Race Report: 2023 Cherry Pie Crit Mens Pro12
Race: 2023 Cherry Pie Crit - Men’s P12
Date: February 20, 2023
AVRT racers: Jon Wells, Jack Liu, Adrea Cloarec
Top Result: Jon Wells, 8th of 47
Course: 1.12 mile loop at Napa Valley College. The course had a ton of corners with 16 per lap. The course began with a very tight, technical section featuring several u-turns before letting out onto the shorter backstretch. After another, shorter technical section filled with more turns, finally came the finishing straight. It was the longest straight section of the course ~500m long and very slightly uphill.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8595401544
Nutrition: a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of caffeinated Flow Formulas. Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.
Race Recap:
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Gameplan coming into the race was for Jack and I to try and represent in dangerous looking moves since the technical course seemed like it could favor a breakaway. If the break did not succeed, then we were going to set Andrea up for a sprint. Mike’s Bikes and Terun both had ~6 guys each so we were only interested in covering moves that had both of those teams represented.
We did a very good job being present in moves with both of the big teams throughout the race. There were lots of good efforts but always someone unhappy and willing to drag it back together. While the pace was very high and many people did not finish the race, it became apparent after ~45 minutes that the race was coming down to a sprint.
Mike’s Bikes took over the front of the race with a very high pace at 2 laps to go. On that same lap there was a crash very near the front that left ~12 riders in the lead group. I was the only AV rider on the right side of that split. Mike’s Bikes kept the pace very high and raced very smart, not allowing any opportunities to come around. I came into the final stretch 8th and after hesitating a second on starting my sprint, I then left myself with little opportunity to get around anyone. Felt very confident in the group today and feeling good about the rest of the season. We’ve got lots of super strong dudes and I can’t wait to see some orange and blue on the P12 podium!
-Jon Wells