Danny Summerhill (REIGN Storm Racing) had an erratic career of racing success and personal challenges - sometimes turbulent, sometimes mercurial, always funny. In 2023, he had what he called the "Fairytale Season" and won the Men's Individual and sprint titles in the American Criteria Cup. 

His success last year also helped a team from his American cycling group win the best overall team classification in the ACC. Professional cyclist-turned-filmmaker Angus Morton joined the team over the weekend of the 5 races to capture the spirit of a group of riders experiencing the life of the U.S. Criterion, where the metamorphosis of Summer Hill turned out. 

This year, the team will race under the REIGN Storm Racing brand, led by Chief Sports Director and former professional Thomas Craven, whom Summerhill calls "the glue."REIGN Storm has already swept the team awards in two spring series - Six Race USA Crits and Eight Race USA Speed Week. The team won 7 podium places at the Kritz in the U.S., and Summerhill finished in 3rd overall, second only to overall winner and teammate Alfredo Rodriguez.

"I say it doesn't really matter who wins for us. A much bigger objective is for us to win. This year, I do not care. In other years, I would absolutely have another answer for you. I am part of the best team and focus on showing that we are the best," Summer Hill told Cycling News. 

Summerhill, who turned 2 on May 35, showed no signs of slowing down by using his feet in sprints or using his vocal cords in conversations about sprints. His bicycle career dates back to when he raced multiple disciplines including the U.S. Cyclocross title as a junior and U23 athlete, plus a silver medal as a junior at the 2007 Cyclocross World Championships in 2004. Until Craven signed Coloradoan to the Best Buddies team in 2021, Summer Hill refocused on Criteria racing and considered himself no longer a "bridesmaid."

"I obviously have a lot of excitement in ACC. It has a special place in my heart, thanks to the people I met through the organization who gave me blood, sweat and tears for that event. And while it's not that USA Crits are not doing the same thing, I have a special vested interest in the ACC due to the fact that I won in both competitions last year. And of course, so that everyone wants to win it again," Summer Hill told Cycling News.

"Of course, I would like to win [the American Criteria Cup] again, or someone from REIGN Storm - me or Alfredo [Rodriguez] or [Brian] Gomez - to win. Whether earning ACC again is my goal or the team's goal, as long as I'm helping contribute in any of them, it's the same

The ACC in 2024 will start in Tulsataf on 6/7, with REIGN Storm leading in the team rankings and Bryan Gomez and Alfredo Rodriguez leading in the team rankings. Finishing in the Top 5, Summerhill marked as sprint leader

The second stop of the series will take place this Saturday at Dairyland on the American Tour at Downers Classic. And it was Toad last year that the story of the "dream of criticism" took shape.

"I've always been a bridesmaid. I'm happy with that, but 2023 has kept me away from the lead outrider and I was happy to have this success...It's a fairytale season," Summer Hill said in the film.

Morton's film, with support from BMC, will continue in the second half of 2023, including the ACC, a race near Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Toad. Craven, returning to his days of racing in the United States, said this was the "holy grail" of Criterion racing and defined a way of life. 

Using behind-the-scenes footage, personal interviews and race highlights, 'Crit Dreams' tells the story of this Holy Grail quest, which Craven said was "for the crowd." You want to do crazy things to do the show."

From various suburban host houses with large plates of pasta on the rider's lap to team meetings using computers to translate audio into Spanish for some riders, the American cycling group's team said they had a team with a big budget. In what is called "David vs Goliath" as a small team against the team, striving to win the team and individual titles.

Summer Hill spoke of his major career setbacks along the way, admitting that "The world thought I was 'Rooney Toon'" after letting go by the highly successful UnitedHealthcare road team in 2017. He resigned on charges of "disorderly conduct, discharge of weapons in public places and reckless endangerment" related to firing a gun on a hillside during training in rural suburban Denver. It turned out to be a snowball effect of starting and stopping a career.

"He gives shit," was how Craven summed up his team leader. "He cares about racing. He cares about people. He is very caring and clever. He could probably do other types of races and make more money on a bigger team, but before he rode the team's setup, the very cohesive

Craven, Summer Hill was invited to USA Cycling to join the men's team pursuit team in 2019 and he was "given a gift." He helped the team win several lead-up races, but the United States did not qualify enough spots for team events and said he burned out from the track experience. He started taking antidepressants and was unable to get a proper therapeutic use exemption for Adderall, so he stopped the medication used to treat ADD for 1 year. 

It was also around the time Summerhill's father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and he became the family's primary caregiver. 

"The day he forgot my name I was nervous," Summerhill managed to say when he choked talking about his father, Ed, in the movie. His father succumbed to the disease this spring, and the film pays tribute to Ed Summerhill in credits.

"I'm chaotic enough and there's no way you can continue cycling with ADD. I know everything happens for a reason, and it's hard to understand what those reasons are sometimes. I am happy with all the cases of my life that have brought me here," he concludes.