Race Report: 2023 Berkeley Streets Criterium - Men’s Cat 4

Race: 2023 Berkeley Streets Criterium - Men’s Cat 4

Date: April 30, 2023

AVRT racers: Drew Mathews, Riley Chapman, Logan Allen 

Top Results: Drew (6/39), Riley (8/39), Logan (11/39)

Course: A 0.75 km lap on the West Crescent Lawn at UC Berkeley. The course follows a roundabout with poor pavement after the start, into a looping descent that turns right into a straightaway, preceding a right turn that climbs back to the start / finish. 

Strava: Berkeley Streets Criterium

Nutrition: I had some rice cakes an hour before the start, and I shot an Untapped maple syrup packet fifteen minutes before we kicked off. 

Recap: 

This race was the second of the Berkeley omnium, and all three of us raced the Berkeley Hills Road Race the day before. Thus, we carried some fatigue into this race from the day before. Logan was doing the best he could carrying a cold with him this weekend, while Riley’s aim was to get some more experience in crit racing. I was targeting this race for the weekend knowing Berkeley hills was more suited to some of my other teammates. Our strategy was to put in some attacks during the second half of the race. 

The first half of the race was fast paced, and it proved difficult to move up on most of the course. The best opportunities were on the straightaway at the bottom of the hill and on the uphill towards the start / finish. Our field often took the downhill corner two or three riders abreast instead of single file. 

Logan went to the front during the second quarter of the race to get better lines cornering and not have to deal with jostling for position, stringing out the field in the process. Riley was sitting in the top ten wheels and looking strong. Around halfway through the race, I was looking to move up knowing I’d have few chances to do so, and the field sat up on the uphill, giving me the opportunity to move towards the front. After a Cal Poly rider on the front didn’t want to pull on the ensuing roundabout, I took the opportunity to try and attack. I dangled off the front for a lap or two, not gaining much of a gap, and was reeled in with fifteen minutes to go. 

At this point, the pack was whittled down to twenty or so riders. Attacks went without gaining much of a gap, though the race finished at a high pace. I drifted back to fifteenth place or so after my attack and put in a dig to make up wheels the last three or four laps. We all finished relatively strong, me at sixth, Riley at eighth, and Logan at eleventh. Riley’s performance was impressive in this being one of his first crits. Logan finished very well considering he was under the weather. I was happy with sixth this being my second race and first crit back from my collarbone break in March. I finished tenth, Riley twelfth, and Logan thirteenth in the Omnium. It was a fun race and capped off a fun weekend of racing.

-Drew