Race Report: 2023 Gateway Cup - Men’s Cat 2
Gateway cup is a 4 day criterium omnium held in St Louis. All 4 courses are within a couple miles of each other, making it a super easy weekend to do without a car. Courses range from wide open squares/rectangles to a super technical 10 corner crit on the last day. The events are very well put on and also both well attended and supported by the communities they occur in.
I was the only AV racer out there but my old Denver team had a large contingent that I stayed with. There were a few other Norcal riders out there, mostly from Terun.
Race: 2023 Gateway Cup - Lafayette Square, Cat 2/3
Date: September 1, 2023
AVRT racers: Jon Wells, 53rd of 66
Course: 0.9 mi loop around Francis Park in St Louis. The course is a nearly flat square course with wide open (4 lanes) roads throughout. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a break have success on this course with how easy it is and the high speeds
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9768969390
Nutrition: Pre-race Red Bull chug plus a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of Flow Formulas during the race. Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.
Race Recap:
Watch the race highlights on my youtube channel here (once I make the videos…) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBBGnCBadQtU8CDFuSUGvhg
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Plan for the day was to conserve energy all race and try for a field sprint. This course is very flat, open, and not technical which keeps the race too fast for a break. Did a good job surfing wheels all race and felt comfortable throughout the pack. It was kind of challenging not getting bored with doing absolutely nothing for the first 40 min but managed to make it happen.
Moved up closer to the front around 3 to go (laps are around 2 min). At 1 to go I was around 20th wheel but was able to make a solid move up the inside into corner 1 to come out of it around 5th. However the field swelled up big time and the guy I had slotted in behind decided his race was done and just stopped pedaling. Unfortunately the pack was coming on both sides of me at this point and I was super trapped behind him, taking me all the way to the back. Was pretty bummed that this guy ended my race with his, but I also didn’t have huge expectations for this race as its a pretty pure field sprint which I don’t love doing.
Race: 2023 Gateway Cup - Francis Park, Cat 2/3
Date: September 2, 2023
AVRT racers: Jon Wells, 18th of 73
Course: 1.2 mi loop around the perimeter of Francis Park in St. Louis. Roads are wide open with 4 corners per lap. There is a small hill through the start/finish every lap with a slight downhill on the far back side.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9771863432
Nutrition: Pre-race Red Bull chug plus a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of Flow Formulas during the race. Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.
Race Recap:
Each of the courses at gateway gets slightly more interesting as the weekend goes on. So for today’s moderate improvement we got some elevation. Course is still super wide open with easy corners, but the hill adds a slight dynamic to the race. Despite that, it's still super fast and the course usually lends itself to a field sprint.
I sat in all race, which is super easy on this course to do (Average power was ~210W; quite low for a course with a hill). A break of 6 established itself around 20 minutes into the race. Their gap went out to around 30 seconds at its largest and actually looked quite threatening. The pack never really worked together to bring it back but everyones frantic solo bridge attempts that would string out the field kept the pace reasonable. Then around 3 to go the break started shedding riders until only 3 remained. They would eventually get caught by the field going into the 2nd to last corner of the race.
I just sat in and watched while this happened, counting on others to reel it back in. The wide roads made it hard to hold positions at the front as a swarm was constantly coming from one side or the other. In the end I made a big move up the inside between corners 3 and 4 on the last lap to get very close to the front. But the front was very crowded with people sprinting 5 or 6 wide across the road. So despite feeling like I was at the front it was only good for 18th. One of my Colorado buddies did win the race though which was certainly our race highlight of the weekend!
Race: 2023 Gateway Cup - Giro della Montagna, Cat 2/3
Date: September 3, 2023
AVRT racers: Jon Wells, 35th of 72
Course: 1 mi loop through the Italian neighborhood of St. Louis called “The Hill”. The course was paved earlier this summer making for a super smooth, 4 corner course. This course is quite a bit tighter and more of an actual crit than the first two days. You climb the hill on the back stretch and descend through the start/finish on the main side.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9778394581
Nutrition: Pre-race Red Bull chug plus a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of Flow Formulas during the race. Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.
Race Recap:
This course has 4 tight corners and a solid hill. It is the first day of the series where a break actually has a solid chance of success. Considering this, I wanted to make a break happen today.
I sat in for the first 15 minutes to let everyone get all their early race antics out of the way. Then I repeatedly smashed the hill at the front (on ~5 different laps) until about 45 minutes into the race. I got some separation a few times but never brought along anyone strong enough for a break to get established. Each attempt lasted less than 2 laps before being brought back. But all of the break attempts from myself and others kept the pace very high. It was strung out all race and plenty of folks got dropped. I didn’t have much left for a field sprint after all the breakaway attempts (330W NP for the race) so I just came in midpack.
Race: 2023 Gateway Cup - Benton Park, Cat 2/3
Date: September 4, 2023
AVRT racers: Jon Wells, 12th of 60
Course: 1.7 mi loop through the Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis and right next to the Anheuser Busch factory. Each lap has 10 turns and there is a small hill on the start straight. Pavement is a little suspect throughout, but especially bad along the start straight.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9785103374/
Nutrition: Pre-race Red Bull chug plus a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of Flow Formulas during the race. Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.
Race Recap:
The Monday race at Gateway is easily the best course of the weekend, featuring 10 tight corners and a small hill. It's normally a race of attrition with half the field or less finishing in the lead pack. Considering this, I lined up near the front (the only day of Gateway where staging really matters).
The race started fast and stayed that way all race. I kept it in the first 15 wheels pretty much all race to conserve energy through corners and avoid extra accelerations. I also took a couple hard digs on the front to keep it strung out. Many guys got shelled off the back and at one point the field even split in half for a lap. It eventually all came back together for a reduced field sprint.
Coming into one to go (laps are just under 4 min here, so quite long) I found myself around maybe 20th or so and I followed a wheel up the hill into a solid position, ~15th. All the corners kind of keep everyone in the same spot so I couldn’t do much to move up but also others couldn’t get around me. There was a crash around corner 4 that I had to ease up for a touch so had to burn some energy getting back up to speed and in line. Opened up the sprint along the longest straight of the course into the second to last corner and passed a few guys. Then held my position through the last couple corners and opened it up on the home straight and was basically sprinting into the back of guys with nowhere to move around. Ended up in 12th for my best result of the weekend.