Race Report: 2023 Cal Aggie Criterium - Women’s Cat 3/Masters

Race: 2023 Cal Aggie Criterium - Women's Cat 3/Master's
Date: January 28th, 2023
AVRT racers: Chris Davis, Skyler Espinoza, Kristin Hepworth, Sue Lin Holt, Lora Maes, Sharon Marucut, Jennifer Steele, Gina Yuan
Top Result: Gina (2nd Cat 3, overall), Sue Lin (1st 40+), Jenn (3rd 40+), Lora (2nd 50+), Chris (3rd 50+)
Course: 40 minutes, 1.09mi loop (Strava). Two corners at the top of the course including a sharp left, one corner on the right, and a bit of a drag to the finish.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8467830683

Cal Aggie is the first crit of the year, and I was excited to finally shake off the racing cobwebs with the AVRT women in all categories that day. Sharon's cobwebs were from 2020, so it was great to see her out. Also, it was Kristin's second crit that day, and ever! The 8 of us went into the race with a plan to attack and tire out some marked riders, then organize a leadout for our sprinters. Since it's common for nothing to go to plan, we agreed that it would be important to communicate during the race.

Jenn and Lora set a fast, powerful pace at the start, discouraging any attacks while keeping it smooth. Eventually, the pace slowed down, and I attacked into the technical chicane. Four riders followed, including Jenn who covered. One of these riders was the best (non-AV) sprinter in the field, so while she was trying to establish the break, Jenn and I sat in until the field caught us.

I attacked again at the same location and ended up in a break with two other riders. The same Terun sprinter did 90% of the work to stay away and the other rider did the rest. I sat in just hoping to get caught, since I am not very confident in my sprint, but it seems my teammates are really good at blocking as the rest of the field just wouldn't catch us! Two laps to go, Skyler and Sue Lin made an effort to bridge to a group of 3 ahead...but it was just a group of lapped riders. They were able to see the break at that point, but it was too late. The break of 3 had just rounded the last corner and we had to start our sprints. Despite my feeble sprint, I was feeling pretty fresh, and managed to narrowly beat one of the other riders for 2nd! Skyler launched ahead, almost closing the entire gap, for 4th. Sue Lin followed close behind, taking the win in the 40+ category. Jenn, Lora, and Chris, despite racing for the team's overall result, still managed to round out the remaining podium spots in the master's categories.

I've definitely come a long way from my first crit race, exactly one year ago on this course, when I hated cornering. After the race, I couldn't stop thinking about all the different ways a team of 8 could play a race. I have never raced with so many teammates before, but I learned a lot and am excited to explore this aspect of bike racing more!