About

CJCT was founded in 1979 by former U.S. National Team coach Jim Grill as a developmental team for local talent. To this day that remains our primary mission.

A Getty Oil distributor was the first CJCT sponsor, followed later by a mail-order bike-parts retailer, Criterium USA. Then in 1990, the team was introduced to Richie Gordon, a passionate cyclist and the owner of Northeastern Hardware. Understanding how critical financial support is to the sport of cycling, Richie came to our aid. With his influence, Makita became our title sponsor for two years, and Northeastern Hardware was a secondary sponsor. In 1992, Northeastern Hardware took over as title sponsor and has remained on the front of our jersey every year since then. Another long-time sponsor of the team is our bike shop sponsor, Marty’s Reliable Cycle, who has been with us since 1990.

Initially a junior team, in the first few years CJCT won as many as 55 races a year with no losses. It’s worth noting, too, that in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Junior races often fielded 100 or more riders. While far fewer Juniors turn out at races today, the team still provides guidance for young riders with big aspirations in the sport.

Track racers also comprised the earliest version of the team, and several riders won national track championships while wearing a CJCT jersey. But even with a team of track riders, CJCT has always raced on the road, and since the mid-1980s, CJCT has emphasized road racing. Today the team consists almost exclusively of dedicated road racers. And often we’ll pass up a local criterium in favor of traveling out of our way to compete in a longer road race.

Over the years, CJCT riders have won just about every race in New Jersey, as well as some prestigious races in surrounding states and New England. We have a collection of state titles too, including several State Road Race and Time Trial Championships, and a number of Garden State Cups. And some CJCT riders have gone on to still bigger things in the sport, including Dave Lettieri, who raced for several pro teams, among them LA Sheriffs; and Pete LoPinto, who currently races for the Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada pro team.

Going into the 2003 season, the CJCT roster is considerably larger than it has been for the past several years. After picking up a new group of riders with solid resumes and getting some additional sponsorship, the 2003 team is poised to ride away with the local racing scene and be a major factor in the northeast region.