When she’s not following the USA Crit scene with LA Sweat, Carla's crushing the fixed-gear crit scene around the globe. She got a fourth-place overall finish in the Red Hook Crit Series last year, and played a vital role in Raphaële’s win in New York. She's played a crucial part of the Specialized Rocket Espresso Team since she began racing with them in 2017.

Coming from a speed skating background, Raphaële has always “loved the fast-paced racing, cornering, and turning around in circles really, really fast!” Soon after retiring from professional speed skating, she started dabbling with bikes again and quickly discovered fixed-gear crits. With her speed skating background, she’s right at home in this fast-paced environment.

After beginning his cycling career at 13, Justin immediately knew that he’d found his calling. He went onto win multiple junior and U23 National Championships on the track before switching over to the road, riding for Rock Racing and Cylance. When he’s not racing for the team, you can find him traveling all over the US, racing the USA Crit series.

Although riding and racing have been a long-term love affair for Alec, like many, he prefers the fixed crit style of racing. What's so great about it? As Alec says, it's a combination of the “vast subcultures and skillsets of different cyclists, coming together to form this unique vibe [that] the cycling world is still coming to terms with.”

As the oldest rider on the team, and a father of two, Stefan sees it as his duty to “try to take care on these crazy kids.” Racing since 1996, he's competed in almost every discipline, but he's recently fallen in love with the fixed-gear crit scene. When he’s not racing, Stefan is busy as a police officer, chasing down fugitives (probably not by track bike) through the streets of Germany.

With inspiration from his father, Eamon began his cycling career at the age of 17. Since then, he's traveled the globe racing a variety of different disciplines. In 2017, he was brought onto the Specialized Rocket Espresso team and since then, Eamon says that it's been a “continuous dream.” His favorite part? “We love to win and love making it look good. I think it's a Specialized thing.

Racing bikes one way or another since the age of eight, including a career in professional road racing, Gus has always been excited to be doing anything on two wheels. As Gus puts it, “[I've] never felt I’ve fit in until I found this group and this type of racing. What we are a part of, here, is the future of the sport, and being able to say I was a part of that is incredible.”

What exactly is Team Specialized Rocket Espresso? It’s a team of friends with an array of characters, race experience, and wisdom coming together to smash gears, rail corners, spread stoke, and take Ws at fixed-gear crit races around the globe. Catch the team and one of their upcoming races and join in on the fun.