‘Something super ambitious’ looming for US duo Michael Garrison and Cole Davis on new SpeedStudio p/b Basso alliance

Former US under-23 time trial national champion Michael Garrison will join forces with former US junior road race winner Cole Davis for the SpeedStudio p/b Basso team in 2026, the duo combining for road, mountain bike and gravel competitions in the US and abroad.

Garrison launched an independent racing programme two years ago, MGR p/b +SpeedStudio, for competing in multiple disciplines after four seasons on the road with Hagens Berman Axeon development team. He had sporadic success, like second overall in the 2024 SpeedWeek criterium series with a mix of top results off-road and one-day road events in 2025, such as Homegrown Gravel and Spartanburg Criterium victories, and saw the need for more support in matches against strong teams.

“I’m going to have a teammate,” Garrison exclaimed to Cyclingnews about the new development for a third season in defying the conventional and controlling a diverse path in pro cycling.

You may like

“For the last two years, frankly, we hadn’t had the resources, that depth, to help me out. I’ve known Cole for a really long time, we kind of grew up together, and I’ve always known his talents as a racer. We’ve had highs together, lows together. Cole is arguably one of the only, if not the only, rider that has abilities like I do, and wants to race everything.”

The Georgia and California-based riders were teammates at the Hagens Berman Axeon development team in 2020 and 2021, and Garrison said he had an ‘aha’ moment when they were roommates in Girona for combining their common abilities for explosiveness and tactical strategies in a future teamwork setting.

They parted ways, Garrison launched an independent programme at the age of 21, and Davis split seasons with Laboral Kutxa, Ribble Rebellion and Project Echelon Racing over three seasons. Then the epiphany to make the partnership come together happened on the podium at US Gravel Nationals in Minnesota this past September, Garrison finishing second and Davis third.

“He was second at Bucks County, then won The Rad Dirt and was on the podium with me at Gravel Nationals. Knowing he wanted to do something different, it was a moment [at Gravel Nationals] of building this dynamic duo. He fits the rider type, fits with the brands we work with and how we present ourselves, he’s going to be the perfect fit as a friend and with the chemistry we have.”

Over the last two seasons, Davis won the Sea Otter Circuit Race, a stage at Redlands Bicycle Classic, two races at SpeedWeek and The Rad Dirt Fest. He represented Team USA at the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands before finishing his season with Garrison at Big Sugar Gravel in Arkansas.

The two will join forces for a programme that “blends elite performance with creative production”, with continued support from Georgia-based SpeedStudio, a creative design shop that manages elite athletes and creates storytelling and unites brands with creators in a private membership community. Basso Bikes is the new presenting sponsor for the team, which Garrison noted had been making a heavy push in the US market for their diverse fleet.

“SpeedStudio is rethinking what it means to be a professional cycling organization,” said Alessandro Basso, CEO of Basso Bikes. “They’re building something that merges culture and competition. Their racing style inspires creativity, and that creativity attracts new fans to cycling. For us, that’s exactly the kind of energy the sport needs.”

You may like

The 2026 competition calendar was taking shape for SpeedStudio p/b Basso, and Garrison confirmed there were bold objectives for the two-rider squad.

Davis will look to earn one of three wildcards at the Life Time Grand Prix, a collection of off-road races in the US. For Garrison, he will head to Europe for Santa Vall and The Traka. Both look to compete at VIA Crit in London and ZuriCrit in Zurich, along with other ‘cornerstone’ events such as Tulsa Tough, USPro Road Nationals and Big Sugar Gravel.

“We’re planning something super ambitious for next year. Cole and I both come from a team culture, and we didn’t have the most conventional pathway at all. So through this program, we want him to also have choices, like semi-privateers.

“At Sea Otter, we will focus more for him, then I can play more of a B roll. We’re gonna go from Sea Otter to Athens Twilight, there’s 48 hours in between. We want to win both. We want to blow the doors off the world,” Garrison said.

The private membership side with SpeedStudio, based in the Inman Park area of Atlanta, has about 50 members so far. Garrison, who lives in nearby Decatur, said he would continue to be engaged with member experiences throughout the year, from Wahoo Crank It Up indoor events to outdoor rides in the north Georgia mountains.