Race Report: Tucson Bicycle Classic - Women’s P12

Race: Tucson Bicycle Classic - Women’s P12

Date: Feb 21-23, 2025

AVRT racers: Robin Betz, Thialor Mize, Whitney Post

Top Result: Robin Betz (17th/59 in the TT, 41/60 GC)

Race context: With DNA Pro Cycling folding last year, there is really only one major women’s pro team in the US: the Olympic development team, Twenty28. They were at this race and unsurprisingly absolutely dominated, sweeping every podium and winning nearly every winnable intermediate sprint or lap. Every race they were on the front in a line just drilling it and keeping the pace high, with the rest of us bunched up behind competing for scraps. I’m not sure if this is fun for them but it would have been more interesting with some competition. At least it made it easy for me to predict there wouldn’t be a breakaway.

This was my second time doing this race, having previously finished in 2023 for 38/43 in GC (12th percentile).

TT

Course: 4.5 mi of flat bike path with one swoopy curve near the beginning and a headwind.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/13688410594

Nutrition: 400kcal bottle on the ride over.

Recap: Since the course was short, I wanted the longest warmup possible. It was only an 18 mi ride from our Airbnb so I enjoyed a calm morning on the bike path with a tailwind for a good hour, then rode around on the road to add a bit more intensity before my start. This was an ideal warmup for me and I felt good at the start. There was a 10 mph headwind on the entire course, which, while feeling slow and bad, was to my benefit as I am proportionally more aerodynamic than other riders and I knew I could hold my road bike max aero position for the duration of the effort without significant power penalty. I’m always down about 20 watts on race day because of nerves, so I focused on really holding the position and doing my best.

I paced by feel and passed my 30 second and then my 1 minute rider and knew I’d done pretty well! I ended up 17th/59, my best result yet at a big race and finally making my goal of a top 20. I also beat triathlon Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgenson because I guess she is not aero on a road bike.

Crit

Course: 0.75 mi with four corners and a U-turn, with the worst pavement imaginable (think Copperopolis) on the back stretch.

Recap: I rode to this one too, with Thialor, which was about 10 miles of not as nice bike path due to proximity to downtown. Given the course and the number of riders, I knew that position at the start line was crucial, and lined up for the start pen very early to get a good spot. I ended up ideally positioned in the second row, but then the organizers got confused and told us to take a free lap. It was a 400+ watt, all elbows, max aggressive free lap as everyone was thinking the same as me, but I didn’t realize I should have cheated and cut the course before the U-turn, which is what the majority of the field did. I ended up at the back and pulled (too early) after 6 laps along with everyone else who started at the back and placed 55/58. I was pretty upset about this as it was a failure of the officials to ensure a fair race and I was confident I would have finished if I’d had my original start position, and now I was out of GC contention. Oh well, that’s bike racing.

RR

Course: 80 miles, 5 laps of a 20 mile loop with rollers at the beginning and a gradual 2-3% climb at the end.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/13698726152

Nutrition: 2.5 bottles of Robin’s 400kcal drink mix, 1.5 sleeves Clif Blocks. I didn’t want to deal with the feed so I kept a bottle in my pocket and discarded one of my original ones in the feed zone. In retrospect, the weather was mild enough that I could have started with just 2 big bottles as I ended with over half a bottle remaining.

Recap: I was a bit nervous in the big group, having been crashed out of this race two years ago, and still grumpy from the crit, but decided early on that if  I was going to be here anyway, I was going to have a good time and make the most of my fitness, training, and preparation.

Thialor’s positioning was great and I tried to find her wheel whenever possible, and slowly built confidence as the day went on. The pack was needlessly aggressive, but I was able to identify opportunities to move up and mark wheels that were especially sketchy. On the rollers we’d bunch up and if I was further back, I would have to brake and then sprint up the other side, and if I opened up a gap to try to smooth it out, someone would just scoot into that space instead. I got used to anticipating this by shifting down and being able to spin up the other side of the hill in an easy gear at 120 rpm, which is a lot less tiring and more aerodynamically efficient than standing and mashing. This worked quite well for me and was very repeatable.

I found I could move up before the last climb in the section before the turn where there was a cross/headwind, by taking the turn into that section on the inside and ending up on the sheltered side of the road. I tell myself “I only move up for free” but even easy pedaling would gain me spots here even without a wheel, so I would move up here quite reliably without a lot of effort.

Lap 3 had an intermediate sprint that Twenty28 unsurprisingly won, but I was pleased to find I was able to stay in the group. I actually was able to pass people on that back climb, which was a new experience for me as last time I was fighting for my life there. Unfortunately Thialor lost contact with the group somewhere in this section.

In the last lap I started thinking about how I’d do well, and began to move up in the downhill section opposite the final climb. I found it pretty easy to move up here as everyone wanted to stay out of the wind but I could just get low and move up easily. I got on the end of the Twenty28 train and prepared myself for a fight for position. It was a battle on the back stretch but I maintained my spot into the final corner, but on the final section got pretty swarmed. I was a lot better in the group here compared to earlier in the race– willing to be aggressive, bump elbows, and assert myself to get wheels. But, I was a bit too obsessed with staying out of the wind, and ended up pretty far back because I failed to move up. I ended up finishing in the bunch sprint for 38th/57. In retrospect I made a big tactical mistake here as I wasn’t particularly tired and could have spared the energy to be in the wind for the last 3-5 min to get a better position.

Circuit Race

Course: 2.7miles 4 corner circuit, with the finish line midway up a 1 mile climb, 190 ft climbing/lap

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/13709421547

Nutrition: Pre-race, two vanilla frappes with extra whip cream as I watched other races (not the best idea but still very tasty). During, half a bottle of Robin’s 400 kcal drink mix

Recap: I was nervous about this one as I remembered the course being difficult and my teammates in the earlier races were telling me it was super difficult. My other P12 teammates had also decided to leave early, leaving me to race solo. But it was the last day and I was just happy to be there.

I lined up well at the start and it was fast from the beginning and never let up. Twenty28 held a really brutal pace on the front and I made it my goal to stay with the bunch at least through the intermediate sprint on lap 3.

I ended up tailgunning a bit and moving up at the corners, since the group would slow there, but I think I should have been trying harder to move up to where it would be smoother. I managed to judge where the wind would be quite well and ended up on the sheltered side for the hill every time, and I’d also pass about 20 people in the corners each time, which felt good.

The first few times up the hill weren’t that bad. My power meter said I was doing big watts but I try not to look at it during races and I was able to hold the wheel in front of me and even move up. It felt like a less steep Egan hill, but the crosswind helped me out since I was on the sheltered side.

After the intermediate sprint I was hanging on to the back for dear life, and was going to move up and catch back into the group on the corners, but the wheel I chose passed me and then braked to about 15 mph and I lost all my momentum. This was basically the end for me and I enjoyed a good TT until I got pulled. It was great having my teammates cheering me on every lap.

I didn’t even mind getting pulled after 6 laps because I had just been redlining it the whole time. I got a 3rd best all time 20 min heart rate and ended up 32nd!

Overall

41/60 in GC (32nd percentile), primarily due to my crit result, but nonetheless a big improvement from last time!

Stage races in the P12 field are very difficult, with a high level of competition and field sizes and dynamics that are challenging to practice at home. Every year I’m rewarded with steady progress and about 10 steps up in placings, and this year was no exception. I felt a lot stronger, more durable, and able to contemplate contending for a result instead of struggling to survive. There also were obvious areas to improve– timing positioning before sprints, and being less conservative with my watts when it matters for positioning. I think top 20 in GC is not an unreasonable goal for me next year in this race, and I’ll be back.