Race Report Oakland Grand Prix - WP1/2/3
Race Report: 2023 Oakland Grand Prix Women’s P123
Date: 9/17
AVRT racers: Ari Pascarella, Kelly Brennan, Niky Taylor, Gina Yuan, Louise Thomas, Sue Lin Holt, and Rachel Hwang
Top Result: Ari Pascarella (4/15)
Written by: Ari Pascarella
Course: A rectangular course, 1 km in length, with a tight chicane for the first corner.
Strava: https://strava.app.link/HqVowiJKgEb
Nutrition: Pre-race bottle of Nuun, 15 min before 1 SiS gel, and a race day bottle of Heed (Hammer Nutrition).
Race Recap:
The Oakland Grand Prix criterium is the season finale (for P1/2) as well as the district criterium championship, for me personally it marked the end to my first year racing with Alto Velo. Our team brought a full squad of 7 people, which made for an engaging pre-race chat and warm up. Included in the race were Louise and Sue Lin who had raced earlier in the day and came to the chat with some perspective on the course. They highlighted the cones blocking half of the road going into the final straightaway (insightful for positioning coming out of the last corner) and they prepared us for the chicane (basically a hairpin turn), which would be sure to pinch you if you weren’t in a good spot.
On the start the wind whistled and the air buzzed with race day jitters. Within a few laps of the start of the race, a breakaway had formed with a combination we did not like (1 Terun, 1 Monarch, and Gina). Gina had prepared us that if this match up occurred we should bring it back (lesson 1: get a finisher into the breakaway). As the protected rider, I hung back and watched as Louise, Sue Lin, Niky, Kelly, and Rachel rotated through attempting to close the gap (lesson 2: the longer, lap-long pulls with teammates dropping to the back was fruitless and we would have been better served to keep the pulls short and the rotation tight). Before long, Gina was dropped from the breakaway (from her side, she did her best to conserve and hang on, but the dynamic was too challenging to stay along for the ride). With Gina back in the bunch, 2 still off the front, and several teammates feeling burnt out from trying to reel the breakaway in, we needed to re-evaluate. After a few laps, I made the gut decision to organize a lead out in an attempt to bridge to the breakaway (lesson 3: probably doing this with a 2 minute gap was not realistic). I directed Rachel and Gina to lead me out after the next pass through the chicane, then I jumped. They executed exactly as I’d asked and I felt strong! Unfortunately, 2 Monarch were quick to follow and 1 counter attacked after I clipped a pedal. Though I recovered and tried to go with her, I couldn’t follow (lesson 4: only try to bridge if you can go solo or bring a teammate; read: look around). So now, in an even worse position than before (1 Terun and 2 Monarch up the road), we re-evaluated again and decided to make the most of who we had left in the peloton and get organized for our lead out and the field sprint.
With only a few laps to go Gina needed to pull out of the race with a mechanical. Meanwhile, Niky and Kelly got together to form my lead out and Rachel positioned herself to sweep. Niky played it perfectly with a steady, hard pace for 2 laps, immediately followed by Kelly, right on cue, on the final lap, and once we rounded the final corner I got to do my favorite thing in criteriums - sprint! I came out of it with the field sprint win (4th overall). Afterwards, the team re-grouped, gave lots of hugs, and warmed up afterwards with some pho, and we discussed the lessons learned from the day. (Lesson 5: Even when you don’t win, racing is best with friends by your side).
I was so greatful to get to play the role of designated sprinter, and even though it wasn't the top step for the day, it felt awesome to race with this team and stand on the long podium representing Alto Velo for the first time this year.