Race Report: Santa Cruz Criterium W3/4

Race: Santa Cruz Criterium W3/4

Date: March 23, 2025

AVRT racers: Maeve Roach, Steph Hart, Louise Thomas, Katarina Zgraja, Katie Monaghan 

Course: 0.7 mile lap, 40 minutes

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/13966736807

Race Recap: The race started on a bit of a down hill right into the hairpin turn, and a lot of people gave the advice to be up at the front for this part which was really helpful in navigating a tight downhill turn like that. The hill on the back half was a good place to make an attack. From Maeve’s perspective, a goal of mine was to practice attacks and tire out the field to either help Steph get in a break away or help Kat and Katie in a field sprint. I made an attack at the top of the hill about 2 laps in, but then realized at the top nobody chased. Talking strategy with the team beforehand, I figured I would do a little effort to see if anyone tried to bridge, but it turned into a 35 minute TT. From the Peloton, there were a lot of attack attempts that kept the race dynamic. Coming down to the final turn the pace was increasing up the climb into the final straight, and the AV women came through in 4/5 of the podium spots in the W3 field!