2015-04-26 Budweiser Seqoia Cycling Classic Criterium Race Report by Judy Wexler

Thanks to an endowment from Budweiser, the Visalia crit this past Sunday was stacked. In addition to some of the top sprinters from NorCal, a number of SoCal riders made the trek up in the hopes of cashing in big. As a result, the race was hard. As we drove down from Davis in the morning, we had heard Diane got third in a tough race at Wente. This motivated me to get on the podium in the afternoon’s crit. However, despite Dani’s best efforts, that was not to be. The two biggest teams in the race were ICE and Monster Media. Girls in these kits continually attacked and went up the road, and Dani marked almost every move. Meanwhile, my legs were hurting just sitting in. So when I got the chance, I started chasing down moves and told Dani to conserve while I did the work. This flip flop continued for a while until we saw 6 laps to go. Then Dani rolled up to me and said, “You’re going to win this race, and it’s going to hurt. Just nut up.” I realized I was being a baby, and immediately got up to 3rd wheel where I sat for the next few laps. The last lap was chaotic. The most challenging part of a race with unknown riders is deciding whose wheel to follow. There are strong teams, for sure. But for any given team, most of the riders are not designated sprinters. So I got swarmed on the last lap and ended up 11th. I’m not proud of that result, but I am thankful for Dani for giving me the mid-race edge.