So Jeff @NorCal_Cycling was on the Chris Miller show and made some pretty candid comments regarding the recent Legion drama. Norcal Cycling on Crit Crashing, L39ION Racing Tactics and Brand Partnerships - YouTube And well now Justin has taken to the gram to discredit Jeff. What’s everyone’s take on this? According to Justin since Jeff isn’t a pro he knows nothing about racing?
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Probably just trying to redirect the drama from the announcement of their CRIT series. But it’s a silly sentiment by Justin. If he was right then nearly half of all commentators and all journalist should just quit. For as tough as Legion likes to come off they are extremely sensitive to any criticism.
[Edit] Quick edit, it is also surprising that Justin says this given how careful Jeff has been in the past to not criticize Legion given they operate in his backyard.
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Screenshot of Justin’s story to give context. As much as I like Legion, Justin is proving Jeff’s point.
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I watched it and it seemed like Jeff was being fair but I guess you can’t please everyone.
I think Legion is good for domestic cycling overall, maybe when they are even more established they will get less sensitive?
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Jeff touched on some other pretty sensitive issues as well, some riders not being paid their winnings from last year, the fact that they had two teams in that same race and only allowed other teams to have one, and so on. I mean if he keeps responding (Justin and or Legion) at what point do sponsors step in?
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Yup, I don’t think Jeff meant to set a trap, but Legion definitely took the bait.
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you can’t hold events, have a large internet presence, and an attitude of aggressive racing and not expect criticism.
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It is getting a bit tiring to see Legion always go “Full Blast” the second anyone levels any kind of criticism at them (and I have been a pretty vocal proponent of Legion).
You can almost set your watch by it…
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Genuinely wouldn’t be surprised to see Legion resort to suing anyone who, they see as, criticising them soon. They’ve clearly done very well with monetising the brand and can’t risk dissenting voices upsetting that apple cart
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I’ve said it on this forum previously and I’ll it again. I watched the Williams brothers ‘race’ at the recent Commonwealth Games. They came up against a handful of World and Conti riders and they got spat, hard.
To say that they were average, at best, would be a compliment. Say what you want about a countries ability to field a team but their ‘race craft’ and ‘ability’ came apart at the seams when Geraint Thomas shouted ‘F**KING PUNCH IT!’, and the front 20-30 riders really did. The course was essentially nothing more than an extended crit, so it should have been well within their scope to be up in the mix.
The thin veneer came off this little bunch a while ago for me.
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I mean I am not a legion fanboy at all (I despite social media and that’s their thing essentially - with some bike racing thrown in there…), but any domestic pro is gonna get shelled HARD by world tour dudes or european pro conti racers. There is some story of Phil Gaimon lapping a domestic pro crit solo after he wasn’t on Garmin anymore. They’re like the 8th graders who think they’re cool until they go to high school and realize a senior in high school is much bigger and stronger.
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I watched that interview and I think Jeff’s comments were very measured and professional. I don’t think he said anything out of line or vindictive in any way. He competed in the same race as Legion, so Justin’s comments are way off the mark. Funny how some people get butt hurt over legitimate criticism.
I though Jeff is very much in the know and his insights on the inner workings of the race series from his perspective were quite interesting. I enjoyed that conversation.
This would be a great opportunity for the Chris Miller Show to get Legion on. Now that would be interesting!
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Me too. There was definitely criticism of some of their tactics, but he said a few times that the team is doing good things for the sport in the US. This sort of ““controversy”” is pretty dumb, imo.
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Everything Jeff said sounded measured and made sense. I unfollowed anything involving Legion a while back because I can’t say the same for things that come out of them.
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It’s usually the people who can’t handle criticism who are the most self conscious about whatever is being prodded/poked. Like the bully on the playground as kids - they are the one’s who are acting out for some other internal reason. I think most people see this and it comes off horribly.
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I don’t disagree. But I believe that Justin is referencing that he is a ‘Pro’, whilst reminding Jeff that he is not.
When the Pro Williams brothers had the opportunity to mix it with other Pro’s, they were found wanting. You can’t be a Pro when it suits. You want the badge, wear the badge.
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It’s an excellent example of the Streisand Effect. If they didn’t bring attention to this only the most hyper local focused California racers would’ve had any idea Jeff went on that podcast.
Almost like it’s intentional to brew up controversy…
The response was just childish in my opinion. Jeff stated his opinion in a well thought, calm manner, and Justin comes back like a whiny little kid. Actions speak much louder than words, and once again, this just proves their character. And to say that Jeff has no place because he’s not a pro is laughable. The American crit scene is G League at best compared to the NBA that is the World Tour. Actually, it’s like D2 college ball. But I guess Jeff never changed his national cycling affiliation to a tiny country with a population smaller than most US cities so he could win the national championship so what does he know?
Legion starting drama??? I’m shocked, shocked I tell you.
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Do they care about social media presence? Or actually racing? IF it’s clicks (Which makes sense, because clicks and followers allow them to get sponsorships and paid - probably 50x the budget of all other domestic PRO teams), than they know exactly what they’re doing. Press is press - even negative press. And that’s what they want.
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They actually could’ve done a much better job.
A few years ago when they were red hot, everyone wanted their Rapha training kits and they sold out in minutes. I don’t know what they were trying to do… become the next hype brand like “Supreme”? I wanted one of those kits and couldn’t get one.
Now they have overstock from season to season. The demand has dried out.
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