

With all that being said, similar to those first few months in the U.S., my time back home has gone by rather quickly, and I'll be packing my bags yet again for another block of racing. I'm really stoked as the team's biggest race (Tulsa Tough) is coming up and my parents will be flying over for it. I've been enjoying my season and I attribute that to the wonderful team environment. I have no doubt that the remainder will be just as great.

If you fancy following along, find me on Instagram @llori_the_sharpest and Strava (Llori Sharpe)