Race Report: 2026 Tucson Bike Classic W P/1/2/3
2026 Tucson Bike Classic W P/1/2/3
Date: Feb. 19-22, 2026
AVRT racers: Steph Hart, Robin Betz, Louise Thomas, Sophia Hu
Overview: With the strong sprinters at the Panamerican games, this seemed like a stage race that would support breaks and big time gaps. The major teams included Twenty28, Automatic, Monarch, United, Terun; a few Devo teams like Canada’s TAG, and some strong solo riders including Lauren Stephens and Holly Breck. For Louise, Sophia, and I, this was our first national level stage race, and we were in for a pretty steep learning curve. As usual, Robin’s experience of two previous TBCs was much appreciated in terms of logistics, bike mechanics, and race tactics.
GC results (67 racers): Steph (13th), Louise (36th), Robin (55th), Sophia (57th)
Day 1: Time Trial
Results: Steph (23rd), Louise (31st), Sophia (39th), Robin (40th)
Course: 4.3 mi of flat bike path with one curve in the first mile and a ripping tail wind
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17454655213
Race Recap (written by Robin):
I’m down quite a few watts right now due to getting a new job and being up in my career, so this weekend was all about being a good teammate, having fun, and racing smart. I warmed up on the roads around the course while praying for a headwind since my main advantage on the TT is aerodynamics, but I received a stiff 16-20mph tailwind instead.
I start off as hot as I can and settle into my mega aero position with forearms parallel to ground and my chest so low I could hit the buttons on my bike computer with my nose. Fortunately for my low wattage I don't experience much of a power drop in this position, so I focus on holding it as best I can and riding by feel. There is one corner near the beginning that's a right then a left hander that I checked out ahead of time with my teammates since it threw me off my game last year and noticed most riders were too far on the inside. As I approach it I switch my hands to the drops while staying low and take the outside line. The first part of the corner is glorious and I feel so fast but I forgot about the part after that wasn't visible from the road and had to really brake hard to not overcook it. I laugh a bit as I sprint back up to speed and then fold up again for the remaining flat 4 miles.
There wasn't a finish line super visible although there was a tent with the cameras at the end, but I have been confused by similar things before so kept going for an extra few thousand feet. I probably could have saved a few seconds if I'd been able to empty it at the line and not messed up the corner, but looking at Strava I appear to have done probably the lowest watts in my field, which made me pretty happy about still beating about a third of them. There's always room to want more out of TTs, but all you can ask for is your best effort on the day, which I did. Most importantly, Wil was there with the camera right before the corner when I was looking extremely aero.
PC: Wil Gibb @breakaway_photos
Day 2: Road Race
Results: Steph (17th), Louise (49th), Robin (59th), Sophia (62nd)
Course: 60 miles, 3 laps of a 20 mile loop with rollers at the beginning and a gradual 2-3% climb at the end.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17464268607
Race Recap (written by Louise):
Coming into my fifth race season, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good handle on how road races usually work: there are certain spots to watch for attacks, but in between you can usually switch off and chill on someone’s wheel. This was nothing like that.
For the first eight miles through the rollers, I averaged only 150W, but it took all my concentration just to hold position as the people in front sped up and slowed down in not always predictable ways. In NorCal, I’m used to racing in fields of 5–15 people, and here there were more than 60. It felt like a whole different ball game.
My aim was to stay in the top half, but even that was a struggle. From near the back, I mostly had to go with the flow. Every now and then someone would attack, but even if I’d been strong enough and willing to chase I was often boxed in. As the race went on, though, I started to get the hang of it. When things got strung out and then the front eased, I could use the accordion effect to slingshot forward.
At the end of the first lap, there was a time bonus for the first riders across the line, but an oversized truck was taking up most of the road at the finish, leaving only enough room for a few riders to squeeze by at a time. After that pinch point, some people attacked, and after a few hard miles I thought things were back under control. What I didn’t realize was that someone had counterattacked and was already out of sight.
The next time we came past the feed zone, someone yelled “8 minutes,” and that was when I realized there was someone off the front. Unfortunately, eight minutes is also a very long gap. On the rollers, another attack went, and this time I didn’t quite stay on and found myself in a chase group. For the next ten miles or so, we worked together, with the main group tantalizingly in view the whole time. Robin was also in a chase group behind mine, and at some point, she caught up to us, and we joined forces in a well-intentioned but fruitless effort to catch the peloton.
At 500m to go, a different truck had broken down in the middle of the road, disrupting everyone’s lead-out trains. Someone got some cool drone footage of our race going around it and the sprint finish. If you pay attention, you can see Steph.
In our little chase group, Robin led me out to get second in our group. Since it was a timed stage race, everyone in our group got the same time, so it didn’t really matter, but it was still fun to sprint for something. Definitely learned a lot in this one, and I’m looking forward to doing more big races in the future.
Day 3: Criterium
Results: Steph (7th), Louise (31st), Robin (55th), Sophia (59th)
Course: 0.75 mi with four corners and a downhill U-turn, generally poor pavement (75 min)
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17477280141
Nutrition: pre-race scandinavian swimmers, courtesy of Sophia
Race Recap (Written by Steph):
After watching several teammates crash in the W345 race, and one girl crash in the P12 warm-up, goals for this race were to keep the rubber side down and not get pulled from what would be a race of attrition. After a 300W “neutral lap” of the course, AV settled into second row staging, getting all the help we could.
The first ten minutes were a pretty hot pace, but honestly I sometimes get into my own head on the tactics of bike racing, and to just ride really hard is kinda awesome. I was having a ton of fun hanging on corners and sprinting out of the hairpin every lap. We shortly settled into groups, and I was with the front 19 riders (everyone else eventually got pulled). Knowing I was the least qualified person to be there, I pretty much just chilled in the bunch and avoided crashes as best I could. The next 50 minutes were pretty uneventful, but it was awesome to hear the cheers of all the AV riders on course.
With 3 laps to go, Lauren Stephens attacked; she was followed by Cara O’Neil and they quickly achieved separation (surprised United and Twenty28 didn’t try to close out of GC/bonus seconds concerns). Just before the bell lap I came out of the hairpin 5th wheel, and with little enthusiasm from the peloton to pull, I ended up on the front for the majority of the last lap. This felt like kind of a poor use of energy, but I still had a few matches left, and with my lack of sprint I might as well be in a good position. I rounded the last hairpin in the front of the pack and then started to sprint, feeling a little silly about my lack of watts, but I figured the entire field wasn’t going to come around me. Four girls came around, and I finished in 7th place, which given the fact that I didn’t crack 100rpm in the sprint wasn’t too bad- but there’s certainly a lot to work on for future races.
PC: Wil Gibb @breakaway_photos
Day 4: Circuit Race
Results: Steph (12th), Louise (47th), Sophia (53rd), Robin (60th)
Course: 2.7miles 4 corner circuit, with the finish line midway up a 1 mile climb, 190 ft climbing/lap (60ish min)
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17489164829
Race Recap (written by Sophia):
Despite the climb being relatively short, this race looked hard. Between the heat, the lack of shade, and what I’d seen watching earlier fields, I expected it to be really attritional. Like the rest of the races in a big field like this, staging was going to be important, so we got to the line about 20 minutes early and got a good spot. Unfortunately, once the whistle blew, I was slow to accelerate after clipping in and immediately found myself at the very back. That turned out to be a bad place to be. With such a mixed range of cornering abilities in the field, the back meant long, repeated sprints out of every corner just to stay in contact. After about three laps of that, I was still hanging on but still near the tail end, very aware I had burned too many matches.
Then there was a crash in the field, and our race got neutralized for about 25 minutes. The remaining laps were shortened, and everyone who had been dropped was brought back into the main group. Thank you to Stephanie, Kathay, and Hannah for coming down and giving us ice and water during that break <3
When we restarted, I got dropped on the next lap and ended up in a small group of about eight riders, including Robin. I knew we weren’t going to catch the main peloton again. Robin told me to conserve energy for the final sprint, then went to the front on every downhill and used her excellent cornering to keep our pace high. I did my best to sit 2nd or 3rd wheel to conserve momentum through the corners. Since I was able to sit in and recover, I felt pretty good at this point and made it my goal to win the field sprint to make Robin proud.
With about a minute to go before the finish, someone launched an attack where the climb steepened. I started my sprint then, got a gap, and held it to the line. That’s the only field sprint I’ve ever won, and a nice small win from the weekend :)
In retrospect, I should have used the downhill to move up from the back of the pack to mid‑pack earlier in the race. Instead, I relied on the uphill to gain positions because it felt more comfortable and there was generally more space. I need to keep working on pack skills and clipping in quickly. TBC was my first stage race, and was a great experience. I’m used to racing fields of fewer than 20, and it was inspiring (and humbling) to line up with so many strong women.
PC: Wil Gibb @breakaway_photos