Race Report: [Tucson Bicycle Classic – Women’s Cat 4]
Race: Tucson Bicycle Classic – Women’s Cat 4; Time Trial Prologue, Road Race, Circuit Race
Date: TT – Friday: 2/21/25, Road Race – Saturday: 2/22/25, Circuit Race – Sunday: 2/23/25
AVRT racers: Katie Monaghan
Top Result: Katie Monaghan: 5/24 for TT, 5/26 for the Road Race, 5/24 for Circuit Race, 5/24 GC
Course: TT: 4.4 mile point to point bike path, smooth pavement, two sharper turns; Road Race: 2 laps of a 20.3 mile mainly flat loop with some rollers (853 elevation per lap), good pavement overall; Circuit Race: 2.8 mile 4 corner circuit, race starts and ends midway up Musette Road which is a 1 mile uphill climb, bumpy pavement on the bottom of the Mussette climb that flattens out, each lap has 190 feet of climbing
Nutrition: Nothing during the TT; Two bottles with electrolytes and carbs for Road Race; Had a bottle with electrolytes before Circuit but nothing during
To start: thanks for reading! Hoping to keep this as concise and interesting as possible since I’m combining three days in one report.
TBC consisted of three stages: first the TT prologue, then the Road Race, then the Circuit Race. I actually arrived a day early for the Women’s New Racer Clinic lead by Lauren Hall and Cecile Lejeune. In the clinic we did grass skills including bumping, cornering and emergency stops. We then road two practice laps of the circuit race. It felt good to know that all of these skills were familiar to me (mainly thanks to Robin Betz who I’ve learned from either during team camp or on group rides.) It was also nice to be familiar with the circuit course prior to Sunday.
Friday was the TT prologue. I had never done a TT before. Like every stage in this race, I got 5th. A few post-race reflections:
1. You aren’t actually supposed to be titled slightly sideways by the man holding your bike for the start. I watched my women’s Cat 3 teammates correct him later in the day when they were tilted. I’m too type B and just assumed I was supposed to be titled slightly right.
2. Knowing the corners on the bike path was incredibly helpful. Thank you to Leo who showed me these on his phone prior to racing! He explained which ones I could pedal through and when to expect them. I definitely would have entered the first corner too hot if not for this.
3. Knowing my 10-minute power would have been helpful. I just got a power meter in December so I was guessing for what I thought I could maintain.
Saturday was the road race. Lap 1 was coffee paced for 20.3 miles. I was mainly bored but not about to attack without teammates. Beginning lap 2 one girl attacks. I noticed she was one of 4 girls I marked because she beat me in the TT. The 3 other girls I marked from the TT followed her, so I worked like heck to not miss the break. Eventually I caught the break and brought one rider with me. At this point we were split in two groups: two off the front and my chase group of 4 including the two girls I caught and the one girl who I brought along to the break. My group of 4 worked together for a while to try to catch the two off the front. Once we realized that wasn’t happening, our pulls got shorter and more strategic as it became clear this group was racing for 3rd. Ultimately two of the girls out sprinted me (I have lots of reflections on what I could have done better here - if you’re actually curious ask me on a group ride) and again I got 5th.
Sunday was the circuit race. This one was the most fun. I like going hard for a short amount of time with lots of cornering and then being done. Two laps into the race a break again formed of the top 4 girls. This time I was unable to work to bridge to them. However, I was strong enough that I dropped the rest of the pack in my attempt so I started riding alone. One girl eventually caught me. I could tell I was stronger than her since I felt very relaxed when she pulled. I still had her pull some because she was strong enough to hold my wheel. I didn’t want her to do coast with me until the end and then out sprint me to the finish. I surged from her on the last uphill climb for the finish, leaving a pretty big gap and finishing alone. That was a brutally long solo sprint. And believe it or not, I again got 5th. This gave me 5th in GC and some upgrade points, so a very solid weekend of racing!
Overall TBC was a super fun weekend! It was great to just be an athlete for 4 days. I don't think I’ve done that since playing collegiate field hockey. Other major wins on the weekend included:
1. I built my bike all by myself including taking off/putting on the rear derailleur. (This actually isn’t hard but it is when it’s your first time) Thanks to Kat Zgraja for helping me pack it/showing me how on the way out!
2. I drove a Dodge Ram. As a proud Honda Fit owner, I was very intimidated when the rental car agency told me they didn’t have a minivan and this was my only option. But I did great and only had to call Louise once to park it in a small parking space. (=
If you made it this far, thanks for reading!