Race Report: 2026 Davis Fourth of July Criterium - Men’s Pro/1/2
Race: Davis 4th of July Crit - Men’s Cat Pro/1/2
Date: July 4th, 2026
AVRT racers: George Wehner
Top Result: George 8/28
Course: 0.7-mile figure-8 course. Wide roads with some slightly sketchy pavement in the corners.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/19182425591
Nutrition: Two 900ml water bottles, one with 120g maltodextrin/fructose mix and one with just water
Recap: This race was just two days after I restarted training after a week-long cold I caught at TOAD, so I had very little expectations for my performance. Moreover, the forecast said 95 degrees, so I was nervous about the heat as well. However, I was really itching to race, so I decided to show up anyway. I didn’t even warm up; I just made an ice sock, pinned my skinsuit, did a lap to refamiliarize myself with the course, and rolled up to the start line about 2 minutes before the whistle.
Pretty soon after the race started, I realized my nervousness was unfounded, and I was going to have no trouble hanging in. The heat led me to race conservatively, and I missed the early break that ended up winning the race (well, one of the riders in that break, Cody from Cyclesport, stuck it), but sitting in almost felt easy. I got into trouble a couple times with riders in front of me losing the wheel, but it wasn’t that hard to reconnect.
About 40 minutes into the race, a homeless person interfered with the race and deliberately hit Seb from Mike’s Bikes. After this terrible incident, the race was neutralized and we sat on the start line for a good 10 minutes while the officials figured out what to do. We restarted with 11 laps to go, and things were hectic from there. The field felt like a washing machine; I was moving back and forth, and people were riding pretty sketchy. This continued for pretty much the rest of the race, and with 1 lap to go I thought I was boxed in, but I found Ivan’s (Cyclesport) wheel and rode it to just behind the frontrunners. Unfortunately, I underestimated how close the finish line was to the final corner, so I waited until way too late to launch my sprint; I ended up 8th, just behind the main field sprint.
I just barely missed out on upgrade points, but I won $15, enough for a post race meal. This race was good for me to get my confidence back after my illness. So I’m glad I came out for this one and excited to race more crits soon!