Why We Ride: Lucas Bourgoyne
“If you don’t believe in yourself, who the hell else will?”
It was the summer of 2023, and Lucas Bourgoyne had spent the better part of three seasons, racing in Europe – every American cyclist’s dream. From the outside, it looked like his future was set, as the goal he had worked so hard to achieve had finally been realized.
But few people in his life saw what that dream cost.
Separated from his family and friends, struggling to learn the language and the culture around him, Lucas often felt caught between worlds. In some circles, he felt like a caricature (the American cyclist). In others, he felt pressure to become something he wasn’t. The further he chased the traditional cycling dream, the more he found himself suppressing what made him who he was – both on the bike and off it.
His return flight was booked for July 17th. Then, on a whim, he registered to race a local crit.
This random crit race was never supposed to be some life-altering moment. It was just another race like every other race he had competed in since he was 14. But as the laps clicked by, Lucas found himself experiencing a joy he hadn’t felt in years.
The pressure that had followed him across continents completely disappeared. The self-consciousness vanished and for the first time in a long time he wasn’t worried about fitting the mold, or learning the right things to say. He was just racing the way he wanted to race — aggressively, instinctively, all-out.
As soon as he crossed the line he knew his days in Europe were over. He had rediscovered the part of cycling he loved the most and that realization forced him to confront a question that American cycling has wrestled with for decades.
Why are we always trying to chase the European race dream?
For decades, American cyclists have existed in the shadow of Europe. The mythology of the sport lives on the slopes of Alpe d’Huez, along the cobbled roads of northern France, and in the traditions that have shaped professional cycling for more than a century. The accepted wisdom has long been that if you want to become a serious cyclist, you eventually have to leave home.
But crit racing was never meant to mirror Europe.
It unfolds on downtown streets and industrial circuits. The action happens within arm’s reach of the crowd with spectators experiencing every lap, every attack, every near miss, and every sprint. It isn’t built around six-hour stages disappearing into a picturesque countryside. It’s unapologetically built around energy, personality, and spectacle.
Lucas sees this as America’s strength, and that mindset informs the way he thinks about crit racing as a whole.
“If you don’t believe in yourself, who the hell else will?” he says. “If you don’t feel like you’re the coolest guy or worth watching, who else will?”
For too long, American cycling has looked at Europe as the gold standard. Lucas believes the future of the sport won’t come from imitation, but from embracing what makes American racing different.
“In Europe the focus is the beauty of the courses and the will to empty yourself out day after day. But in America, we like the high speed dopamine rush. If European racing is F1, American is NASCAR.”
As a kid growing up in Texas, Lucas remembers watching fans scramble for t-shirts at Astros games and being captivated by the atmosphere surrounding NASCAR events, where the crowd was brought into the action. This – he came to realize – is American sports.
So when he had the opportunity to design a team built to embrace the American spirit, he went all in, incorporating the best of American sports culture into the high octane adrenaline dump that defines crit racing.
If you come to a race where the Cadence team is racing you’ll experience things you would never see in a European bike race. T-shirt tosses at call ups, activation corners, music, fan festivals like last year’s “Crit Shit.” And – new this year – an eye-catching dragster car racing setup to transport their team and carry their gear.
And while from the outside looking in it might look like Lucas and his teammates are working to make Cadence the spectacle, that is not – and has never been – their end game.
“I want to be remembered as a team that drove eyes not just to us, but to everyone. If people are watching it’s a win for all of us. That means more sponsorship dollars, product, events, etc.”
Of course, creating attention only matters if you can back it up on the bike. And Lucas can.
The 2025 USA Cycling Criterium National Champion has established himself as one of the most dangerous riders in American crit racing. His aggressive, punchy style makes him a threat in every race he enters. He’s the rider everyone watches and the rider nobody wants to see up the road. Chicago Grit fans know him well.
He stood atop the podium in Elgin and Lake Bluff in 2025 after winning Glen Ellyn and Winfield in 2024. Last season he spent much of the series working selflessly for teammate Richard Holec, helping secure Cadence’s overall success while proving himself equally capable of winning when the opportunity presented itself.
His success comes from relentless training, race intelligence, and equipment he trusts completely when races are decided by fractions of a second.
“I have the best braking performance because of SRAM,” Lucas says. “Being able to shift on a dime is essential. In a crit, there’s very little room for error, so having premier equipment makes all the difference.”
His race setup includes a Specialized Tarmac SL8 equipped with a SRAM RED AXS groupset, a 58T chainring paired with a 10-28T cassette, 165mm cranks, and Zipp 454 NSW and 353 NSW wheels.
The details matter because crit racing is a game of margins.
“Sprinting is won or lost by inches,” he says. “You can either get in front of somebody in a corner or you can’t. Having premier equipment allows you to do your job easier.”
His custom eagle-painted bikes have become iconic. His larger-than-life personality has earned him the nickname “The Crit Cowboy.” But behind the bravado is a genuine desire to help create a stronger future for American racing.
That mission is perhaps most visible through Cadence’s partnership with Caldera Medical X Aurea Racing, where Lucas and his team help provide organizational support so the women driving this developing program can focus on building its future.
“I wanted to take on whatever we could so Kendall Ryan can top that podium and elevate American women’s racing. Watching her dominate this year has been incredible. We want to see their team shine.”
He understands that the platform he’s built has given him the ability – and the responsibility – to elevate other athletes along the way. That means sharing knowledge and resources, continually learning how to do it better, and helping build a version of American cycling that can outlast any single rider or team.
Today, Lucas is one of the most recognizable personalities in American racing, and if you ask him why he rides, the answer is simple: he wants to win.
He wants to win for his sponsors, and for his teammates. He wants to win for the fans pounding the barricades on a downtown corner, and the promoters working year-round to put on events like Chicago Grit.
Most of all, he wants to prove that American crit racing doesn’t have to be a lesser version of something happening somewhere else. It can be loud, chaotic, and entertaining. It can be uniquely American.
And it can be worth watching.
