UCM Race Weekend - by E. Goguely
After a couple of off weekends the wccc racers gathered to battle it out on UC Merced’s first race weekend. Racers who did some NorCal road races might have recognized some of the undulating roads as well as the central valley winds. The lap totaled to 24miles with the last 1kilometer rolling upwards. The pack mostly consisted of 3 major teams: Stanford, UC Berkley and UC Los Angeles, the rest being 1~2 man teams, we were lucky to have the presence of a rider from Florida and another from Rhode Island. On the first lap there was a series of attacks being launched in the head wind, all the attacks were covered until Reese Levine (UCB) managed to get away on his own. From then on the attacks became less frequent even though we were told that Reese had made a 3min gap on the field within the first lap. Potholes caused some riders to flat but most of them caught back to the field. While some surges did happen everything was quickly brought back and the pack seemed satisfied racing for 2nd place. As no team really took control at the end the final approach gave a fair chance to everyone. With 500m to go the group stayed together until some people launched their sprint at the crest of the bump into a fast finish. Reese Levine (UC Berkley) won on his own, Jules Goguely (Rhode Island School of Design) secured second place by winning the field sprint, Alexander Freund (UC Berkley) came in third.
There were 7 women’s A riders in the road race: 5 from Stanford, one from Whitman, and one from UC Santa Barbara. We also had Virginia tagging along with us! Within the first 10 minutes of the race, Ariana (Stanford) took off solo, never to be seen again. The rest of the pack stuck together through Blesdoe and Looney Rd., and Whitman and Jessica (UCSB) did a great job chasing down some attacks from the remaining 4 Stanford riders. About half way along Turlock Rd. on the first lap, Grace (Stanford) took off from the pack. The Whitman rider followed her attack and held Grace’s wheel for a few minutes but eventually fell back to the pack. With Grace and Ariana off the front, the pack kept its pace nice and steady in anticipation for the final sprint. Not much changed in the final lap, and Ariana and Grace came in first and second. When the pack neared the finish line, Taylor (Stanford) kicked it hard to beat Whitman in the final sprint by about one wheel length. Joy (Stanford) finished a few bike lengths back. Allison (Stanford) unfortunately dropped her chain after the final turn on to Keys Rd. and finished sixth. Jessica rolled in shortly after Allison.
Sunday’s crit was on UCM’s campus and had circuit vibe to it due to a small hill and a curvy backside. For the men's A field the crit went by in a ordinary fashion until the first many prime was announced. After that a series of attacks were launched all around the loop, none of which lasted more then a lap each. With 5 laps to go a decently sized break was right off the front of the field, it was well represented from the bigger teams. It got brought back as the pace increased. On the last lap a UCBerkley rider tried breaking off but was brought back right on the last straight. Conner Benton (UC Berkley) took the field sprint, with Garrett Hankins (Santa Clara University) coming in 2nd and Tony Wolf (Fresno State) in 3rd place.
This crit was a lot of fun! Definitely not your traditional 4-corner industrial park crit! There were again 7 riders: 4 from Stanford, 2 from Whitman, and 1 from UC Santa Barbara. Not much happened until the first prime, but when we sprinted up that finishing hill, the field blew apart and we dropped McKensie (Whitman) and Jessica (UCSB). The four Stanford riders and the other Whitman rider organized themselves and fought it out for the remaining 35 minutes. Stanford did its best to try to drop Whitman, but she was really strong and wasn’t going to let Stanford get away! The final sprint came down to Taylor Burdge and Dessie Weigel fighting for first and second. Taylor got across the line just a hair sooner to take the win, and Dessie Weigel (Whitman) came in second. Grace, Joy, and Allison (all Stanford) came in third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. McKensie and Jessica finished up sixth and seventh.
There were 7 women’s A riders in the road race: 5 from Stanford, one from Whitman, and one from UC Santa Barbara. We also had Virginia tagging along with us! Within the first 10 minutes of the race, Ariana (Stanford) took off solo, never to be seen again. The rest of the pack stuck together through Blesdoe and Looney Rd., and Whitman and Jessica (UCSB) did a great job chasing down some attacks from the remaining 4 Stanford riders. About half way along Turlock Rd. on the first lap, Grace (Stanford) took off from the pack. The Whitman rider followed her attack and held Grace’s wheel for a few minutes but eventually fell back to the pack. With Grace and Ariana off the front, the pack kept its pace nice and steady in anticipation for the final sprint. Not much changed in the final lap, and Ariana and Grace came in first and second. When the pack neared the finish line, Taylor (Stanford) kicked it hard to beat Whitman in the final sprint by about one wheel length. Joy (Stanford) finished a few bike lengths back. Allison (Stanford) unfortunately dropped her chain after the final turn on to Keys Rd. and finished sixth. Jessica rolled in shortly after Allison.
Sunday’s crit was on UCM’s campus and had circuit vibe to it due to a small hill and a curvy backside. For the men's A field the crit went by in a ordinary fashion until the first many prime was announced. After that a series of attacks were launched all around the loop, none of which lasted more then a lap each. With 5 laps to go a decently sized break was right off the front of the field, it was well represented from the bigger teams. It got brought back as the pace increased. On the last lap a UCBerkley rider tried breaking off but was brought back right on the last straight. Conner Benton (UC Berkley) took the field sprint, with Garrett Hankins (Santa Clara University) coming in 2nd and Tony Wolf (Fresno State) in 3rd place.
This crit was a lot of fun! Definitely not your traditional 4-corner industrial park crit! There were again 7 riders: 4 from Stanford, 2 from Whitman, and 1 from UC Santa Barbara. Not much happened until the first prime, but when we sprinted up that finishing hill, the field blew apart and we dropped McKensie (Whitman) and Jessica (UCSB). The four Stanford riders and the other Whitman rider organized themselves and fought it out for the remaining 35 minutes. Stanford did its best to try to drop Whitman, but she was really strong and wasn’t going to let Stanford get away! The final sprint came down to Taylor Burdge and Dessie Weigel fighting for first and second. Taylor got across the line just a hair sooner to take the win, and Dessie Weigel (Whitman) came in second. Grace, Joy, and Allison (all Stanford) came in third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. McKensie and Jessica finished up sixth and seventh.
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