Breaking Away in Indy: My First Race of the Season

By: Allison Wozniak

This past weekend was the Midwest Cycling Classic, hosted by Marian University in Indianapolis, Indiana. The course was 0.75 miles long, with a climb on the back stretch and a chicane into a descent. Collegiate teams such as Marian University, Purdue University, Lindsey Wilson College, the University of Michigan, and the University of Cincinnati were all represented in my race. Several individual riders representing domestic teams also competed.

This crit was my first race of the year, and I had no teammates with me, so I planned to sit in for the first part of the race to see what would happen. Several people tried to attack, but each attempt was brought back. With about eight laps to go, I knew I didn’t want to wait for a field sprint, so I attacked just after the start–finish line and up the hill. I saw that my attack stuck, and a Michigan rider bridged up to me. We worked together until the end of the race, gaining a 40‑second gap on the rest of the field. On the final lap, she gapped me on the descent, and I could not catch back up.

Overall, this race was a great learning experience—I learned a lot about strategy and how to attack in a race. Looking back, there isn’t much I would do differently, aside from not letting the Michigan rider get away on the final descent. It was a fun race, and I’m excited to race more this summer.