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Jackie Tyson

Schneider sisters 'shake things up' with move to Miami Blazers in 2024

Blazers Justin Williams L39ion Skylar Schneider Miami Blazers Kendall Ryan Samantha Schneider Miami Los Angeles United States

Skylar Schneider (L39ion of Los Angeles) wins a round of the American Criterium Cup in the Pan-American champion's jersey.

A revamped L39ION of Los Angeles co-ed team will no longer feature the dynamic trio of sibling sprinters in the next year, as Samantha and Skylar Schneider join Cory Williams in a move to the Miami Blazers co-ed squad for 2024.

Justin Williams and Ty Magner will continue to anchor the men’s side of L39ION of Los Angeles while sisters Alexis and Kendall Ryan lead the charge for the women. The transfers will now pit brother against brother as well as set up pairs of sisters as adversaries rather than teammates.

It’s a move riders seemed eager to make, as all success still remains in the family, so to speak, with both L39ION and the Blazers owned by Williams Racing Development. A third team in the organisation are the Austin Aviators, a domestic elite team like the Blazers, which will announce their roster later this month.

"I think 2024 will be the most exciting year in American criterium racing that we've had in a while, on both the men's and women's side, with a lot of talented riders spread out on different and new teams. I'm personally excited to shake things up a little bit by moving to the Miami Blazers and look forward to the fast and aggressive racing we're going to have this year," Skylar Schneider told Cyclingnews.

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The Schneider sisters accounted for a hefty 36 podiums and 18 victories for L39ION last year alone, while the Ryan sisters earned 21 podiums and nine victories. The quartet prospered on US soil across all criterium events, from the American Criterium Cup, Tour of America’s Dairyland, Intelligentsia Cup, USA Speed Week and omniums at Saint Francis Tulsa Tough and IU Health Momentum Indy.

In addition, two-time US Pro Criterium champion Kendall Ryan took the pro crit silver medal in 2023 and Skylar Schneider won the Pan-American road race title then added the bronze in the US Pro Nationals road race. Younger of the Schneider sisters, Skylar joined L39ION of Los Angeles in 2021 while her sister Samantha was added in 2022. Kendall Ryan also joined L39ION in 2021, and her sister Alexis, two years younger, came on board last season.

Also moving to the Miami Blazers from L39ION are Julyn Aguilar on the women’s side and Eder Frayre and Cory Williams on the men’s side. New to the 10-rider men’s squad are Cory Lockwood and three-time US track national champion Gavin Hoover, who will work for returning team leader Brandon Feehery. With just three women on the domestic elite setup, the Blazers could add guest riders at various events throughout the year.

The Williams brothers, who co-founded L39ION of Los Angeles, spent six seasons racing in tandem across their careers, the last five at L39ION. Justin took to social media to simply state “I believe in you” for his brother’s new path.

“Even when we fight, in the end I always got your back. We have never claim to be saints, and we know we’re not perfect, but, in the end we still here doing what they said we couldn’t; Now with the three of the top teams in the country,” Justin Williams wrote on Instagram to his brother, and referencing the support for L39ION, Blazers and Aviators.

“Next year you are your own man, you will learn hard lessons and I will teach some of them, but I believe in you. And I’ll always have your back.”

Justin Williams will return for a sixth season at L39ION of Los Angeles. Among eight podiums last season the team co-founder won the opening criterium at the three-day Saint Francis Tulsa Tough. His season was marred by a second suspension in two years, this time for 60 days for dangerous riding in the Audi Denver LIttleton Criterium on August 5. That 60-day suspension will be served from April 13-June 13, 2024.

In early season races, the team will look to former US Pro criterium champion Magner, who was the top L39ION rider with sixth place in the men’s overall in the American Criterium Cup and won the omnium title at Momentum Indy. Alec Cowan, Kyle Murphy and Robin Carpenter also return on the men’s side, with Yarely Salazar on the women’s side.

Danny Estevez, formerly of the Blazers, and Richard Holec are new additions for the L39ION men, while Jamaican national road champion Llori Sharpe adds firepower for the women after two seasons with Canyon-SRAM Generation.

Riders for L39ION of Los Angeles and Miami Blazers are expected to take part in pre-season races in California and Arizona in the coming weeks, with team camps set before Sea Otter Classic in April.