Race Report: 2024 Santa Cruz Classic Criterium - Men’s Cat 4
Race: Santa Cruz Classic Criterium — Men’s Cat 4
Date: March 24, 2024
AVRT Racers: Zack Berger
Top Results: Zack (4/22)
Course: 40 minutes around a 0.78 mile triangular course. First corner is a hairpin turn downhill, followed by a descent into the second corner, then a gradual 4-5% climb into a 2% climb to the finish. The course was completely drenched from persistent rains when we rode it.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11030110959
Nutrition: Two Espresso Gu gels before the race. A couple sips from a bottle with Maltodextrin and Tailwind Endurance Fuel.
Recap
This was my second-ever crit. My plan was to avoid crashing, stay in the front group and contest the finish. I was up against two incredibly strong riders — Logan and Mats — so would be over-the-moon for third place.
The first couple laps were uneventful. I stayed toward the front and kept in the draft. On lap four I was two wheels back and thought, hey, I could probably take this hairpin a bit faster. I hit the hairpin and immediately crashed. I flatted in Cat’s Hill the day before, so I badly wanted to keep going. I quickly got up, grabbed my bottle, looked myself over, decided I was fine, and hopped on my bike.
Side note: I forgot about the free lap, and hopefully will remember about it next time.
Apparently, Logan attacked on the downhill right after I crashed, stringing the field out into a front group and several islands of riders. I was off the back riding solo. The front was still in sight, and I noticed that they would slow a bit on the 2% section. I figured, as long as I kept a consistent and hard pace, especially there, I’d eventually catch them. For the next 20-25 minutes I continued forward. Every now and then I’d join a rider island, draft for a bit, then move on. I heard people shout my name from the sidelines, and this was really encouraging! It was also very unlike road races, where you basically see no one for several hours.
With about 10 minutes left in the race I managed to reconnect to the front group. I was able to conserve energy immediately, and realized I definitely would be able to stick it to the end.
Fast forward to the bell lap. There were roughly ten people in the front ready to contest the sprint. Right before the final climb, a rider from Cycle Sport attacked. No one followed him. Halfway up the climb, Mats and Logan sprinted away for first and second, respectively. I started passing people one by one, including the rider from Cycle Sport. I realized that I was completely out of the draft (which ruined me at Cantua Creek earlier this year), so I slipped behind someone for a moment. Then, I swung out around him for one final sprint into fourth.
Overall, I was incredibly happy with my result. It was the first time I crashed in a race, I came out unscathed, and managed to make it on to the podium.
