Race Report: 2023 Shea Center Criterium – Women’s 3/4/5
Race: Shea Center Criterium – Women’s 3/4/5
Date: September 24, 2023
AVRT racers: Louise Thomas, Rachel Hwang
Top Result: 1st – Rachel Hwang
Course: 45 minutes around a 0.6mi crit course. Very flat and square shaped.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9914106449
Race Recap: (Rachel Hwang’s perspective)
Going into the race, Louise and I swapped what we wanted to work on/what our goals were for the race. I told Louise I wanted to work on my sprint at the end, and Louise said she could lead me out for that sprint, and attack periodically to keep the field interesting.
The course itself was very straightforward. It was very flat, very square, very small of 0.6mi, making right turns going clockwise, and with lots of yellow bumpy things in the middle of the roads which were something to look out for on every corner.
There were 10 racers total to start. The race started tame, but after a few laps, Louise and another girl, Christina, started taking turns attacking up front. Louise had me as a teammate, and Christina had two other teammates in the field. I let the rest of the group chase, staying in the back saving my legs. I did chase down two attacks when it seemed the rest of the group was tired and wasn’t sure if they were going to successfully chase down the group, and when I did, Louise told me to save my legs for the sprint, so I went reverted back to drafting in the peloton.
With 1 lap to go, our strategy was for me to jump behind Louise’s wheel and have her lead me out for starting two corners before the final straightaway sprint. However, because everyone is fighting for position at that point, I found it equally difficult to fight for position behind Louise. On the second to last corner, up front the peloton was Louise taking it wide, with two others on her wheel. I was on the inside of them stuck behind another girl, and could not make it behind them. Halfway through the second to last flat, I managed to get behind the train of riders riding 4th wheel, but at that point we had reached the last corner for the sprint. While Louise went wide to peel off, I took the opportunity to corner on the inside to get away and pass as many riders as I could. I heard her scream “Go Rachel!!” as I sprinted as hard as I could for the finish line to secure 1st place.
Overall, our team tactics went to plan. It was a team effort with great pulls and leads and attacks from Louise to stretch out the field and launch me for the sprint.
Nutrition: 1 bottle of water with a stick of liquid IV, and a Cliff Double Espresso flavored shot on the start line right before the race.