Drafting CJ is like having the cheat codes.
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Another window on team management and Politics in the World tour is Phil Gaimon’s books. I have to say that Justin’s comments on the very unequitable distribution of financial wealth in this country is spot on.
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I think it’s cool in this case cause they’re an Elite Amateur Team not a Pro Team. Right?
But also rules like that are stupid. I’d buy the jersey in a second. The jersey’s cool, the team is cool, the Williams brothers are cool, it’s all cool.
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Not to mention that this taboo of wearing a team jersey is the exact kind of thing L39ION is actively working to change in the sport, too.
I’m all for that change. Never understood why I can wear my favorite hockey/baseball/football player’s jersey, but it’s bad to wear that of my favorite cycling team.
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Man so much wisdom in terms of strategy, teamwork and being adaptive.
Road racing has never even crossed my mind, but I’m thoroughly enjoying this episode. Justin, I love your energy, your expertise and your sense of humor. Thanks so much for sharing!
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What an awesome episode— thanks for getting him on, so much to learn! I was laughing at the “how to beat legion” part 
I can see how he can walk into a Specialized marketing event cold, and walk out with a signed contract and a fleet of bikes!
It’s so… clarifying when he so openly calls out some of the toxicity in the higher echelons of the sport. Amber’s talked about the importance of building a strong personal support network outside of the team, which I’ve always read as more having to factor in the transient nature of your contract, but hearing about how the team can treat you almost like a zero-hour worker and provides very little outside of giving you that ‘pro’ badge, it really helped shine a light in an area that I hadn’t really thought about.
Added to that was that his brother weighted the ‘pro’ badge so much more then Justin did, and that it took a long time to try and persuade him to give it up and move over to legion (with a larger paycheck even!). It had me thinking on the idea that because so many sports are passion driven, teams can leverage that passion into having the athlete make more sacrifices then are needed.
Anyway, top quality stuff TrainerRoad— keep it coming!
Also noticed the top donor to the GoFundMe is a familiar @Nate_Pearson— I think that’s a damn fine investment, whatever way you cut it 
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There’s another vid out there where Justin talks about all the study & detail he puts into strategy & teamwork. Kind of like the South Central crit equivalent of Huub.
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Thanks for this one. Well done and really got him talking.
What impressed me the most, however, was his understanding of society and racism. “There seems to be a problem with sharing in this country” and “racism is just a tool”.
As an European who has lived and traveled to North America this is exactly what I observe over and over. Pretty interesting to hear that so clear from him.
Besides, gotta figure out that sprinting technique…
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So that’s how they get cool guests on the podcast! /s
But seriously, Justin is an amazing story teller and just knows how to talk and keep people interested. Just the perfect balance of keeping it light and entertaining while also getting across the important and deeper points.
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That was the best podcast yet! What an amazing storyteller - I’d seen an interview with Justin before and I guess his personality didn’t come out in it, because I thought he was more of a … I don’t know … hard ass? Or maybe I wasn’t paying attention.
In a weird way, sometimes I try to avoid ‘personal’ content from athletes I admire … like Taylor Phinney. I really wanted to like Taylor, but every time he talked on the TdF episodes he did for NBC I would cringe. It always seemed like such an act. I think I had a little of same loose impression of Justin (in a different way from Taylor) … I was afraid of being turned off, I think. And I wanted to get behind Legion.
But boy was I wrong! … What an amazingly likable, engaging, knowledgeable guy … wow. I was blown away. I might listen to it again - I found it that entertaining and interesting.
On another note … anyone have the link to the Boise crit he kept referencing? He kept saying it’s online, but I don’t know the exact feed he was referring to
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Where did you order? Man I’d buy a t-shirt with that lion on it in a second.
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Wondering what the story behind the corendon circus Jersey in the background is…
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His brother Corey regularly posts race and ride videos on Instagram and YouTube - user name @nationsnumber1beast
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Justin Williams is phenomenal because he wants to win and knows how to win.
However, I would have preferred to hear him interviewed by Amber–another professional rider who’s lived this world. But Nate and Jonathan fan-boyed out so hard they lost situational awareness and essentially blanked Amber. I’d PAY to have another TR podcast with ONLY Amber interviewing Justin and talking about bike racing and the professional bike racing culture. And, as a former track rider, I can say that they almost completely missed how critical his track background has contributed to his ability to understand criterium tactics. (He mentioned it briefly and it was a great insight.) Look at his early resume–Madison, points racing, keirin, match sprinting. I believe that’s the basis for his unique and superior understanding of how to win.
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Agreed, however, the point of this initial podcast was most likely to introduce the TR base to Justin Williams and his team. Use a wide shovel to scoop up as many listeners as possible. I’m sure once racing gets back in full-swing TR will extend an invite to the Legion for more nitty gritty race analysis.
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I too wished there had been more of Amber and that she hadn’t been talked over (unintentionally, I’d guess) just when it was clear she had something to add or ask. (And I’m just a very old recreational cyclist, not a former track rider – though I would like to hear all about that too.) And I agree that:
But not ONLY because of that. When the dominant cycling culture/system repeatedly exploited and then discarded those abilities, he didn’t just win more bike races. He created a phenomenal new team based on different values, using the brains, cheek, good will, and homework that we see so vividly displayed in the podcast. It clearly wasn’t only cycling chops that pulled that off. That whole phenomenon – including this appearance on what began as a white guys’ podcast – is the bigger one, for me.
As for Nate and Jonathan’s “fanboying” so hard that they didn’t see in their enthusiasm what you point out – well, they probably will see it now and – the good news – learn something from it! If there has been any over-arching lesson for us in these last weeks, isn’t it that we simply can’t see in ourselves what we can’t see? Until something happens and we do, if only haltingly and little by little.
So yes, I’d pay too for the narrow-focus pro interview you imagine. But likely not as much as I did pay out to the L39ion GFM after seeing this episode – a phenomenal episode, residual sexism and all. In retrospect, even that little donation was more a gift to myself than to their team’s work: as it turned out, it was just the start of learning a bunch more on Juneteenth that I simply hadn’t known. I’d never have dreamed what getting on a bike at an advanced age, and subscribing a few years back to this nutty Reno startup, was going to teach me about other stuff!
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