Race Report: Santa Cruz Criterium WP123
Race: Santa Cruz Criterium WP123
Date: 3/22/26
AVRT racers: Louise Thomas, Rachel Hwang
Top Result: 4/9 Rachel Hwang
Course: Triangle - first corner one sharp downhill turn, into downhill stretch, into one wide turn, into slow short uphill in an alleyway, into one normalish uphill turn, into a hill that turned into a very slight uphill finish
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17821751473
Race Recap:
Don’t let the placing fool you, this was one of the hardest races I’ve ever done. These women are cracked.
Big takeaway: I did way too much work and didn’t race strategically.
Up front it was Jamie and Ellexi, with Ellexi glued to her wheel. Behind them, Sarah and I - me pulling the uphills, her the downhills 🙄 (at least she pulled a bit). Behind us, Alex was stuck towing a group of Terun riders, which explains why our gap kept growing. Louise and another girl TTing in the back. Louise made a discovery that everyone racing today is or has been on Terun.
Right from the start, Sarah attacked. No one chased, so I bridged, something I’ve hesitated on in the past. The group came back, Sofya countered, I bridged again. Then Sarah attacked a third time. I didn’t chase immediately, but when the group stalled and she started getting away, I committed and bridged solo. It took over a lap to catch her and it absolutely wrecked me.
When I finally got there, I said “Give me 30 seconds and I’ll help” … not realizing I’d basically be doing all the work anyway 🙄.
Soon after, Jamie and Ellexi came flying by. We jumped on, and I sat in as much as I could because I was already dying. Every lap up that hill was brutal. Even the flats and downhill was brutal. I was deep in the red, Sarah got dropped first, and I was hanging on until I finally got dropped 23 minutes in.
Sarah came back to me, and we rode together. She didn’t pull much at first, then helped mostly on the downhills. I knew she wouldn’t contribute much, but I also knew I couldn’t risk getting caught. I wasn’t beating that group with Alex and Ellexi in a sprint.
So I kept working. For the next 30 minutes, we traded pulls, me doing all the climbing, and I just focused on keeping the gap. With 3 to go Sarah says “your pulls are getting pretty short” and refuses to trade at the end of the uphill 🙄. I get annoyed and state the obvious “I’m pulling uphill.” I wish I was more witty for moments like these. I should’ve told her to trade pulls like I’ll pull downhill and she can pull uphill. Honestly I’ve raced with her enough (3 times is all it takes) to have expected this 🙄.
With 2 to go, she surged harder than before. I followed. I stupidly pulled again uphill. Final lap: she attacks on the alley climb, I hold her wheel and actually feel decent. I thought I had a shot, but as soon as we crested, I was empty. She kept the pressure on, and I couldn’t come around. She beat me by about half a bike length.
Looking back, maybe there was a bit more in me for the sprint, but I was completely spent. HR hit 188, I was gasping like a dead person and I was on the limit.
Behind us, things got messy when Jamie and Ellexi lapped Alex’s group, and sounds like Jamie couldn’t shake Ellexi all race and got outsprinted too.
Nutrition: Caffeinated Torq gel on the start line, and one every hour mark after, one bottle with 1.5 scoops Tailwind.