UCSC Race Weekend - by S. Beard
Slugapalooza-hosted by UC Santa Cruz started off on Saturday with a brutal road race that
consisted of either climbing up or
descending hills on the UC Santa Cruz campus. The Women’s A race began with a field of 8 riders, four from Stanford, two from Davis, one from UC Santa Barbara, and one from UCLA. At the end of the first lap, Ariana Peck (Stanford) attacked and the solo break held the entire race. As the climb took its toll, the pack began to split up. Anne-Laure Strong and Grace Chuchla (Stanford) worked together and got second and third place followed by Claire van Ekdom (UCLA) and then Liza Hartlaub (UC Davis). Bringing up sixth, seventh, and eighth were Taylor Burdge (Stanford), Sarah Beard (UC Davis), and Jessica Baumgardner (UC Santa Barbara). The Men’s A race had a grueling 20 laps to race and began as the fog started rolling in in the afternoon. At first the group stayed together, but then as people began to attack, the field began to shatter. Bruno Suttles from Davis and Nick Bax from Stanford finally had a successful break away that held the entire time ending in a win for Stanford.
Sunday was a flat, four corner crit in Salinas, CA. The women’s field was slightly smaller, with two less Stanford riders and one new rider from UC Berkeley. Although the race
started off at a slower pace, about half way through women began to attack, and the pace picked up. UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and UCLA all attempted attacks at different points during the race-each reeled back in by Stanford. It then became apparent that the race would come down to a field sprint. In the third corner on the last lap, Julia Reese from UC Davis attacked and began to sprint. Through the last corner the field spread out across the road with a sprint finish between UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara. The final podium placing was Julia Reese (UC Davis), Sarah Beard (UC Davis), and Naomi Hester (UC Berkeley). Next up was the Men’s A race which began fast and only got faster as team after team attacked the peloton. There were quite a few break aways, but with only four corners and long straights, none were successful. The final lap resulted in a nail-biting sprint won by Connor Benton (UC Berkeley). The final podium placing was Connor Benton (UC Berkeley), Daniel Kosykh (UC Davis), and Sasha Kasas (Stanford).
consisted of either climbing up or
Riders compete during Saturday's road race in the WCCC.
Sunday was a flat, four corner crit in Salinas, CA. The women’s field was slightly smaller, with two less Stanford riders and one new rider from UC Berkeley. Although the race
started off at a slower pace, about half way through women began to attack, and the pace picked up. UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and UCLA all attempted attacks at different points during the race-each reeled back in by Stanford. It then became apparent that the race would come down to a field sprint. In the third corner on the last lap, Julia Reese from UC Davis attacked and began to sprint. Through the last corner the field spread out across the road with a sprint finish between UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara. The final podium placing was Julia Reese (UC Davis), Sarah Beard (UC Davis), and Naomi Hester (UC Berkeley). Next up was the Men’s A race which began fast and only got faster as team after team attacked the peloton. There were quite a few break aways, but with only four corners and long straights, none were successful. The final lap resulted in a nail-biting sprint won by Connor Benton (UC Berkeley). The final podium placing was Connor Benton (UC Berkeley), Daniel Kosykh (UC Davis), and Sasha Kasas (Stanford).
Comments
Post a Comment