Race Report: 2023 Il Giro di San Francsico - Men’s Cat 4/5
Race: 2023 Il Giro di San Francsico - Men’s Cat 4/5
Date: September 4th, 2023
AVRT racers: Drew Mathews, Logan Allen, Brian Shreeve
Top Result: Drew (2/71)
Course: An L-shaped criterium with one left and five right turns off the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Rough pavement on the backside of the course.
Recap: (Written by Drew)
Logan and I lined up early knowing that being towards the front in the first few laps would be key in a field of 70+ riders. We both did this race the year prior and spent a lot of energy making up spots early, which hurt us later in the race. Despite having probably the ideal spot on the line (dead center, front row), I was swarmed after the whistle was blown and turned left through the first corner one to two dozen wheels back from the front. I didn’t have the slowest clip in, but it made me realize I could use some more practice.
Brian, Logan, and I didn’t have a plan going into the race. We chatted before and all agreed to let the race play out and react accordingly, with Logan and I being keen on following moves from strong riders we knew in the field and Brian leaning towards waiting for the sprint.
The race was hard fought. I managed to avoid disaster on a few occasions, skirting around an ejected bottle, bumping elbows and shoulders more than once, and avoiding a swerving rider with a broken spoke. Being towards the front was especially helpful in the slightly downhill corner on the backside of the course where the pavement was cracked and bumpy in that I could carry speed much more easily through it. It was also worth it in hindsight to do a couple pulls on the front for this reason and to escape the rowdy pack.
Logan was by far the most aggressive rider of the day in that he put in three or four solo attacks off the front, going first on the second or third lap. I stayed in the top five riders during his attacks to jump on any bridge attempts, but none went. Riders dangled off the front for half a lap or so throughout the race, but no hard breakaway attempts went until around five laps to go when Logan launched his final attack of the day. He stayed out front for a solid two laps until a strong Roval Components rider tried to bridge. I was marking his wheel for most of the race having raced against him before at Sand City, and with three or four laps remaining, I decided to follow him. I passed him and Logan, hoping they would follow me, but instead a Dolce Vita rider bridged to me and we strung out the field. We were caught a lap later by a group of ten, and half a lap later by the rest of the remaining field.
A young independent rider attacked and got a gap sometime after the pack came back together, and the bell lap was soon upon us. I tried to move towards the front without being on the front as we turned left for the last time. I moved my way up as we came onto the backside of the course, and I decided I should get to the front heading into the final corner, sliding up the outside. All of a sudden, Logan came by on the sliver of pavement to my left, shouted my name, and sent it. I followed his wheel as closely as I could as he led me into the final two corners, coming out second and third wheel into the final straightaway with the lone leader a little ways up the road. I put my head down and sprinted as hard as I could for the line and held on for second place.
Logan proved to be a great teammate in this race with his unrelenting attacks and impromptu lead out - huge kudos to him. This race proved to me that becoming a stronger rider is not only a game of training hard but of rest. I took two weeks off the bike in August, something I hadn’t strictly done since I started cycling. I started riding again a week and half before this race and took it very easy the three days leading into Labor Day, and I ended up having my best result yet at the Giro di SF. My dad came out for this race, and he, Logan, and I capped off an awesome day riding the Alpine Dam loop across the GG bridge.