Race Report: 2023 Berkeley Streets Criterium – Women Cat 3/Collegiate B/Masters 40/50/60

Posted by Lora Maes

Date:  Sunday 4/30/2023

AVRT Racers: Lindsey Raven, Christina Davis, Sue Lin Holt, Lora Maes

Top Result: Lora Overall Win & 1st 50+, Chris 2nd 50+, Lindsey 1st cat 3, Sue Lin 3rd 40+

Course: .46 mile course set in downtown Berkeley & Cal campus with a short uphill, round traffic circle with some rough pavement and a short downhill.  The start/finish is in a narrow drive after a slight left at the top of the hill.  Some manhole covers and metal plates to navigate on the downhill.  Each lap was around 75 seconds.  There was some wind on the downhill but no significant impact on the rest of the course.  

Strava:  https://strava.app.link/71VSxwMnszb

Nutrition:  Race start wasn't until 2:30 so I made sure to have a full breakfast which included a waffle, bacon, and coffee.  I had a left over waffle so had a pb&j sandwich at noon as I left to drive to Berkeley.  One GU gel at race start.  Sipped on some fluid during warm up.

Race Recap:

This was my first time doing this course so I made sure to arrive with plenty of time to navigate parking and getting time to view the course.  Wasn't quite sure how I'd feel after the tough effort in the road race the day before.  I got a hole in my rear tire before race start Sat and wasn’t confident about the plug staying in so changed out my tires Sunday morning.  In between the men's races I hopped in and got a lap of the course, yep, there's rough patches of pavement on that round about.  Took note of the turn on the downhill and the best line to take.  Christina, Lindsey, Sue Lin and I chatted before race start and agreed we would take turns attacking to tire out Marcie (Revolution) and Shannon (Cycle Sport) who were very strong sprinters so Sue Lin could have a better chance at the sprint if it came down to it.  

There were a total of 11 in our race so maneuvering and making moves shouldn’t be as difficult as with a larger field. 

From the start Chris and Lindsey got things started very quickly taking control of the front and pushing the pace for the first 3-4 laps.  I found myself a little too far back in the first lap or two and worked my way up to 4th or 5th wheel with the goal of protecting Sue Lin.  Lindsey continued to attack off the front and chased back Marcie, Lindsey did such an incredible job in this race.  There was a point in the first half when Lindsey and Marcie were off the front and I did not think they were going to come back but I patiently sat on a wheel not working much.  We eventually brought them back and were then a pack of 7.  Christina from Eclipse attacked on the straight before the uphill turn but then crashed coming out of the turn, thankfully nobody else got caught in it (checked on her after the race and she was ok).  Now down to 6. Sue Lin wasn’t there anymore so now I’m thinking to conserve, don’t let all Lindsey’s work go to waste, wait for the right moment (keep reading) and be patient.  Lindsey continued to attack off the front, and close down attacks from Marcie and Shannon – this was working how we wanted it to.  Pace continued to be fast.  I was on Marcie's wheel on the front then as we came through the turn up the hill a pedestrian was walking across the course completely clueless of our race!! I yelled NOOOOOOO!!!!! and thankfully she moved out of the way, almost saw a disaster happen.  Marcie and I slowed slightly to let the group rejoin, it only seemed like the fair thing to do for the race.  Now we were starting to lap dropped riders in our race.  Lindsey's relentless attacks were having some effect, I could tell everyone was getting tired up the climb.  With about 7 laps to go, I attacked in the middle of the hill into the narrow straight to the roundabout (pic below captured this moment in the race).  I hear Lindsey yell to go.  I thought just make it strong, hard, and long - I kept going.  In retrospect, this was a perfectly timed attack, utilizing the hill, the narrow stretch before the roundabout, and the ability to not be seen once I was in the roundabout.  On the downhill, I focused on taking a really good line into the turn with no braking.  I noticed early in the race, I was gaining ground out of the turn as not everyone was cornering that well.  I can get a gap going if I take really good turns and just kept telling myself, take good lines.  It worked, I looked back and a solo gap formed.  6 more laps to go, charge the hill, take good lines.  Sue Lin did some strategic placement on the roundabout as we passed, furthering the gap.  2 laps, I looked back, still nobody – I got this!! Keep pushing…  got the overall win with a 10 second gap! 

The result of my win was 100% teamwork, it could have not happened without everyone's contribution in the race.  It was just amazing to see it all come together.