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.