Race Report: 2026 Sand City Criterium - Women’s 4/N
Date: June 14th, 2026
AVRT racers: Kathay Tousant
Top Result: 1/5
Course:A fast, short, ~1km course of pretty good quality pavement and 10 corners, a few of which could be linked together. One led to a short climb as the main feature and a fun S-weave into the finish sprint.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/18921172141
Nutrition: Some Gushers because I didn’t realize Gushers still existed and a Gatorade prior to the race. Obviously my race bottle was filled with 60 grams of Formula 369.
Race Recap:
Coming into the race, I had two goals: (1) practice my cornering and (2) have fun. As someone who is crit curious, I was especially excited to race this course after spectating my partner here the prior year.
With a start list of about ten women, roughly half of whom were masters racers (many P1/2), my goal was to stay within the top three wheels of my scored race at all times.
From the gun, it was clear that Evoke Race Team wanted to control the race and establish a fast pace. One of their riders immediately attacked to initiate a breakaway. While I can’t speak for the entire field, it seemed like many of us shared the mindset of letting the masters racers go and focusing on our own scored race. For the next ten minutes, the breakaway rider stayed just one corner ahead, always within sight, but no one (myself included) was willing to commit to pulling the peloton to close the gap.
About twenty minutes in, another Evoke rider attacked off the front. The same mentality persisted: we let her go. From the front, it was interesting to observe who was motivated to respond. It seemed like the remaining masters contenders were more invested, but with such a small field, there wasn’t a coordinated effort to organize a strong chase.
Not long after, the final Evoke team member went off the front. This thinned our group to seven riders, with just two masters racers remaining. When I saw five laps to go, I knew I had to stop being reactive and start thinking critically about the final race scenario. Otherwise, I would simply watch the outcome unfold without influencing it.
With five laps to go, I attacked on the uphill, briefly creating separation and bringing a Rice rider with me. However, a quick glance back showed the gap had already closed within a few corners. Resetting mentally, I realized I needed to increase the race pace to make a difference.
With two laps to go, I committed fully, attacking hard and giving everything I had. I pushed through the corners, drove the uphill, and carried speed into the final technical sections. Because the turns came so quickly, it was extremely difficult to move up through the corners. I knew that if I could hold first wheel into the final stretch, I would be in a strong position.
To my surprise, the attack stuck. Coming out of the final corner, I focused on putting down every last ounce of effort to the line, and it paid off. Crossing the finish line first was an incredible feeling.
I’m really proud of both the result and the effort. Just as importantly, I was able to consistently focus on my cornering throughout the race, working to improve each lap and minimize any gaps.