TOP TIER TULSA TOUGH
US Nationals are Next
Hey everyone, we are currently in a travel whirlwind. Immediately following Tulsa, Chad was home for 12 hours before he and Nikki headed to the Basso Riders Club Summit in Bassano del Grappa (more on this next week). Michael and Cole are currently headed to Nationals in West Virginia.
Tulsa Tough delivered.
Heading into Tulsa, we had very specific goals: win a race, land on the podium, bring our fans into the race with us through our content, and leave everything out there on the road with 110% effort.
With the three nights of racing in our rear-view, we can say that our two guys raced their bikes the way this program was built to race them: aggressively, together, and with everything on the line every single night. By Sunday, MG had secured third overall, Cole had animated every race on the card, and SpeedStudio left Tulsa with exactly what it came for.
We didn’t get that win, but we checked every other box and then some.
THE ART OF SPEED COLLECTION
Our third kit drop of 2026 to coincide with the debut of our new Basso Diamante race machines in “Spectrum White” livery. This design was inspired by the artistry of the bikes handmade in Italy, but also by Nikki’s own painting across mediums in our Studio. Shot and edited on site in Tulsa.
Thank you to our partners at Cuore and Kask for helping us pull this one off!
POST RACE RECAPS
BLUE DOME
ARTS DISTRICT - MG 3RD
CRY BABY HILL
Cole Time
Hi all,
Tulsa was a busy weekend in the best of ways. We tried to bring you along with us through the kit launch, bike check, on board footage, and tipsy race recaps. I hope you all enjoyed that.
I’m now just outside of Boone, NC, staying with my grandpa for a week and am using all of this quiet time for reflection. When trying to make a list of what went well and what didn’t, I’ve realized that last weekend was nearly perfect.
Blue Dome on Friday set the tone. We went in with a plan of looking for opportunities while conserving our matches if we determined a sprint was inevitable. As the peloton came ripping through the finish line for the penultimate time, Michael and I were together, entering turn 1 side by side in 4th wheel amongst all of the big teams who brought complete rosters devoted solely to controlling the front for the final few laps. This is exactly what I expected when I signed my contract for SpeedStudio last offseason. MG and I, being a 2 man wrecking ball, inserted ourselves right into the heart of every bike race we entered. It was finally happening… was being the key word. A racing incident put an end to my race in the first turn, and Michael managed to dodge the chaos and roll in a respectable 7th.
We came into day two with confidence and a similar game plan. Fast forward to the last lap. I had just popped off after emptying the tank for a late flyer. As I was slowly rolling around the final lap, I caught a glimpse of the screen and saw Michael sitting 5th and looking calm and collected. I had to stop and watch this final lap play out. You probably know about Michael coming around pure sprinters in the closing meters of the race to land himself on the podium in 3rd. But I was most impressed in the fashion that he made it happen.
Go rewatch that final lap. Pay attention to everyone except MG. They look stressed, frantically squeezing in pedal strokes everywhere they can, putting their nose in the wind. Now watch MG. Coasting into the final corner, taking a breathe, allowing a gap in front of him to create a slingshot. As they exit the corner, he is the first one to get back on the pedals, giving him the superior corner speed launching him into the finale. This wasn’t a rider lucking into a podium. That moment is going to stay in my head for a long time because of it’s significance. That is the moment that Michael put the pieces together and discovered his potential in field sprinting.
Cry Baby is always a great end to Tulsa, but did not carry the same significance as the first two days, in my opinion. Now we knew the form that MG was on and his sprint capabilities. He put together a great ride to finish 4th and close the weekend out in 3rd overall.
I don’t think anyone had SpeedStudio on the overall podium entering this weekend, except for us. That’s part of what makes it so cool. Am I surprised by it? Not at all.
On a personal note, this weekend was huge. Entering Tulsa, I was nervous. Uncertain of where I would fit in for my first national level race back after an embarrassing Athens Twilight. Would a 5-week block at home really be enough to make me go from a DNF to winning an event at this level? This weekend provided a huge relief for me. I might not have won anything, but I was back at the front of the peloton, animating the races and contributing to Michael’s success. I’m only going to get better as the season goes on, and that fills me with excitement, motivation, and confidence.
Next week, we fight for the Stars and Stripes. See you there!
-Cole
MGR Corner
This weekend was a breakthrough. Full stop.
The races were controlled. Strong teams with depth (one day one, a team actually had two teams in different kits and were disqualified), high pace, and crit courses that didn’t quite have the punch to blow things apart the way we’d like. So we sprinted. And boy, did that feel good.
I’ve never trusted my sprint like I did this weekend. The past few weeks I was locked in keeping the Zone 2 genuinely relaxed, protecting the freshness and giving the sprint work real room to snap. That discipline paid off in ways I felt in every finale. Standing on the pedals in the closing meters with pure sprinters either side of me, realizing it really isn’t as hard as I always made it out to be. That’s a feeling I won’t forget quickly. Something clicked mentally, physically, or i should say both, and it opened a door I’m not closing again.
Cole and I were the most locked in I’ve ever felt as a duo. On the bike and off it. There’s something really special building, the trust, the communication, the way we race for each other without needing to say much. I’m sure you can all see it in our post race interviews. It’s a special thing. We’re having fun.
Cole’s aggression all weekend made every race harder for everyone else and better for us. That’s what this program looks like when it’s firing. It was genuinely one of the most special feelings I’ve had in this sport — coming together like that, on one of American cycling’s biggest stages, and delivering.
Third overall. Multiple sprint finishies I’m proud of. A teammate I trust completely.
And now, US Nationals. We’re both eager, both ready, both hungry. The legs are good. The confidence is real. The timing feels right.
See you there.
— MG