Race Report: 2023 Cherry Pie Crit - Women's P/1/2/3
Race: 2023 Cherry Pie Crit - Women's P/1/2/3
Date: February 20th, 2023
AVRT racers: Ari Pascarella, Gina Yuan, Jennifer Steele, Lindsey Raven, Sharon Marucut, Skyler Espinoza
Top Results: Gina 3rd, Skyler 4th
Course: https://www.strava.com/routes/3062575108007079228 ~16 corners, 60 minutes. Two technical sections which I call the squiggles (top) and loop (bottom), connected by a 300m straightaway on the left and a 700m straightaway on the right. The finish is about 500m into the right straightaway.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8594731161
Nutrition: Bottle with SIS and clif bloks on stand-by.
The night before the race, Ari with all the intel from having raced Cherry Pie gathered us for a Zoom call where we shared our thoughts and feelings. This was going to be a stacked field including four strong riders on Monarch Racing and some day-of registrations including two pro crit racers Dani Morshead and Melanie Wong. We made a plan knowing that previous years had been won in breaks instigated (by Dani) near the start of the race, and had each of us mark a rider we deemed a threat with similar strengths.
I figured out all the best lines during the previous race and was ready to rip it. At the end of the first lap I moved up along the right straightaway and flowed through the squiggles. The first few laps are chaos because people don't know the course yet. Coming out of them with me were Dani, Melanie, and Skyler. The field was not together. Dani and Melanie put in some hard pulls (attacks?) and when we reached the right straightaway Melanie yelled at AV to do more work. The break was in our favor with me and Skyler, and we had to strike the right balance between keeping everyone happy and setting up the end game. I put a dig in through the right side and squiggles. We all worked to various degrees, but I was happy to work to establish this break without Monarch and other non-pros. The first 10 minutes were really hard.
Monarch needed to chase. Some tried to attack and bridge, or make up time in the corners which forced their less technical teammates to surge, and otherwise tow all of AV through the straightaways. Ari, Jen, and Lindsey were amazing at staying near the front, communicating with each other, marking riders, and shutting everything down. Must be frustrating to do an epic attack just to see AV on your wheel. Sharon fell off the pack in this chaos, but still finished the race strong. I could use the loop turnaround to gauge the gap, which the announcers called to be 20 seconds. The gap grew to a minute and more.
30 minutes into the race with enough of a gap, Dani and Melanie had no desire to bring two AV to the line. Dani attacked on the left straightaway. It was hard. Every time we entered the straightaways I anticipated another attack. Skyler dropped. Dani and Melanie rotated in front of me knowing the situation. Then they would be quite mean and yell at me to work, "at least the corners". They were so persuasive I led the squiggles once (I couldn't see Skyler anymore), but then Dani attacked from behind and I could not trust again. I passed Skyler at the loop turnaround and she yelled at me NOT to work. I needed that reminder!
The pros did not know who I was, so they were maybe a little concerned I'd be a threat at the end, but still more concerned about each other. Apparently they had entered the race with a plan to work together, and when that was done then they could work against each other. A few more attacks flew and since I was at the back I could see them coming and tell the other person to chase... I didn't really have an end game. I was pretty settled for 3rd since I can't outsprint Dani's 1100W and Melanie's 800W. Maybe I was hoping they would attack each other enough to be tired? Actually I should've convinced each one to drop the other with me and I could've instead gotten 2nd in a sprint. That could've been fun.
Anyways, after the race (Dani won for the 3rd year in a row), they complimented my cornering and told me I did the right thing in ignoring them and they aren't actually that mean. It was really cool to ride in a break with these two pros. I'll try to beat them next time. We all congratulated each other, then I celebrated with the team and took some pictures with pie.
Notes about cornering on this course:
I almost never pedalled through the corners, preferring to go into them with speed and lean hard.
I really trust my bike and its tires to just roll over things like metal plates, bad pavement, gutters, and flecks of gravel. This helps me corner with confidence through more adverse road conditions. I think this comes from drafting fast people and doing my intervals on a variety of terrain.
You don't really get line choice in a blobby group so technical skills are more beneficial in a break, and if your breakmates have similar technical skills.
