US racing veterans Cade Bickmore and Danny Summerhill are among the recent signings for Team Cadence Cyclery p/b Waldo Racing for 2026. Based in Texas, a new setup blends two US domestic elite teams into one new criterium-focused powerhouse.
Returning as the anchors for the domestic-elite squad are USPro criterium champions Lucas Bourgoyne, the elite men's title holder, and Luke Fetzer, the U23 men's winner.
"Our goal is to go out there and do what we did last year, which is win a ton. We will do only crits. We are taking the approach that we are a crit team through and through, and because of that, we go and hit all the biggest crits. No Tour of the Gila or Tucson Bicycle Classic, it is crits," returning team leader Bourgoyne told Cyclingnews.
"At the end of the day, what drives viewership and what people come out to watch is crit racing in America. So that's why we're investing all of our time there, because out of all the things that we think have a sustainable model, we think that this is the way forward.
"We need the biggest events to go and tell our story. And maybe we just get lucky enough to win it too. So why not give it our best damn go?"
Other new signings are Justin Bolde, who was part of Waldo Racing for the last three seasons, and Brock Mason. Returning are Barbados national champion Greg Vanderpool and Cesar Serna of Mexico. Serna has the most tenure with seven seasons at Cadence Cyclery. Vanderpool makes the team his home for a fourth year.
Last year, the Cadence Cyclery squad fired on all cylinders at USA CRITS and American Criterium Cup series, comprising many of the top one-day races in the country, winning the overall team classifications. Bourgoyne and Fetzer went one-two in the USA CRITS individual standings, with Serna fifth. In the ACC individual standings, Summerhill was third overall for L39ION of Los Angeles last year, with Bourgoyne fourth and Fetzer eighth.
Summerhill and Bickmore come from backgrounds of UCI-level teams and racing, Summerhill having spent six seasons with UnitedHealthcare pro Cycling and Bickmore six years on two Continental teams, Aevolo and Project Echelon Racing. There's no shortage of criterium experience for the two riders.
"Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of being part of some amazing teams, but this time feels different. There’s an undeniable energy in the air, and I sense something big is on the horizon,” said Summerhill, who had 21 top 10s last year, including the stage 4 win at Redlands Bicycle Classic, which was a criterium. He finished runner-up in the sprint classification at the ACC series.
Bickmore has primarily focused on stage racing the last three seasons, having won stages at Tour of the Gila and the Tour de la Guadeloupe and competing in Europe. This year marks a full-time transition to crit racing.
“It was a hard choice to leave European racing opportunities behind, but returning to race crits offers more money and stability as I pursue my goals on the track leading into 2028," Bickmore said.
The merger of the two men's teams was not all about an expanded roster but "strengthening development opportunities". For the past decade, Team Cadence Cyclery was a regional Texas squad, according to Bougoyne. Last year was the first time an elite group branched out with a national calendar, calling it "one hell of a project, a four-man hit squad," with himself, Fetzer, Vanderpool and Serna.
Bourgoyne, who not only races but tasks himself as a team leader with scheduling and strategy, said the Waldo Racing team approached him at Boise Twilight in the summer about a merger and upping their game with more riders and more resources.
"We were a ragtag group of four dudes with a black minivan and five bicycles, and came out as one of the winningest crit teams of all time last year. Pretty excellent, I would say, from where we started. We're getting to reap the benefits of those rewards and it's something spectacular for next year," Bourgoyne gushed about a team he calls 'home'.
The owner of Cadence Cyclery, Chad Plumlee, is a co-owner of the criterium team. Plumlee is also among the ownership and management for APS Pro Cycling by Cadence Cyclery, a new US-based Continental men's team, with former pro rider Freddie Rodriguez part of ownership and serving as a team director.
The 85-foot marketing machine
As a result of the merger with Waldo Racing, investments have been high for the Cadence Cyclery criterium team on the logistics side, not just the roster. Bourgoyne boasted that the team will have a 45-foot branded recreational vehicle with a 36-foot trailer and a towed minivan for an "85-foot mega rig". It becomes a marketing machine for the team with on-site activation to engage fans at the biggest one-day races in the US.
"The best way I can describe it is a supercross setup meets rock and roll, where you're travelling stop to stop to all the biggest crits. We're going to be able to create a better show, with activation events off the rig and tell the story.
"This rig is an event center, a content hub, and a way to cut costs because we don't have to fly anymore; we just drive around. It has eight beds inside, something that will change the model of affordability for crit racing," Bourgoyne told Cyclingnews, saying that the savings in accommodations and airfare could pay for the equipment after two years.
The team hoped to have the big rig wrapped in graphics for a debut in Texas at Pace Bend Weekend, then a national debut for the start of USA CRITS in Anniston, Alabama, at Sunny King Criterium on April 11.
"I think this is the coolest sport in the world, and I don't see any reason that this can't be the level, something like supercross or motocross. It's high action, tense, crashes, blood, guts - that's what Americans like. And it's all wrapped up in an hour and a half.
"What we built from 2025 was a little baby, a crit team with a dream and a hope, and now to the most professional outfit team that's ever existed. So that's what we aim to do, is to continue to raise the bar," Bourgoyne said.
