Race Report: Tucson Bicycle Classic - Men’s P12

Date: February 23-25, 2024

AVRT Racers: David, Cam, Greg, PA

[Report written by PA]

Stage 1 - Time Trial

We kicked off the weekend with a roughly 10-minute Time Trial on a windy out-and-back course north of Tucson. We headed out for the first 5 minutes against a strong headwind and then returned for the finish with a tailwind. With that in mind, we all planned to go out as hard as possible and then try to manage the return stretch, counting on the tailwind to push us to the finish line.

David finished fastest on the team in 9 minutes and 26 seconds, only 30 seconds from the win and GC lead. The rest of us were right behind, about 45 seconds back on GC.

Stage 2 - Road Race

This was a fast, relatively flat course, so we expected an easy day sitting in the bunch, waiting for a sprint finish, with the pro teams controlling at the front. However, none of this happened. After a very fast first part of the race, a large group of 20 found themselves at the front and quickly gained almost a minute on the field. Unfortunately, we missed this break but were still pretty confident that Project Echelon (one of the major teams present at this race) would chase it back for a sprint finish, as this break threatened their GC lead. But they fell short, and we realized 10 minutes before the finish that the break wouldn't be seen again. The GC leader's jersey changed shoulders, and we sprinted for an anecdotal 20th place. This set the stage for a hectic Sunday circuit race.

Stage 3 - Circuit Race

This race was a lot about positioning and being opportunistic for us. Given the scenario of the previous day, we knew that Project Echelon would want to make the race fast and hard to have a chance at retrieving the leader's jersey. So, we aimed to stay opportunistic and ride near the front of the bunch, which we did very well for the first part of the race. In a very large field and narrow roads, positioning was key, and the battle for position was sometimes fierce. Unfortunately, 3 laps from the finish, David dropped his chain, which cost him almost a minute. The rest of us tried to wait a bit to bring him back, but he was too far behind. Greg and I then tried to position ourselves for a sprint finish, but as we were trying to make it back to the front of the race, a two-man break from Project Echelon went away and eventually won the race and retook the GC. We sprinted for the best position possible, which ended up being 21st for Greg.

Although in terms of results, this weekend wasn't as successful as the previous one, I personally felt more confident navigating the bunch and felt like I could be at the front of the race a lot. We took a lot of experience and positives and learned to work together as a squad, as this was only our first race block of the year.

Tired, but happy after two weeks of racing and training in the desert !