Race Report: [2022 Toyota San Rafael Sunset Crit - Men’s Cat 3/4]
Race: 2022 Toyota San Rafael Sunset Crit - Men’s Cat 3/4
Date: July 30, 2022
AVRT racers: Andrea Cloarec, Brian Shreeve, Conor Austin, Daniel Fonyo, Flo Costa, George Wehner, Jack Liu, John Janetzko, Will Hakim, Matthew Koenig
Top Result: Jack (1/95), Andrea (6/95), Conor (8/95)
Course: A rectangular, four-corner course (https://www.strava.com/routes/2982004863132650306). Slightly uphill from start to turn 2 then fast downhill till turn 4. From turn 4 to finish is 300m slightly uphill. Turn 3 and 4 are the fastest and most critical ones. The pavement is good and the road is super wide so generally there’s no need to brake into the corners.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7556211943/
Nutrition: One bottle of Skratch mix. Ate half Clif Blok on the start line and finished it when the race was neutralized.
Recap:
It was a field with 100 people and we were the only team that had the number and strength, so our strategy was to utilize this to our best advantage. We planned to cover any threatening moves throughout the race, gather near the front with ~6 laps to go and control the front with 4 laps to go and lead out our sprinters (Daniel or me) for the finish. It didn’t all go exactly as planned, but good enough (for a win)!
Most of us lined up at the first row on the start, and we made it spicy from the start through the first uphill section, which immediately strung out the whole field. John and Andrea kept pushing at a high pace for the next couple laps. I was always on my teammates’ wheels in top-10 position but never touched the wind. At some point I was a bit worried that we would get swarmed cause our team had been working really hard at the front the whole time and I was just chilling on their wheels, but it never really happened. A couple people tried to attack/go for prime, but my awesome teammates always covered the moves and chased them down; Andrea even got a $200 prime himself!
As it got closer to the end and we were starting to prepare for the leadout, the race got neutralized, TWICE -- one with 6-lap to go and one inside the FINAL lap. The first neutralization was only a brief slow down by the race motor which didn’t affect our position too much. At this point it was pretty clear that we were the dominating team in the race, so after the first neutralization we had the whole squad at the front setting a high tempo, and we can hear the commentators yelling “Alto Velo'' every time we passed the start/finish, which was definitely a proud moment to be part of the team.
With 1 to go, a solo rider attacked hard on the start/finish stretch. Flo and I immediately jumped onto his wheel. The three of us kept a good gap to the group till the downhill section. While we were concentrated and mentally prepared for the upcoming T3/4 and finish, the race motor suddenly stopped us and neutralized the race as there was a severe crash on the course. This neutralization was much longer (~20 minute), and we all just waited at the start/finish. While this kinda upset Flo and I cause we were certainly in the race-winning move, we knew everyone was tired too and decided to stick with the original leadout plan. Also, it was at this point that I realized what an amazing job our team had done to whittle the whole field down to ~30 people while we still have 7 men!
After the long stop, we were given a neutral lap and 3 laps to finish. John, Conor, Matthew, and Flo did an incredible work controlling the front from 3 to 1 lap to go, then Andrea took over to lead me out into the last lap. Andrea set a furious pace that no one was able to pass, until two riders sneakily attacked the inside line going into T3 and I jumped onto their wheels. I stayed patiently on their wheels as it’s a long drag (~300m) to the finish after T4 and I know I can save some energy by carrying a bit more speed through the technical T4 than most people. I waited until 150m to go to start my sprint and passed the two riders for the win.
Photo credit: Beliera photographpy
We had a victory lap as a team. Huge crowds were cheering on two sides; other riders came and congrats on our win and strategy; the commenters were shouting our names. It was a dreamlike scene in downtown San Rafael that I would never forget; as if we were the yellow-jersey team on Champs-Elysees in Stage 21 of the Tour de France.
Photo credit: Beliera photographpy
This was my first time being “the protected sprinter” on the team. I was never very confident in my sprint and was quite worried that I wasn’t competent for this role before the race. I want to thank all my teammates for their trust in me and their selfless sacrifice throughout the race for this epic team win. I’d also like to thank everyone who came to support the race and cheer on the sides — we gave our 120% performance for you. Lastly, I want to thank all our sponsors for making this possible — without your support, we won’t be able to ride together, race together, and win together.
P.S. Now I think I know how David felt when he was the protected sprinter at Snelling earlier this year: “bored” but fresh for the entire race :P
-Jack