Race Report: 2025 Winters Criterium - Women’s Masters
Race: Winters Criterium - 2025 NCNCA women’s masters district championship
Date: August 23, 2025
AVRT racers: Hannah Chen, Lora Maes, Sue Lin Holt
Top Result: Sue Lin Holt - 2/8
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15560688078
Nutrition: Coffee, Honey Stinger peanut butter waffle before race start, half a bottle of lemon lime SiS Go electrolyte
Course: New course this year - flat L-shaped 6 corner crit
Weather: Sunny, 76F. Glad our race was early because the temperature was over 100F for later races!
Lora, Hannah and I discussed strategy before the race. There were several strong women racing, but we figured that Shannon (in my age group) was the one to watch as she is strong, usually rides aggressively, and would definitely be going for the state championship win. We agreed that one of us should try to be on her wheel at all times and ready to follow any attacks, then attempt to outsprint her at the end.
Sure enough, the race started and Shannon went straight to the front. Hannah did a great job of following her every move early in the race and closing gaps, and later Lora took over and did the same. A few times Lora or Hannah would move to the front but soon enough Shannon would accelerate around them and take her front spot in the wind again. I wasn’t complaining as I was enjoying sitting in the draft, and I figured hopefully she would be more tired than me for the sprint.
With about five laps to go I got on Shannon’s wheel and stuck to it like glue, maintaining my second place spot for the last several laps, ready to start my sprint after the 2nd last corner. I knew that there wasn’t enough time after the last corner to pass anyone, so it would be the first rider into the final corner who would win the race.
In the final lap all was going to plan and as I rounded the penultimate corner in second position I gathered all my energy, ready to try to sprint around Shannon. I began accelerating, gaining ground on her, but as I started to pass her I heard another rider sprinting up alongside me on the left. This was not the plan! As I stood and sprinted towards the final turn we were neck and neck but I was on the outside and had more ground to cover into the final left turn to the finish. We clearly underestimated this rider and I hadn’t seen her for the entire race (apparently I was her Shannon and she had been quietly following me around the whole time). But with hindsight, the national champion stripes on her bib shorts should have given us a clue! Alas I wasn’t able to make it around the final corner ahead of her and despite my best efforts to close the gap, I ended up finishing second.
Overall I’m happy that we as a team executed our intended strategy. It also provided a key learning moment: to always expect the unexpected. Congratulations to Hannah and Lora on becoming state champions in their age groups!