Race Report: 2023 Golden State Race Series - Women Cat 3, 4, Masters

Race: Golden State Race Series

Date: May 5-7, 2023

AVRT racers: Cat 4: Louise Thomas, Emily Schell, Steph Hart; Masters: Chris Davis, Sue Lin Holt; Cat 3: Lindsey Raven

Course: 3 days of racing with an overall omnium. Day 1 is a flat 6 mile Merckx Style TT, Day 2 is a flat 5 turn 0.9 mile criterium course, Day 3 is a flat 8 turn 2.3 mile circuit race.

Results Summary:

Time Trial: Steph (1/9 cat 4); Louise (3/9 cat 4); Emily (5/9 cat 4)

Criterium: Steph (1/14 cat 4); Louise (2/14 cat 4); Emily (mechanical); Sue Lin (3/9 Masters); Chris (6/9 Masters); Lindsey (2/2 cat 3)

Circuit Race: Louise (1/13 cat 4); Steph (3/13 cat 4); Emily (5/13 cat 4); Chris Davis (4/6 Masters); Lindsey (4/4 cat 3)

Overall (required racing all three days): Louise (1st cat 4); Steph (2nd cat 4); Emily (8th cat 4)

Sprint Competition: Lindsey (1st place overall); Emily (2nd place cat 4)

Day 1 Time Trial (Written by Steph)

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9017141751

The course was flat and quite straight, ~8 mph tail wind on the way out, head wind on the way back (included a pretty tight turn around point). My plan was to try to pace it conservatively on the way out and save a little more for the way back with the head wind. Splits were 7:28 for the way out at 244W and 7:42 at 262W on the way back. Overall I felt like the pacing strategy wasn’t terrible, but I could have gone out a bit harder as I still felt pretty in control at the end of the race. Louise came in 3rd at +36 seconds and Emily came 5th at +1:22, leaving us in a good spot for the omnium going into the weekend races.

Day 2 Criterium (Written by Steph)

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9023267461

Cat 4, Cat 3, and Masters women all raced together (26 women total). With Louise and Emily and I trying for the cat 4 omnium, Chris, Lindsey and Sue Lin went in with the plan to help us out. Plan A was following any cat 4 breaks (as Louise and I are very not sprinty), plan B was a lead out at the end. I’m not a very crit-savvy rider and I spent most of the race preoccupied with making it to the final lap in a decent position, but I think the following is more or less what happened: Lindsey started the race out at a strong pace, with some of the other masters and cat 3 riders trading efforts on the front. A few riders tried to break from the field (including Lindsey and Chris), but nothing seemed to stick. Chris, Lindsey and Sue Lin did a great job shutting down anything from other teams in the interim. Additionally, Lindsey and Shannon Gaffney racked up sprint points, resulting in the field slowing after each of the primes. During all of this, Louise, Emily, and I were basically sitting on wheels trying not to do any work (although Emily had a mechanical and DNPed with 3 laps to go). At the start of the bell lap I was 5th or 6th wheel behind Lindsey and Sue Lin. The pace picked up at the start of the lap and I spent 45 seconds hanging onto their wheels. Halfway through the lap the paced slowed for a second, and then Shannon attacked and I came around Lindsey and Sue Lin and went with her along with one other E-voke rider into the final two turns. Louise and Haley (placed 2 in the omnium at the time) were a couple bike lengths back so I just sat on the wheel of the E-voke rider and came around her at the end, but got out sprinted by Shannon (so 2nd overall, 1st in the cat 4 field).  Louise came in second in the cat 4 field placing us 1st and 2nd in the omnium after day 2. Sue Lin and Chris came in 3rd and 6th in the masters field and Lindsey came in 2nd in the cat 3 field. Overall, this race was pretty hard and fast thanks to the cat 3 and Masters riders, but it was awesome to have teammates in the field covering attacks and basically delivering Louise and I to the finish line in good position.

Day 3 Circuit Race (Written by Louise)

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9029864708

Going into the final day of the omnium we were sitting in a good position with Steph comfortably in first place after winning both of the previous races and me in second place. Our main threat was Haley from Super Sprinkles, who had come second in the time trial, third in the crit, and was just one point behind me overall. There was a pretty big gap between the three of us and the rest of the field so we more-or-less went in with a singular aim to beat Haley.
After working so hard on the front for most of the race yesterday, Lindsey (real MVP of the weekend) was also leading the sprint competition, where points were awarded for winning prime laps. Originally we thought each category had their own sprint competition and were planning to have Emily attack for some Cat 4 sprint points, but at the start line they announced it would be only one jersey for the combined Cat 3/4/masters group. This put the pressure on Lindsey to stay at the front and defend her title. 
My plan to beat Haley was to just sit on her wheel the entire race and outsprint her at the line. I’m not usually that confident in my sprint so it felt a bit strange to bet the race on it, but I’d beaten her in a sprint finish a couple of times before and was mostly worried about her getting in a break without me, so it seemed like the most sensible strategy. This also freed up Steph to go with any other breaks that formed during the race.   

This was probably the most lazy I’ve ever been in a race; I’m very grateful to Lindsey, Chris and Emily for doing all the work and allowing me and Steph to sit in and conserve energy. All I did all race stay on Haley’s wheel and trust that the rest of the team would control the race at the front. Going into the final few corners Steph, with Haley on her wheel and me on Haley’s wheel, started moving up to the front to get into position. In the final sprint Haley came around the side of Steph, but then I came around her side to finish 1st with Haley 2nd and Steph 3rd (at least in the Cat 4’s, there were a few Cat 3 and masters riders ahead). In the end me and Steph finished equal first for the omnium on points, but the final race was used as a tiebreaker meaning I won overall. It was definitely a team effort, so hopefully I can return the favor for the next one.