14th at Masters Nationals: The One Move That Decided The Race (50-54 Recap)

Masters National Criterium Championships, 50-54, Wauwatosa WI, June 28 2026. I finished 14th out of 55, and this recap breaks down exactly where the race was won and lost, including the last-lap moment where I was sitting on eventual champion Charon Smith's wheel and watched him make the move that won the race. On-bike and off-bike footage walking through staging, positioning, the strung-out backside of the course, and the final two laps where positioning, not fitness, decided everything. If you race masters crits, the last 90 seconds of this one is a clinic in why the right wheel and the right line beat raw watts. Congratulations to Charon Smith on a smart, savvy, well-deserved national title. Course: Wauwatosa, WI (Tour of America's Dairyland / USA Cycling Masters Road Nationals) Result: 14th / 55, Masters 50-54 Big day for the team earlier: Matt 2nd and Laszlo 5th in the 55-59. Race Age 50 is one 50-year-old's season chasing masters crit racing. New races, recaps, and on-bike footage every week. Subscribe for the full 2026 season: [link] Full-length National Championship race (uncut): [link] Chapters: 00:00 On the ground at Nationals 00:46: 2025 Race Crash 01:04 The course: like Bay View, but with a hill 02:22 Staging and the opening laps 03:04 Getting swarmed and closing gaps 04:00 Two to go: racing it like a normal crit 04:27 The inside line that saved my race 04:55 The last-lap washing machine 05:59 On the champion's wheel 06:13 The move that beat me 07:08 Final turn, final watts, 14th place