images: Alex Chiu

Women 3/4 and Women P /1/2/3

For the Folsom Crit, I first raced the Women 3/4 field. In the first lap there was a prime, I went for it and got it. It created a gap so I kept going, and a moment later another woman from the pack bridged and got on my wheel. We worked together until the pack caught us. Then for the finish, I put in a hard seated effort just before the last turn and went in front of the pack. I then started to sprint, a woman went around me for 1st and I got 2nd place. Then I did the Women P/1/2/3 field for the first time! In the beginning of the race, a group of 3 women made a break and were out of sight.  I was in the pack and just decided to go for it and attacked. I was by myself bridging the gap that was made.

I wasn’t sure how far they were but just kept pushing. Once I saw the lead group and was finally reaching them, one woman started falling off the group. I was tired from bridging and started working with her. I wanted to get back on the lead group but didn't have much energy left to do so. The 2 women in the lead group got away. As a result, we became the chase group, and we were chasing for a while. After a good amount of time, several other women caught our chase group. Eventually the entire pack came back together. I tried attacking again on the backstretch on the last lap to see who would go but nothing happened.

Before the last turn, I was looking around for my teammate Audrey for her to get on my wheel. Once she did, I got to the front of the pack and put in a hard effort around the turn final stretch to lead her out. I was so exhausted, but it was a fun day of racing!