Gruppetto: Helping Kids Ride From the Underground to the Pros

From underground fixed-gear races on the streets of LA to riding with pro teams in Europe, Frenk Martucci and Gruppetto are not just helping local kids find a pathway into the sport of cycling but giving them opportunities that shape their futures.

Every so often, in industrial areas dotted around Los Angeles, the hum of the traffic is replaced by the whir of chains working flat out as cyclists go head-to-head in impromptu races. This underground scene attracts riders young and old from across the city, all drawn together by the thrill of racing and the chance to hang out with like-minded cyclists.

"Someone organizes a meet-up spot in an industrial area where there is almost a mile course and where there is no traffic," explains Francesco 'Frenk' Martucci, founder of Gruppetto, a cycling group that aims to provide a pathway for talented youngsters that might otherwise 'get lost'. "Maybe 20 or 30 people meet to race. They pay $5 and a little bit of everything happens - it's mostly an occasion to hang out more than the actual race. But for some of these kids, it's like the world championship of fixed-gear racing.”

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Frenk discovered this scene when he moved from Italy to Los Angeles back in 2020. A former fixed-gear racer himself, Frenk regularly competed in the professional Red Hook Crit racing series - a fixed-gear (no brakes) series around the world. When he moved to LA, Frenk discovered this underground circuit - and was impressed with the standard of some of the kids racing in it.

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There are no carbon frames or expensive groupsets in this race, rather the focus is on pure pedal power. “A fixed gear is the cheapest bike that they can get,” Frenk explains. “So normally these kids buy a fixed-gear bicycle, they ride to school on it, and then they learn about these races. I've seen that some of these have incredible potential, but they can easily get 'lost'.”

The origins of Gruppetto

Unsurprisingly, there is no real pathway into the sport of cycling for talented youngsters in this kind of underground scene. Frenk decided to change that. "The idea [for Gruppetto] came to me last year when I saw Alfredo Bueno racing fixed gear - although I started thinking about it back in 2015. I remember there was this kid from Long Beach. He raced one of the biggest criteriums at that time on the West Coast called Mission Crit in San Francisco. He won the race on a breakaway, beating riders like Colin Strickland and other pros. He made a solo attack and he won.

“Colin Strickland was running a team with Pinarello, he took him in and gave him the opportunity to race. This kid raced Red Hook in New York. He was leading and then he had a crash. After that, he just got lost. And I thought: imagine if Alfredo did the same - I felt like I had to do something, to give him an opportunity."

And so Frenk, along with his partner Melissa, started Gruppetto. The name finds its origins in professional cycling, whereby the Gruppetto is a group of cyclists that come together at the back of the peloton, usually on mountain stages, and ride at a pace that allows them to finish within the time limit. "Gruppetto means helping everyone to finish - like in the Tour de France. As well, we help our riders with different projects.

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"We also have a big impact on the cycling community here in Los Angeles. We organize bike rides, we provide clinics, and we have our junior program. With this program, we introduce teenagers who race fixed gear to road cycling."

This introduction to road cycling goes way beyond simply providing them with the equipment they need to practice the sport. Rather, Frenk and Melissa mentor these kids in every aspect of cycling. "Take Alfredo, he was very competitive. But I had to teach him that in a team there are some things that you need to do. If you don't like the order that the team manager gives you, you still need to follow it.

"Also with their eating. It's hard in the United States for a kid to know what to eat. I once had a kid show up and I asked him 'what did you eat this morning before you came here?' And he said 'I stopped and got a bacon brisket'. And I was like 'Oh, my God okay okay - let's start from the fundamentals'. It's complete, full-time help. And I think for them, I'm a bit like a big brother."

Thanks to the structure of the races in the US, Frenk is also able to coach them during races. "A cool thing about racing in the United States compared to Italy is that I can actually race most of the races with my juniors once they get to be 'category-free'. So I can coach them inside the race - where to position, how to stay on the wheel, and when to wait for the sprint. They can learn how to race and not just wait for the sprint finish."

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And the program is working. Alfredo Bueno, who Frenk spotted at underground Fixed Gear races and coached through 2023, recently signed a contract with US team Aevolo - that focuses on developing elite U23 riders. Meanwhile, another cyclist from the program, Beto Gutierrez, was recently invited to race with a team in Italy through the 2024 summer.

A cycling university

Creating a program that gives these kids the opportunity to both be successful and have experiences that would otherwise be out of reach, is what motivates Frenk and Melissa to continue their work with Gruppetto. "Every kid dreams about racing in Europe. Maybe they won't race at the Tour de France, but just to have the opportunity to race small races in Europe with the big guys there - that's an incredible opportunity for the kids that we help. They come from fixed-gear racing. They don't have help from their parents to go to races because they can't, so we help them as much as we can.

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"Maybe they can make it, maybe they can't, but at least they had the opportunity. And if they don't make it, imagine the experience they have in Europe, or the experience of racing for a team like Aevolo. What can those experiences bring to an actual job later? It's like they are at cycling university."

Of course, Frenk does one day dream of seeing one of his riders on the world stage. "I get emotional when I think about this," Frenk says, his voice starting to break. "But it would be cool to have a have a rider - one of our riders - participating in track or road at the Olympic Games in L.A. It would be amazing if a kid from South L.A., who started with fixed-gear racing, found himself racing the Olympic Games.

"We do our best. The kids work really hard. And you know, if we are lucky, I think it could happen."