Sacramento Grand Prix Race Report-NOW women

What: Sacramento Grand Prix aka Tour of Ca Women's Crit Race Report by Lauren Liscinski
Who: Jenna, Julia, Kendall and myself
Where: I didnt realize Sacramento was this far north
When: Sunday May 16
Why: Because who doesnt like to travel 15 hours w/in 36 hours for a 60 minute crit?

After getting to my dads house w/ enough time to ride, clean bikes, have dinner and go out for ice cream, Julia and I made our way to bed on Saturday night. We were both really eager and excited about the day ahead of us.....oh and exhausted from all the driving. Sunday was the smoothest wake up/get ready and out the door situation I have ever experience for a race. We arrived in Sac with plenty of time to pick up numbers, leisurely pin our jerseys, visit the portapotties, and get in a good warm up. Oh, and Julia was number 69. Highlight of the day.

I sat on the rollers while the others cruised around and finally proceeded to the start when it was time. Well, I should have gotten there earlier because everyone was already lined up just to get on the course. Oh well. We roll up finally and then the call ups begin. And so do my nerves. It is always unsettling when you here "She's the former National Champion..." "Former world Champion" "25 time national champion..." etc and you realize your best result is 2nd in a socal crit....Well, thank goodness there are no hills here!

We start and the pace was surprisingly conservative. I was prepared to be holding on for dear life from the gun but that was definitely not the case. It seemed as though no one really wanted to take control or risk doing too much work with such a prestigious win on the line. So the washing machine began. I would go from tenth wheel to eightieth in a lap just to work my way back up again. It was no problem getting to the front, but staying there was a completely different situation. I simply decided to just sit in and try to save as much energy as possible.

It was a rather uneventful race to be honest. The speed picked up quite a bit with 6 laps to go and the last 3 were very dicey as everyone was trying to manage the front. I was top 15 coming into 2 to go and then a near crash caused me to come to an almost complete stop and try to get back on w/ 1 to go. Well... there goes that. I rode as hard as I could but was not making up much ground at this point. Finished at the back of the group for 55th place.... not the result I had been looking for.

I am learning more and more to have fun with each race and not get so disappointed with less than stellar performances. All in all, I had a lot of fun at the race, and the road trip was a blast. Just ask Julia. Even though I didnt finish how I wanted I know that I was strong enough to ride with these women and I simply need to learn how to hold my position at the front and not let myself into anymore precarious situations.

That is all for now.

Thanks for reading,
Lauren Liscinski