L39ION of Los Angeles co-founder and sprint leader Justin Williams has been suspended for a second time in two years, this time for dangerous riding which sparked a crash in the Audi Denver Littleton Criterium on August 5.
In-race video of the incident surfaced on social media after the race, leading USA Cycling to launch an investigation. The clips, taken from riders' helmet cameras, show Williams diving on the inside of a left-hand turn to the left of Thomas Gibbons (Automatic-ABUS Racing) then walking him to the right where both riders ended up crashing. It appeared as if no other riders were involved in the incident.
"Williams, who was penalized in 2022 for fighting at the Salt Lake City Criterium, will be suspended for 60 days for dangerous riding," said USA Cycling in a statement. "His suspension will begin on April 13, 2024, and conclude on June 13, 2024."
The suspension period handed to Williams typically includes several high-profile criteriums in the Speedweek series of the southeastern US as well as the Athens Twilight Criterium and Sunny King Criterium which are part of the American Criterium Cup (ACC).
"He has also been fined $250 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Gibbons will also be fined $250 for unsportsmanlike conduct," said the USA Cycling statement.
"USA Cycling maintains a zero-tolerance stance toward dangerous racing and unsportsmanlike behavior, and is committed to ensuring the safety and integrity of cycling events in the U.S."
Automatic-ABUS Racing manager Lauren Dodge, however, said that a two-month suspension is not enough. Dodge said she was frustrated with USA Cycling because while CEO Brendan Quirk said last year the federation wanted to stop such bad behaviour, they fell short on enacting appropriate punishment.
"When the investigation ruling can't even follow USAC policy, I have little faith in his commitment to make our sport safer. The suggested minimum suspension of a person found to have committed 'Violence or intentional injury of any person' is six months (8J in the USAC rule book). This is the second consecutive year Justin has been suspended for violent behavior, and the suspension period is getting shorter. This isn't preventing dangerous behavior; it shows that it's becoming more tolerated by USAC."
Williams posted a statement to social media on September 13, saying: “Last month in the heat of Littleton Twilight Crit I was involved in an accident with a fellow rider. Never in my life have I ridden with the intent to cause harm. This is high speed crit racing. Real time judgments are made in fractions of a second and unfortunately sometimes accidents happen. I keep my head high and will continue my mission to promote safe environments, educate riders of all ages, and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within this sport.”
Williams was handed a suspension last year over a physical altercation between him and Best Buddies riders Michael Hernandez and Robert Sierra led to a suspension for all three after the Salt Lake City criterium on July 16, 2022.
In that case, Williams had stepped in after the race finished to defend his brother Cory Williams, who was confronted by the Best Buddies riders accusing him of nearly causing a crash in a similar scenario to the one that caused the Littleton wreck.
USA Cycling ruled that Hernandez and Sierra had violated rules against ‘acts of violence among riders’ and unsportsmanlike conduct. Hernandez accepted a reduced a three-month suspension and 16 hours of community service, while Sierra accepted a one-month suspension and eight hours of community service.
Williams appealed against rules violations at the Salt Lake incident but a three-member jury upheld the ruling and USA Cycling suspended Williams for five months.
After the Salt Lake City conflict, Quirk said in a press release that the federation would be working with the ACC organisers to use video replays to monitor rider behaviour "to better identify dirty riding in real time."
Littleton was the eighth round of 10 in the 2023 ACC series, which concluded September 3 at Gateway Cup's Giro Della Montagna in St. Louis. Danny Summerhill (American Cycling Group) won the men's individual and sprint titles while his ACG team took the team title and L39ION of Los Angeles men's team finished fourth.
Gibbons finished the series in a tie for 15th place in the sprint classification with Justin Williams and L39ION's Samuel Boardman, each with 20 points. Neither Gibbons nor Williams competed in the final two races.
Earlier this year, Williams announced the formation of the Circuit Racing International Tour (CRIT), which would provide races in major US markets for invitation-only fields as well as ‘community activations’. CRIT is under the umbrella of Williams Racing Development, founded by Williams, and is funded in part by Wasserman Ventures, a new division of the talent agency Wasserman which has represented the L39ION rider for the past five years.
Only one event has been confirmed for CRIT since the league was announced this spring, the CRIT Championship hosted in St. Petersburg, Florida on October 21. It is sanctioned by independent race officials and organisers and does not have a USA Cycling permit. With his suspension scheduled for 2024, Justin Williams is expected to take part in the inaugural CRIT Championship as planned.
