6.28.2026 USA Cycling Masters Nationals - 45 - 49 - Tosa Village Crit

Worked to start and stay near the front, so was pretty happy to be sitting in the top 10 off the line. You can carry good momentum into the base of the climb, then push a bit after the right hand bend, but I learned throughout the race that being in the wrong spot at the top of the turn could cost a lot of spots if I got stuck behind the wrong wheel, and I never felt like I figured that part out well. Lots of yo-yoing and guys taking aggressive lines throughout the race. I wanted to try and stay around the top 5-7 position throughout the race, but the surges and swarming of the pack when the pace let up made that much harder. Covered moves early, then bridged up to what looked like a promising break attempt at 26:57. Once I got there, though, the riders eased up, so I decided to forge onward hoping to incentivize cooperation. That didn't happen and I found myself needing to recover for a bit to get my HR back down. Ended up 16th/24, with 4 riders that DNFd. Fun and challenging course!