Race Reports
Race: 2025 Pescadero Coastal Classic - Women’s Masters District Championship
Race: 2025 Pescadero Coastal Classic - Women’s Masters District Championship
Date: Saturday July 12, 2025
AVRT racers: Hannah Chen, Kristin Hepworth,
Top Result: Kristin 1 of 8
Course: 1.7 laps of a loop. Race begins with a neutral rollout to Stage road, where there are two short climbs. Race then continues onto 84 for several miles before turning into the feed zone on Alpine. The race then takes another turn onto the Haskins climb, the longest climb of the race. After the climb, there is a 9 mile descent to Stage road. First 4 miles are technical with several hairpin turns, the remainder is fairly straightforward.
Nutrition: Bagel with peanut butter for breakfast, EF energy balls just before race and during. Nuun endurance in bottles, one SIS gel and one carbs fuel gel.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15094420961
Recap:
Heading into this race, I was excited. Our original plan was to merge the masters field with the short course women so we could race as a team—set a hard pace, try a break on Stage Road, and just go for it. I was ready to take risks and see what we could make happen.
Unfortunately, that plan unraveled at the start line. Two riders in the masters field didn’t agree to combine the races. I briefly considered switching to race as a Cat 3 instead—because the goal was to podium in the overall short course race —but with the district championship on the line, and the official saying changes weren’t allowed at the start, I stuck with masters.
Hannah and I rolled out together, both a bit disappointed not to be with our teammates in the short course. The race itself started slow—eight riders, not much action early on. But by the first Stage Road climb, the field had already thinned to five. By the second climb, we were down to four: me, Hannah, Jane (unattached), and Wenny Shark from Super Sprinklers.
After the first Haskins climb, it was down to just Jane and me. She was riding strong—steady on the climbs, fast on the descents. We regrouped briefly on the downhill, picking up Robin Kutner and another short course rider. The four of us took pulls along Pescadero Creek, when I got nailed by a wasp in my leg. Definitely worse than any bee bite I’ve had. (I also got stung the week before on the same road). I gritted my teeth and kept pushing.
Eventually, it was just Jane and me again as we hit the next Stage Road climb. I grabbed one of the bottles at the top from that cool contraption Drew made. I was happy to have it. Jane stayed relentless, strong both up and down. We took turns pulling on 84 and were side by side going into Haskins Hill. I dropped her early on and climbed alone at a good pace until the finish line. She rolled across a couple minutes later. I’m glad I was able to race in the Pescadero road race again this year. It’s my favorite! Go AVRT!
Race: Pescadero Coastal Classic - Men’s 35-49 Cat 1/2/3
Date: July 12, 2025AVRT racers: Jeremy Besmer, Ryan D, Matthew1
Top Result: Matthew (19/38 overall and 6/8 in 45-49)
Course: [Plagiarized from Wil's Cat3 report]: ~72 miles, 3 ascents of Haskins climb which the race finished on. After a neutral rollout from Pescadero High School, the race begins on Stage Road with two short climbs separated by fast descents. A right turn off of Stage leads to 7.5 miles of gradual 1% uphill with a few punchy rollers. Next is a right turn onto Pescadero Road with a short uphill/downhill before turning right onto Pescadero Creek Road for the final Haskins climb (1.6 miles at 7%).
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15095767552Nutrition: Matthew raced with two bottles and two flasks of gel with about 120g of carbs each.
Recap: Written by Matthew (and Jeremy + Ryan)
This race combined three age groups, 35-39, 40-45, and 45-49. We had two in 35-39 group, Jeremy and Ryan, and me in the 45-49. Prior to the race, Jeremy gave me some good intel on strong riders in the field. In return, I'd (already) given Jeremy and Ryan some bad intel, prior to the race, that last year the race had some half-hearted breaks that never were in danger of staying away. Although that was true... LAST year, it wasn't true at all this year.
Early on the first lap a break of two went away, with two 40-45 year olds... and it quickly gained a minute and then more on the field as no one (myself included) was willing to chase. The first lap was extremely slow for the peloton. In the second lap, Ryan put in some efforts at the front and was able to form a breakaway of two, that stayed away for maybe twenty minutes or so but was still in sight. Eventually a third person bridged up. At the bottom of Stage the group ended up picking up the pace, and when the group was only about 10 seconds back and looked to be caught, Ryan drifted back to the field… but the other two breakaway partners managed to stay away, because a larger break formed at that point, maybe six people, and went away and stayed away. On the second Haskins climb, Jeremy put in some efforts at the front to try to bring the break back but there wasn’t enough group efforts to pull that break back in. On the last lap there was some attrition and Jeremy + Ryan ended up on the wrong side of a split. I was still towards the front (of the non-breakaways) and doing OK until the climb really started on Haskins, and I didn't have the power to climb at all - it wasn't close, I was only able to do 4.5W/kg and everyone else walked away from me.
It was nice to race with together with Jeremy and Ryan; apologies for the bad intel/strategy, and I'm hoping to gain some fitness and do better next time.
Race Report: 2025 Pescadero Coastal Classic - Women’s Short Course P123 + 4/5
Race: Pescadero Coastal Classic - Women’s Short Course P123 + 4/5
Date: July 12, 2025
AVRT racers: Kat Zgraja, Katie Monaghan, Robin Kutner, Sam Dewees
Top Result: Sam Dewees (3/15 (Cat 4/5)), Kat Zgraja (3/5 (Cat P/1/2/3))
Course: ~47 miles, 1.7 laps of the course, each lap with 3 climbs (Stage 1, Stage 2, and Haskins). The race began with a neutral rollout from Pescadero High School followed by Stage Road, which featured two shorter climbs and two twisty descents. Then, the course was flat/rolling until Pescadero Road, which was slightly uphill leading to Pescadero Creek Road, where the longer Haskins climb began. After climbing Haskins, there was a fast and long descent back to Stage Road to start the second lap. The race ended at the top of the second Haskins climb. The pavement was mostly smooth with a few cracks here and there. It was chilly at the start of the race, but warmer by the time we made it to the finish line.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15093420334
Nutrition: One Picky Bar ~30 minutes before the race; two bottles with Skratch during the race.
Recap: Written by Sam
This was my second climb-y road race (the first was Berkeley Hills in April, where I finished in a small chase group), so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I felt reasonably confident in my fitness and climbing abilities, so I was hopeful to hold my own in the race and be competitive with the other cat 4/5s.
Before the race, we expected to be combined with the women’s masters fields since they were relatively small, so we developed a team plan to protect Kristin in the master’s field. Right before the whistle, though, we learned that the masters fields would race separately even though we had been told the masters would join us. So we were down to four teammates at the start, and the main team competition (Super Sprinkles) had about eight.
The pace was relatively chill until we turned onto Stage Road and the first climb began. Super Sprinkles immediately attacked, so riders hammered the two Stage climbs and descents. A small breakaway group formed with two Super Sprinkles riders, one unattached rider, and Kat. I was very determined not to get dropped, so I pushed the climbs and descents and smashed solo for about a mile on the flattish section that followed to bridge up to the chase group of six riders, including Katie. We then rode together for pretty much the remainder of the race, trading pulls for most of the flat and rolling sections. Katie kept the paceline efficient, and we continued gaining on the breakaway group. We found Kat after the first Haskins descent, and she joined our chase group. Given how dynamic the course was, I had to constantly remind myself to stay engaged and not let up on the effort, both physically and mentally. I wanted to finish the race feeling like I put in everything I had on the day, and didn’t give up at any point, and there were certainly moments when I wasn’t sure if I had the legs or descending skill to stay with my group, but I was able to hang with them until the end of the race, which felt like a huge achievement.
We lost one of the riders in our chase group on the last Stage climb, but essentially stayed together until we turned onto Pescadero Road and neared the last Haskins climb. One of the Super Sprinkles riders in our group attacked before the climb, and we didn’t respond (I personally thought we would catch her on Haskins, but she managed to stay ahead to the finish line). Then, we all emptied our tanks on Haskins. Another Sprinkles rider attacked halfway up the climb, and I managed to inch ahead of the rest of the group, and catch one of the riders from the original breakaway group toward the top of the climb, rolling across the finish line in 5th overall and 3rd in the 4/5 category.
Overall, this was a great racing experience, and I learned so much about race dynamics and pushed my own limits as a cyclist. I think I can actually descend reasonably well now, which only took five years to be able to say :)
Race Report: 2025 Pescadero Coastal Classic Men’s Cat 4 7/12/25
AVRT Racers: Jack Lund, Vasyl Stokolosa, Sam Moskal, Adam Beliveau, Shai Traister, James Riegger, Phillip Maier
Course: ~47 miles, 2 ascents of Haskins climb which the race finished on. After a neutral rollout from Pescadero High School, the race begins on Stage Road with two short climbs separated by fast descents. A right turn off of Stage leads to 7.5 miles of gradual 1% uphill with a few punchy rollers. Next is a right turn onto Pescadero Road with a short uphill/downhill before turning right onto Pescadero Creek Road for the final Haskins climb (1.6 miles at 7%).
Strava: https://strava.app.link/VqN9nt4T0Ub
Fueling: 1 large bottle with 3 scoops Formula 369 (1 of which had caffeine)
Our event was the largest of the day, ~60 total entrants. The plan: No plan, just hang in there and survive the attritional race as best as possible. Our biggest worries going into things were the initial chaos stemming from 60 Cat 4 riders, and the speed of our first Haskins.
Leading up to the first two stage climbs was chaos. Our peloton took up the entire road, with no regard for oncoming cars. The first two climbs went off really hard immediately shedding ~1/3 of our numbers. In addition over the top of the second climb a small group of 3 riders went for a break (1 Thursday and 2 unaffiliated). The peloton did a half hearted attempted at chasing leading up to Haskins due to overall confusion about who and how many riders were up.
Luckily the break itself was falling apart as two of the members were larger guys able to handle ripping the flat terrain between mountains and one was not. The two started to play games to drop the third eventually leading to the breakaway being reabsorbed after the first Haskins.
A bunch of us tried to Sag climb the first Haskins, which led to a required hard effort after the descent to catch the leading group (which was itself pushing hard to catch the break). Vasyl, was the man of the hour here, repeatedly bridging gaps and ensuring a large group of us were still in the race.
The second lap is when the attrition really began to show, after the two Stage climbs the group had shattered, requiring multiple riders to bridge to the front group, eventually leading to a front peloton of ~20 going into Haskins.
Vasyl attacked going into the final climb, but the peloton kept him within 10s. The race ended with a brutal final effort up Haskins where amazingly one of the initial breakaway riders had the strength to pull off first. There was a small sprint battle for 2nd and 3rd in the 1ft gap between the yellow lines and a train of cars with Alto Velo’s top results pulling in for 4th (Phillip Maier) and 6th (Jack Lund)
Overall this was an amazing race, and we (the AV participants) are eternally gratefully to all of you (the volunteers and community) for making it all happen !!!
Race Report: 2025 Pescadero Coastal Classic - Men’s E3
Date: July 12, 2025
AVRT racers: Wil Gibb, George Wehner, Kevin Kauffman, Drew Mathews
Top Result: Wil Gibb (4/18)
Course: ~72 miles, 3 ascents of Haskins climb which the race finished on. After a neutral rollout from Pescadero High School, the race begins on Stage Road with two short climbs separated by fast descents. A right turn off of Stage leads to 7.5 miles of gradual 1% uphill with a few punchy rollers. Next is a right turn onto Pescadero Road with a short uphill/downhill before turning right onto Pescadero Creek Road for the final Haskins climb (1.6 miles at 7%).
Strava: https://strava.app.link/SZFcKJGPYUb
Nutrition: Two bottles with 120g carbs each, 90g gel, two neutral feed water bottles
Recap: Written by Wil
Going into this race as the biggest team, we felt the expectation would be on us to set the pace and control attacks. Drew and Kevin offered to patrol the front to do just that, with George and I sitting in as much as possible for the climbs. Thanks to their work, there were no significant attacks on lap one, though the pace was still high. Pescadero’s reputation for being attritional was on full display, with the group’s fastest times being set on the first lap and getting slower throughout the race. This meant that at the first Haskins climb, the group already splintered, leaving George, myself, and about ten other riders to chase a break of two that had a small gap rolling over the top of the climb. Sadly, I dropped my (Shimano!) chain at the crest of Haskins and had to get off the bike to fix it. My efforts then switched to chasing back to George & the main group on the descent.
Once I got back to the group, there was no sense of urgency to chase back the two ahead, especially since the largest remaining team (Sycip) was represented in the break. The pace on Stage was again high, and Drew was still able to help the team with very well placed water in Bottle Grabs. Unfortunately, George got boxed in behind slowing riders in this feed zone and had to burn matches chasing back down Stage and up 84. This meant that at the top of the second Haskins climb, our group had narrowed to 8 and I was the sole AVRT rider remaining. Worse yet, there were four Teslas ahead of us on the Haskins descent whose autonomous driving software clearly were not connected to Strava, as they slowed us down significantly. When they finally turned off the road, their sharp braking forced me to take evasive action into the ditch, though I miraculously stayed upright (kudos to AVRT team camp gravel ride?!).
After this Musk-driven misadventure, it was clear we would only be racing for the final spot on the podium. There were no real attacks since people were trying to save their legs for Haskins. My goal was to be in a good position for the climb, though I made the mistake of being in too good of a position (the front). Instead of varying my cadence and power trying to slot back, I decided to just set a hard pace I knew I could keep to try and discourage attacks. Since no one came around, every so often I attacked out of the saddle to see if I could distance myself. This made-up (ill-advised?) strategy brought the group from eight to four riders. Coming around the final bend, I knew the climb flattened so I launched one final (too early) sprint, and a Team California junior rider came around me by a bike length to take first from the field.
This was a hard but fun race, and I’m especially grateful to all of the amazing volunteers who made this event possible. Also huge thanks to photographer Christophe Testi who captured so many moments of this race. See below for one of them – me attacking (or leading out?) the remaining riders during the final moments of the race.
Race Report: 2025 USAC Pro Nats - Men’s RR
Race: 2025 USAC Pro Nats - Men’s RR
Date: 5/26/25
AVRT Racers: Nathan Martin
Top Result: 24th - Nathan
Course: 10 laps of a 13.1 mile loop with 1,100 ft of elevation gain. Two climbs, one about 1.6 mi long, starting flat and gradually going up to about 12% gradient, another about 1.7 miles long with a steep 10% starter section for 0.6 miles, then some stair steppy stuff the rest of the way. Some turns through downtown as well as we did part of the crit course. First two laps only included the first 1.6 mile climb.
Nutrition: Lots of bottles of mix and plain water
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14604430408
Race Recep (written by Nathan):
This was going to be a super tough race. The WorldTour lineup wasn’t the same as previous years, but we had 2 Ineos riders in Artem Schmidt and AJ August and Quinn Simmons riding for Trek. EF-Aevolo had a good squad, and a couple other U23 devo teams had riders as well. In addition, pretty much every strong rider in America was here, so it was going to be tough.
I did not start out well. I was nervous, and was hanging around the back the first two circuits of the junior course, and I got caught behind 2 crashes at the top of the climb each time, having to chase on the descent and burn some matches early. Obviously not what you want for a 130 mile race.
Once we did our first ascent of the 1.7 mile long climb on Bridge Road, I knew it would be a long day. Those first two efforts had definitely sapped my legs, and hanging around at the back of the group through the corners of the crit course didn’t help either. The descent after each climb was super fun though. Very flowy, didn’t ever feel unsafe in the group, had a lot of fun which is rare for me, usually I hate descents.
I tried to move up where I could, following good wheels like Tyler Stites or Artem Schmidt, who was going back and forth from the Ineos team car for AJ, but just didn’t feel comfortable fighting for wheels with some of these guys. There were a couple other crashes in dumb spots which didn’t inspire confidence for me, either.
This would carry on until Lap 7, as guys slowly started dropping off, when there was not so much an attack but an acceleration on Bridge Road, and me and some others couldn’t follow it.
We rode together as a small group for Lap 8 before we were pulled with 2 to go.
Overall disappointed to not finish the race. I know I had good legs, but was held back by some poor positioning and decision-making. It was a super cool experience to be able to ride with some WorldTour and Pro-Conti riders, though, so I enjoyed that. And a big thanks to my dad, Roger, for flying out to do feed for me, and happy to get some screentime on the video feed for AV!
I also got a pretty silly fine for feeding the second lap. The tech guide said we could, but apparently that was before 30km into the race, which is the rule, no feeding until the first 30 km pass. Unfortunately USAC decided to keep the fine, so I am happy to say I got my first UCI fine (and it must be paid in Swiss Francs!)
Race Report: 2025 Crusher Cup (XC MTB) Race #3 - Men’s Cat 2/Sport
Race: Crusher Cup (XC MTB) Race #3 Men’s Cat 2/Sport Age 35+
Date: July 6, 2025
AVRT racers: Michael Matthews
Top Result: Men’s Cat 2/Sport Age 35+ 1st/9 (Men’s Cat 2/Sport Overall 7th/34)
Course: The Delaveaga Park Crusher Cup featured the traditional UCSC Western Collegiate Championship course. The course had a great mix of fast hardpack with sections of more technical roots and rocks. It was a 2.5 mile lap completed 4 times for Cat 2, with 300 ft of climbing per lap. A couple loose dry corners, steep rocky descents and two punchy “climbs”. Pass opportunities were almost strictly on the climbs.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15028809158
Nutrition: ~90g of carbs in a bottle for pre/during race nutrition. Consumed two thirds of it beforehand, and left rest to sip on the climbs.
Event Recap: Recon’d the course by completing the back third before lining up. Having raced a bunch already this weekend my goal today was to stay upright and salvage as many points in the series as possible. I was definitely on the back foot energy-wise, but always excited to race XC! Off the gun, I was able to jump all of the 19 to 34 field with my main competitor in the 35+. He was fresh and coming off riding at elevation last weekend. I decided that I would hold onto his wheel as long as I could, and if I had enough in the end, try to jump him for the win. Second place would be okay for me in this race after having taken first in the first two races. Before the first lap was over my main competitor lost it in a loose corner and crashed. He was okay. I had no idea how far back he was afterward, so I rode on at a sustainable pace to try to keep the gap. My lap times told an unsurprising story (I was shedding 20s per lap). I was tired! I hung in there and stayed upright for the win. Coming in a minute ahead of second place!
Race Report: Watsonville Criterium (Men's Masters 35+ 1/2/3/4)
Race: Watsonville Criterium - Men's Masters 35+ 1/2/3/4
Date: July 5, 2025
AVRT racers: Michael Matthews
Top Result: 11th Place (of 26)
Course: The course has five corners and a little kicker to the finish. Rough roads in places and killer drainage, like the wheel-eating kind. Wind was a factor on a few straights. Crispy cool ocean-town weather.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15019203196
Nutrition: ~100g of carbs in a bottle for pre/during race nutrition. Clif bar, gel, caffeinated beverage and electrolytes after the C4/5 race.
Event Recap: This was my first time racing with a masters category 1/2 field, so I knew it would be fast. My goal was to finish with the bunch. Cyclesport had a strong team of five, and San Jose Bicycle Club had a team of three. I was solo. My instincts played out as usual, and I tried to join breakaway attempts with other solo riders. After a few attempts that were foiled by Cyclesport each time, I knew it was their race to lose. No one made any serious moves after that and the pace just stayed high until the last few laps. I managed to stay with a group of five as we crested the hill with three laps to go. I could feel every muscle fiber in my legs after this and the three other crits, I’d done in the last 36 hours. I knew I would have nothing for the sprint, but that was no surprise. I finished at the back of the bunch, but I made it! And that's worth celebrating, this time ;) !
Race Report: Watsonville Criterium (Men's Cat 4/5)
Race: Watsonville Criterium - Men’s Cat 4/5
Date: July 5, 2025
AVRT racers: Michael Matthews
Top Result: 2nd Place (of 25)
Course: The course has five corners and a little kicker to the finish. Rough roads in places and killer drainage, like the wheel-eating kind. Wind was a factor on a few straights. Crispy cool ocean-town weather.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15018564144
Nutrition: ~100g of carbs in a bottle for pre/during race nutrition. Typical breakfast eaten at home. Sugar, food, and electrolytes ready for in between races.
Event Recap: After racing twice yesterday, I came into today planning to be a little less active and more on the opportunistic side… let’s see how that went. No teammates today, and no teams with numbers in the race. Ripe for a breakaway win. From the start, I stayed close to the front as the field learned to maneuver the course, from the kicker to the finish to the drainage ditches, and parked cars. After a few laps, and about 10 minutes, well, I got bored. I attacked heading into the pitch up to the finish and took one rider with me. We worked together for a couple of corners and the gap grew slowly. Once we realized we had a chance to make something stick it was time to commit. All in. There were 40 minutes left in the race, oof. But, this is how I like to ride criteriums, so I was not upset. We got to working well together and would shoulder check every couple of corners as we took pulls. We shared the laps 50-50. For much of the course we were out of sight quickly. Eventually on the long start-finish straight we could no longer see the group behind. We kept working to maintain the gap at a reasonable pace. Skip ahead to the last lap. Games begin. I exclaimed that the gloves were off now. We made the final corner and headed towards the pitch up to the finish. My plan was to attack the opposite shoulder that he looked to next. He looks left, I jump right…. and drop my chain. Second place, in destructive fashion. Luckily, there was no surging group coming from behind. Fun race, my style! Masters 1/2/3/4 next…
Race Report: Helen Pool 4th of July Criterium - Davis (Masters 35+ Cat 4/5)
Race: Davis Criterium - Masters 35+ Cat 4/5
Date: July 4, 2025
AVRT racers: Michael Matthews
Top Result: 1st Place (of 23 starters)
Course: Flat figure eight course with choppy roads in places and eight corners. Wind was a minor factor on two south-facing straights. Most corners can be pedaled. Warm (not hot) morning weather.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15007063729
Nutrition: ~100g of carbs in a bottle for pre/during race nutrition. Carbs and electrolytes after the Cat ⅘ race and before this one.
Event Recap: With a modest field of 23 riders in Masters, this would be a very different race from the cat 4/5 race earlier in the day. I had a busy race schedule this weekend and so didn't plan to empty the tank or try anything too long. There were some strong riders in this race that I had raced with previously, so I knew that if a break went containing them, it could stick with a smaller group to chase. Only one break stuck for a lap, and I was in it with two other riders. But we didn't work hard enough to keep it away. The rest of the race was fairly mellow, usually strung out and didn't bunch up very often. With no teams in numbers present, and just a bunch of single riders, there was no motivation to work on the front. That said I did ride with the top 3 to 8 riders all race, and ended up on the front a few times. I would do my pulls, but not expend too much energy, saving it for later. Things got spicy with three laps to go and the pace picked up. At the end of the second last lap, the start of the last lap, I felt some momentum on the finish straight, and sitting third wheel I decided to attack after corner one and go on a flyer for the rest of the lap to attempt a solo win. I did not want to be cornering through the last three or four corners with anyone, and the finish straight was not long enough to move up too many wheels. My solo move stuck all the way and I crossed the line with tens of meters to spare, hands up, and on my own! My favorite way to win!
Race Report: Helen Pool 4th of July Criterium - Davis (Men's Cat 4/5)
Race: Davis Criterium - Men’s Cat 4/5
Date: July 4, 2025
AVRT racers: Michael Matthews
Top Result: 5th Place (of 38 starters)
Course: Flat figure eight course with choppy roads in places and eight corners. Wind was a minor factor on two south-facing straights. Most corners can be pedaled. Warm (not hot) morning weather.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15006105564
Nutrition: ~100g of carbs in a bottle for pre/during race nutrition. Typical breakfast eaten on the road. Food and electrolytes ready for in between races.
Event Recap: This race had a big field of approximately 50 people (~38 Cat 4 riders). With corners right out of the gate I knew it would be important to be near the front early. For any moves, efficient energy use, and safety. Luckily, they started the race with a neutral lap behind a Moto, which kept things mostly safe. There were a few bumps as the race got started. Over the course of the race it was fairly aggressive, with a few attacks attempting to cause a break. While never chasing them down solo or dragging the group, without a team, I didn't want to miss a break that would stick. That's my style, and was my plan out of the gate - a break or long range attack. I spent much of the race in the front 5 to 8 riders and kept a close eye on anything that went. The one attack I didn't follow was a solo rider with two laps to go from the only team that had numbers. Rio Strada (RSR) had four or five riders and played their cards perfectly throughout the race, ensuring that they always had somebody in the break or covering a move when they sent their single rider up the road. With two laps to go nobody chased the solo attack and a group of five quickly formed and chase with a lap and a half to go. We couldn't catch him and sprinted to fifth. In retrospect, I probably spent too much energy participating in chases that had lower likelihoods of sticking, but I was happy overall with the fifth place.
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland Tosa Village Classic
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) Tosa Village Classic
Date: June 29, 2025
AVRT racers: Robin Betz
Top Result: Robin 17/34 in 2/3 race
Course: 0.96mi bowtie. Corner 1/2 was cobblestone crosswalks with a nasty curb right on the outside pinching in at the exit of corner 2. Uphill through corner 3 (30ish sec in the big ring) then a downhill into the only left hand corner (which I will refer to as The Corner), which was very very fast. Next two corners were benign with some bad pavement on the back stretch, and the final corner was pretty sharp.
Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/14954919203
Race Recap:
I was very glad to be racing at 10:25am today instead of the previous days’ time of 2:30pm as it was already 83 °F outside. I also showed up early enough that I could ride the course for about 8 laps as part of my warmup, which was really important. I was almost hitting 30mph down the hill at easy warmup pace, and The Corner was pretty scary at speed. I did as many reps of it as I could, realizing the key is to lean the bike super hard and not target fixate on the outside curb (where padding had been ominously but helpfully placed on the barriers). You really had to trust the bike and ignore all your instincts screaming at you to brake mid-corner. In the group this could pose a problem so I planned on really digging deep on the hill to be near the front and recovering afterwards.
I’ve befriended another team (the one for whom I gave a leadout on day 3) and their host mom gave me an ice sock which was life saving. It turns out if you invite me to the beach and then feed me dinner I absolutely will close gaps for you in races. Later we toured the Miller factory and went to the cheese store which was also great.
I staged well and the start was decent, with me being in the front third of the group. In lap 3 about 5 riders were strung out on the front with the rest of us blobbing behind on the hill, but then all 5 of them were crashed out at the bottom of The Corner and we were neutralized at the start line.
After catching my breath a bit we restarted, and people were a lot more cautious into The Corner. I was able to move up confidently whenever it slowed and at one point was on the front at the line and got a shoutout in the broadcast. That lap I was third wheel going into The Corner and realized that I really didn’t want to push it and end up flying home covered in road rash, and actually got gapped by the two riders in front of me and had to flick the field through with my elbow to help. I continued to get gapped here most laps, which may surprise you because you know I love to corner and descend, but I just didn’t want to risk it.
I played it very conservatively from then on and for the most part the field was polite too. We were either single file or two by two, and I always made sure to be on the inside so no one could slide out into me. This was wise as some people did get taken out that way on a later lap.
They started showing lap cards with 11 to go and a lot of the field has been attritted. I’m still in and can still move up reliably and even make up spots on the hill! I even survive the sprint lap with some serious tailgunning.
Unfortunately I’m near the front into the last corner when someone somehow crashes there and I see the omnium leader run into her bike and have a perfect mental snapshot of her flying through the air, arms outstretched (she didn’t break a collarbone but “only” needed stitches on her chin). This happens right in my exit line for the corner so I brake hard, avoid it successfully, but am a bit freaked out by the picture and don’t have the quick thinking or the legs to sprint back up to speed.
I keep the field in sight for a while and give it a good TT, counting down the laps and getting some quality cheers and encouragement from spectators and course marshals. Knowing that I am physically and mentally cooked I take The Corner slower than I did on some of my warmup laps.
It indeed was a big race of attrition as I finish 17th! It was so nice to be rewarded with a top 20 for my efforts after so many hard days. I might need a lot of tries, but I am slowly starting to put it all together.
Overall, I was 29/48 in the overall omnium, having got points every day. While this wasn’t the result I wanted or anticipated going into it, I’m proud of myself for showing up and trying. Every day I identified something to improve and executed on that, and that’s all that you can really ask for.
I’m not sure if criterium racing is my strength. Physically I can definitely work more on repeated accelerations— while local group rides are good practice for bunch skills, they’re only hard for maybe 5 minutes at a time and then I can sit in and recover. Mentally, I am very risk averse, which is probably fundamentally incompatible with success in this discipline. Still, I want to keep showing up and improving and thinking what I want to get out of cycling. Stay tuned— it’s very possible I forget how hard this all was and do it again next year!
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland Downer Classic
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) Downer Classic
Date: June 28, 2025
AVRT racers: Robin Betz
Top Result: Robin DNP/89 in P12 race
Course: 0.8mi triangle with one corner a bit flattened, left turns, flat with okay pavement
Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/14946390920
Race Recap:
Today was a rest day for the 2/3 series so I entered the P12 race with no expectations and the goal of staying in as long as possible.
I did great at staging, ending up second row (third after call ups where they bring the top 10 in the omnium to the front). This was a great accomplishment in a field of almost 90 riders, and there were about 5 or 6 rows of people behind me.
It was fast from the start and while the cornering was okay, I couldn’t really find a way to move up spots and wasn’t confident in the lumpy pavement where I couldn’t see in front of me. I stayed in the group for 3.5 laps, constantly losing the spots that I’d initially gained by staging well. Here I was pretty fearful given the number and strength of the other riders, and despite knowing that I’d get dropped at some point I should have believed in myself a bit more and could have probably stayed in longer.
Did a good TT effort until I got pulled— I was working so hard and the legs were so tired that I was praying every lap the ref would flag me down but they let me ride 4.5 laps solo. The course was lined with spectators, including local residents who were having parties on their lawns, and they cheered for me so kindly that there was no way I could sit up or do anything other than my best effort. This honestly wasn’t too many watts but I made the most of them by staying low. In the end I made it 18 minutes which was close enough to my goal of 20 that I was happy. Sometimes winning is just showing up and trying.
The race was very exciting to watch as a spectator, as there were multiple $500+ primes. I even got to see a random old guy donate $1000 on the spot for one. Maybe one day I’ll be rich enough to get revenge on a breakaway by doing that :)
Up next is my final day of racing and I really want to keep getting staging right and finish the entire race. My legs feel unbelievably bad but my power meter said I hit a max 1 second of this trip today, so I’ll continue to ignore their complaints for a bit longer.
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland Shorewood Criterium
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) Shorewood Criterium
Date: June 27, 2025
AVRT racers: Robin Betz
Top Result: Robin 41/46 overall, 31/34 in Cat 2/3 omnium
Course: Four corner, 1 mile square with left turns and a slight chicane on one leg. Storm drains on the good lines in the corners and bad pavement with fresh asphalt patches on the finishing stretch.
Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/14935192253
Race Recap:
I felt pretty tired this morning due to not getting enough sleep and having done some max efforts for the past three days, and my calves felt like they were also becoming part of Thursday’s gummy bear amalgamation. I could ride to this race from where I’m staying in the UW dorms and enjoyed a nice warmup on the bike path, but it was pretty difficult to get my heart rate up and my head wasn’t really in the game— I expected to not finish and of course these kind of prophecies are very self-fulfilling in criterium racing.
I do succeed at staging! I line up near the side of the road with the other women in the shade, but a little bit upstream of the main group, and when the ref lets us go I hit zone 4 staying ahead of everyone and end up first row on the line! Complete victory! But I definitely burned a match there to get it.
Having already felt like I met my goal today, I didn’t think too hard about needing to preserve that position into the first corner and when the whistle blew I didn’t fight for position at all and ended up in my usual spot near the back of the group going into the corner. The race then played out kind of the same way the past few days where I have to brake behind the group and hit 600W out of each corner until I can’t anymore and get dropped.
TT mode again, but I’m not that upset about it, and I pick up a few riders ahead and get caught by a few behind for a decent chase group of 5. Everyone is more cooked than I am so I’m happy to pull everyone around, but keep it around hard tempo knowing we’re going to be pulled imminently and wanting to save some legs for tomorrow.
When the ref says one lap to go for our group, I try to let someone pull through but no one does. I take this as a good opportunity to practice winning when I’m stuck on the front, which is a weakness of mine, and decide that since I’m gapping everyone a bit at the corners that I should attack out into the chicane and try to hold it to the line.
This works well! I’m passed in the final sprint by one person who did 1000W (so I’m not even mad about it) but thoroughly drop the rest of my companions.
Not bad for 16 min of racing, but spectating afterwards and seeing the peloton had settled down into a pace that I could handle made me regret not fighting harder at the beginning to stay in. I’m learning a lot about how important the mental game is for crit racing, especially for multiple days. You have to really want it in the moment, and usually I only want it after the moment has passed. To be very honest it feels kind of pathetic to travel nationally to be only in the game for 16 minutes, so I really want to finish the last 2/3 race on Sunday (I’ll settle for 20 minutes in the Saturday P12 ACC race). Stay tuned for how things go.
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland Centraal Bay View Classic
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) Centraal Bay View Classic
Date: June 26, 2025
AVRT racers: Robin Betz
Top Result: Robin 31/56 overall, 23/39 in cat 2/3
Course: A bow tie from hell. Corner 2 is a very sharp right hander that you can’t pedal through and has a slight uphill after. Pavement is generally terrible but didn’t require changing lines.
Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/14925937909
Race Recap:
Felt better about this one despite doing about the same results-wise.
My main goal was to figure out staging, especially with a somewhat technical course. I inspected the course from the sidewalks and watched how the previous field of junior boys took the corners, so didn’t need to do a free lap. This was good because the race was a bit behind due to a rain delay, so there were no free laps. I noted the nearest spot to enter the course before the line and camped out there with some other riders who had the same idea. Unfortunately the refs let the riders at the spot about 5 feet after the line go backwards to the start, and someone in my group shoved past me and stepped on my shoe to the point my boa came undone, so once more I end up lined up in the back (where I promptly fixed my shoe). I don’t think this one was my fault!
The first few corners in the group were really frustrating, especially the sharp right hand one where everyone started braking about halfway between corners 1 and 2 to prepare, and then sprinted out of it with much more power than I have available. I quickly discovered that while I’d lose spots on that stretch, I could easily make them back up on corners 3, 4, and 5, all of which I could take the outside line and pass people, then be well positioned on the long finishing stretch to make up more spots on the outside.
This worked well for a while and I start to think I might actually be able to finish the whole race or even get near the front, but the thoughts are very much in the background as I’m navigating the group, bumpy pavement, and trying to figure out the best line for the left hand corner 3 which has some divots right at the apex. The group starts to shred and I can feel myself tiring, and sprinting uphill out of corner 2 gets very painful and I lose more spots there every time. The back part of the course lets me rest so I just imagine it as one of the 20/20s workouts I did in preparation for this week.
My tailgunning comes to an end when the sprint omnium lap is followed by a $50 prime lap and I discover the finishing stretch has a headwind after I lose the wheels when the group speeds up there. I chase as hard as I can, seeing a second group of riders behind with me in no mans land in between. I catch back on near the end for a few laps but it slowly slips away and then I just try to do my best corners and stay aero.
The group of four riders behind me catches up to me and I am very happy to have some friends as it is so much easier with a draft. Unfortunately one of these riders is from a team that is notoriously great at power numbers but not skills and she keeps attacking us for no reason out of the corners, then braking and taking the inside line into them and we all catch her back. I try to explain that we should work together, you can pedal through most of them, just follow my line!! but clearly I am too slow to be giving advice because she just attacks me again after I say this.
This also irritated the other riders in the group, one of whom was nice to me at staging, so when she asks for a leadout I oblige, and pull hard for the last lap, pedal through the last corners with my best lines, and give it the beans to launch her after the final one (for a 5sec max heart rate of 2025!). It works great and actually no one comes around me for a while until she does to win out of the bunch. The annoying rider does catch me at the line but I’m a leadout man today and I did my job.
I think that’s actually my best role on the team and I rarely get the chance to actually deliver in a race environment so I am grateful for the practice. I also am proud of being a good wheel (to the point that someone mentioned it to me at the beginning) and a positive rider. Also I think this race fixed up a lot of my hesitancy really leaning into corners so maybe I will go for the Kings’ Mountain descent QOM again this year.
Three days remain, as does my goal of figuring out staging. Not sure what the other goals are but I just want to get better every day. Thanks for everyone’s encouraging Strava comments and emails; it means a lot to have teammates cheering me on even when I’m riding solo.
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland Clocktower Classic
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) Clocktower Classic
Date: June 25, 2025
AVRT racers: Robin Betz
Top Result: Robin 36/54 overall, 24/37 in Cat 2/3 omnium, DNP/65 in the P12 race
Course: Four corner, 0.55 mile loop with left turns. Featuring some bricks at pedestrian crossings on the corners and lap times around one minute.
Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/14915379235 (W23 race)
https://www.strava.com/activities/14916544850 (WP12 race)
Race Recap:
I continue to be humbled. But it’s good for me.
Knowing that staging at the start line is critical, I line up early and linger near the sides of the course with some other riders instead of doing a practice lap. Unfortunately it was too early and the refs make me take a free lap, which puts me at the back of the pack again. There’s immediately a crash in the first corner which I dodge but end up losing even more spots, but after 2 laps we are neutralized and the race restarted. Unfortunately I’m in basically the same spot at the line.
It’s impossible to move up: the corners were too slow and the field too big, and I just lack the big accelerations to pass people on the straightaways and tend to lose spots there too. I don’t really know why this happens because I think I have good power numbers for repeated accelerations, but clearly that’s not the case at national level criteriums.
One time I take a glorious wide exit from corner 1 but get my wheel stuck in a narrow gap between the brickwork and pavement. I bobble a bit and hear spectators being alarmed, but I refuse to fall off and things work out okay. I saw many crashes today in this exact spot and avoid it from then on.
After 8 minutes of barely hanging on to the field, I lose contact and am pulled out by the ref. I go back to my car and cry a bit (nothing like going to a race with the goal of getting primes, upgrade points or a leaders’ jersey and instead getting dropped less than 20% of the way in). But since I’m here for four more days I need to get into a better headspace, so I go to the reg tent and sign up for the P12 race in an hour.
I eat a banana and some of the fused gummy bear creature that has created itself in my hot car. I warm up on some nice paths in nature, and listen to Enya (okay WHEN am I going to get a new Enya album??? maybe this is why I’m not winning). I start to feel better, and get hissed at by a goose near the path which reminds me I do have power in the legs and it’s time to use it.
Staging is a bit better for the P12 race although they call up the top 10 to the front and I end up third row in a larger field. The corners are much better, I know the bad pavement spots, and I commit to standing and sprinting a bit out of each one. The group is also much better at cornering and doesn’t slow as much which helps me maintain speed. I do feel myself start to tire, but the goal for the second race was to last more than 8 minutes and I beat it by almost 50%.
Somehow this turns things around in my head and I manage to switch goals again from getting results to just getting better. My new goal is to figure out how to not mess up staging, as starting in the front row would have made a big difference each day.
Race Report: 2025 Utah Crits - Mens Pro/1/2
Race: 2025 Utah Crits - Day 1, Mens Pro/1/2
Date: June 14, 2025
AVRT racers: Jon Wells
Top Result: Jon Wells, 45th of 55
Course: 0.75 mile loop through a shopping center in Sandy, Utah. It was an L shaped course on flat, fairly wide roads, with a bit of a pinch into the final 2 corners.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14802341480
Nutrition: One bottle of 90g carb mix and a prerace redbull
Race Recap:
The first night of Utah Crits was stop #2 of the American Crit Cup (ACC) so all of the biggest teams in the US had come out to play, including many guys fresh off tops 10s in the Pro races at Tulsa the week before. Usually in ACC races, I’m just a passenger along for the ride so my goal was to just finish in the group.
Race started off fast and stayed that way throughout. Lots of small moves would try to go but then get generally stifled after around 5 minutes of effort, I think in large part due to the altitude combined with heat. I floated around middle to back of the pack for the first half of the race, just trying to find some confidence in the fast, aggressive ACC pack. Overall, I felt really strong in the race and was only holding tempo HR to sit in the group, compared to the normal pain dangle I’m on the receiving end of in these races.
After a really uneventful first 45 minutes in the pack, I decided to move up and be a part of the race. I had no problem taking spots through the corners, especially into and through the last 2. Around 5 laps to go, I found myself around 20th, right in the washing machine. Without any large teams at this race, there was no one stringing out the field so we were going 3+ wide through every corner. Eventually it got quick at 2 to go. Unfortunately, someone just in front of me fell just before the bell lap. I had to grab a fistful of brakes and jump the curb to avoid being collected in the crash. I pedalled around to finish the race but had been gapped off the back in order to avoid the crash (gopro footy is on my strava). It was a pretty disappointing result, especially having travelled so far, but I also took a lot of confidence away in how I felt during the race. I felt like I actually belonged in the ACC race and was a part of the race instead of just a passenger along for the ride. This gave me a lot of confidence heading into Sunday’s day 2 race.
Race: 2025 Utah Crits - Day 2, Mens Pro/1/2
Date: June 15, 2025
AVRT racers: Jon Wells
Top Result: Jon Wells, 21st of 61
Course: 0.8 mile loop around the pro soccer field for Real Salt Lake in Sandy, Utah. It was a D shaped course with 3x 90 degree turns, one chicane, and one long sweeper. There is a small uphill on the start/finish straight with about 40 feet of elevation per lap.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14812480801
Nutrition: One bottle of 90g carb mix and a prerace redbull
Race Recap:
Day 2 of Utah Crits featured all the same hitters from the night before, but without any ACC points attached to it. This race took place in the middle of the afternoon and it was HOT outside, around 100F on the startline. I was feeling confident after the day before had gone, but was still a little nervous given the heat, altitude, and elevation gain on this course. Plan coming in was to feel it out the first half and then try to be in the race at the end if I felt good.
Started the race by dousing myself in water, looking like I was straight out the shower, and fitting as much ice down my jersey as possible. I started middle of the pack and was trying to be smart about taking easy spots and not digging myself too deep of a hole on the hill every lap. This usually meant ripping the inside line into corner 1 and carrying extra momentum into the hill, which got me several spots almost every lap. I also really enjoyed the corner 3 chicane on the downhill, as many guys seemed to struggle with that corner all race too.
There was a lot of attrition in this race with guys just getting dropped while in the draft, so I had to be very attentive to gaps opening in the group and getting around them quickly. The race stayed fairly strung out the first 40 minutes until a break of 6 established which would be the move of the day. After feeling good in the pack all race, I decided to move up as far as I could in the last 20 minutes.
Ultimately, I found myself on the front around 5 to go, even taking a pull in the chase to keep my forward position. I found myself in the first 5 wheels at 2 to go, and stayed there until there was a huge swarm coming into the last lap. I found open air on the hill and was able to get spots back on the last lap, coming in 21st overall, with the break of 6 holding onto a less than 10 second gap in the end. This is my best result by far in a national level pro crit, which I’m absolutely stoked on! It was a blast to actually be racing at one of these events. Hoping to make it out to more this summer and see if I can do a few spots better to crack the top 20!
-Jon
Race Report: 2025 Dash for Cash - Men’s Master 35+ and 50+ Cat 3/4/5
Race: 2025 Dash for Cash - Men’s Master 35+ and 50+ Cat 3/4/5
Date: May 31, 2025
AVRT Racers: Vasyl Stokolosa, Bernardo Tapia
Best Finish: Vasyl Stokolosa - 4/30, Bernardo Tapia - 6/13
Course Description: A straightforward, flat, 4-corner office park crit. Cash prizes on nearly every lap of the race.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14654602603
Nutrition: Half a bottle of cold hydration mix
Recap:
This was my first time racing this course, and I was happy to have Bernardo with me, he gave me some advice, and we tried to work together. We started off pretty chill, but when the official rang the prime bell (on the third lap, I think), the fun really began.
I had a goal to show a good result in this race and also wanted to grab some primes. So I attacked on the first one and got my first-ever prime money! Bernardo also did great, he picked up a few primes and held a strong position at the front of the race.
Up until 8 laps to go, the race went pretty smoothly without any breakaways. Riders mostly fought for primes at the last corner. Then two Dolce Vita riders attacked, and I decided to follow. I managed to grab two more primes before we were caught with 4 laps to go.
With 2 laps remaining, Bernardo helped me close a big gap. On the final lap, we tried to position ourselves closer to the front. The San Jose boys had 4 riders and did a great leadout for their sprinter, who ended up finishing second.
At the last corner, there was a big crash, but I managed to avoid it and sprinted to a 4th place finish.
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland Cedar Creek Classic
Race Report: Tour of America’s Dairyland (ToAD) Cedar Creek Classic
Date: June 24, 2025
AVRT racers: Robin Betz
Top Result: Robin 30/48 overall, 22/32 in Cat2/3 omnium
Course: Four corner, 1.1 mile loop with left turns. Slight downhill on the long edge before the final corner.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14905310174
Race Recap:
I’m in the Milwaukee area this week with the goal of scooping up some upgrade points towards my cat 1 by racing the 2/3 omnium. I have no good reason for this goal other than personal glory so of course the universe is humbling me with my results.
The field is combined with the junior girls’ 15-18 but scored separately. However while these riders were strong, the peloton was extremely unsafe and this was the sketchiest crit I’ve ever raced (which is saying something).
It started pretty hot and I realized I could hang on near the front no problem and corner much faster than the field. However, riders would come around on the straightaways however they could including moving up in the gutter where there wasn’t room, making very sudden lateral moves to get out and move up, or tapping me on the butt (which is a pro move that should be reserved for the pros) while shoving their handlebars into a nonexistent gap and yelling at me about it. I was on the front for a bit so I could corner how I wanted, but couldn’t really do that due to last-minute dive bombs on the inside that I needed to be ready for. The sketchy riders were also quite strong and would move up in front of me and wheel chop to get back in the group.
There’s a sprint jersey in this series and things got pretty fast when the bell rung for that lap. I decided to sit in and focus on the overall. It got strung out around the last corner and I was about halfway in the field contemplating an attack, but heard whistles and referees yelling at us to neutralize due to a rider down. I and the riders around me did, but 8 riders ahead took this as their chance, didn’t slow down at all, and formed a break that lasted the rest of the race. I was pretty disappointed in the officiating here.
I tried to get people to chase, even pulling hard for an entire lap which got me a shoutout on the livestream, but no one would help me and I quickly realized that with how the bunch was cornering we were never going to catch the break. At this point I was mainly trying to survive without crashing as it was truly wild out there. On one corner, I was in the middle line when a rider dive bombed the inside and another changed lines in the corner to accommodate but went right into me, shoving me into a third rider. We leaned on each other and careened almost into the curb but fortunately whoever I was leaning on also had bike handling skills and we both stayed up.
Last lap I was doing well near the front and felt pretty good, and noticed the field was extremely tired, with some people blowing up. Everyone was too cooked to think about line choice and we headed for the last two corners on the absolute inside line and never swung wide? I decided I didn’t want to die and I can’t win a sprint from a standstill so I cruised in last in the group, pretty frustrated.
I’m here for 6 days of racing regardless of how I feel about it, so even though I’m probably not going to win a leaders’ jersey (which I was really hoping to as I am doing this series with a single outfit), there’s opportunities to learn and succeed in my own way. Knowing that I can’t move up on the corners due to the pack bunching and that I can’t drop the sketchiest riders (my hot take is that zwift should be illegal if you’re under 18), I need to do everything I can to stay third-ish wheel and keep it the whole race. If I get dropped because I spent all my energy doing that, I’ll try something else the next day.
Stay tuned for updates on how this goes for me. The only real metric for success is being on the plane home with zero road rash so I may also change to the P12 field where I can also finish midpack but without risking my life to do it.
Race Report: Dash for Cash W1/2/3
Race Report: Dash for Cash
Date: June 1, 2025
AVRT racers: Steph Hart, Robin Betz, Louise Thomas, Rachel Hwang
Top Result: 1/12 (Steph), 3/12 (Rachel)
Course: Relatively boring, flat 4 corner crit, 95 degree afternoon
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14656512113
Race Recap:
(from Steph’s perspective):
The race had a combined field of 20 Cat 1/2/3/4 riders (12 in the 1/2/3 field)- Alto Velo had the most riders of any team, and also likely the strongest riders, so the expectation was that we’d need to control the race. The plan was for Louise and I to launch attacks to tire out the field, and if things worked out, stick in a break. Robin planned to lead out Rachel in the field sprint if she wasn’t in a break.
I attacked from the start of the race with Rachel on my wheel, hoping we could both sneak into a break. I was able to string out the field, but wasn’t able to achieve separation from the bunch (unfortunately Robin missed her clip and got dropped from the field during all of this chaos). After the pace eased up, Louise counter attacked but was brought back by the field within half a lap or so. Lap 3 was a prime lap, and pretty much all the strong sprinters in the field went for it, including Sofya on Terun and the other Sophia on Super Sprinkles. Following Louise’s pre-race advice, I counter attacked the prime finish, and was able to get away solo. About 5 minutes later Sophia bridged up to me and we spent the bulk of the race rolling turns as a break of two (although given the 95F weather, we were getting slower and slower as the race went on). I was doing more of the work in the break (and even had to cheer Sophia on a bit), but figured that I had a better chance of staying away working with her than trying to ride solo. Sophia is a better sprinter than me (actually, everyone is a better sprinter than me….), so in the closing laps of the race, I had to figure out where to attack to try to drop her before the finish. I settled on attacking with two laps to go, hoping the 4 minutes remaining in the race were enough to discourage her from chasing. After I attacked, I was able to hold a little above threshold for the final two laps, and finished for the win ~10 seconds or so ahead.
(Louise’s perspective from the field):
Steph’s opening attack did create some early separation – for the first couple of laps, a group of 6-7 riders, including Steph and Rachel, opened a gap. I could see the field would likely close it down, so I sat in and let others do the work. We caught them by the end of lap two, and I immediately launched a solo counter-attack. It wasn’t particularly effective, but at least it kept the pace high.
Once Steph made the break with Sophia, Rachel and I got to relax. That’s the beauty of having fast teammates. Occasionally, someone would put in a hard pull at the front for a lap, but no organized chase materialized, so we just sat in and enjoyed the lovely 95-degree heat.
With a few laps to go, I pulled up to Rachel to plan how I could help for the field sprint. She’d identified Sofya as a strong sprinter and decided to follow her wheel instead of our original lead-out plan. Figuring the best help I could give was to string out the field, I hit the front on the final lap – positioning myself ahead of Sofya with Rachel on her wheel. I hammered it until just after the final corner when Rachel came flying past to take the field sprint win.
