Chris Thater Memorial
Race Report by Michelle Gauthier
Courtnay and I headed to Binghamton, NY for the last race of the USA Crits and penultimate criterium. We were psyched as this would be one of the bigger and faster crits either of us had ever participated in with $7500 in prizes up for grabs. The race was a 5 hour drive from Ottawa and we decided to travel there and back in one day.
Tibco and Colavita were both in full force along with Danbury Audi, Mellow Mushroom and many of the country’s best sprinters. Though Tibco tried gamely to establish a break, Colavita was intent on keeping the field together for a field sprint. I tried to cover all of the threatening moves while Courtnay kept an eye from the rear of the peloton.
Michelle whizzing by in the peloton Photo courtesy of VeloNews
A mulititude of primes throughout the race kept the pace high, with primes every 5th lap. For one of the primes halfway through the race, I tried outsprint Kathleen Billington from Danbury Audi but couldn’t come around her fast enough at the line. I was determined to get at least one prime and on the last one, I took advantage of the peloton resting up for the final sprint and sprinted hard for the line. I got the prime but thought I might have blown my chance at the final sprint 5 laps away as the peloton caught up with me. I managed to hang and moved into position on the Colavita and Tibco trains for the final lap. The Chris Thater Memorial would be decided in a bunch sprint. In the end Lauren Hall delivered Theresa Cliff-Ryan to the finish with Joanne Kiesanowski taking 2nd, Erica Allar in 3rd. I finished 14th. Courtnay did great, keeping up with the pace most of the race. 10 hours of driving for 1 ½ hours of racing and one heck of an experience!
Michelle always near the front of the crit...
This was my last race of the year and am proud to have been part of this amazing team.
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Thanks Michelle and congrats on the finish of a breakthrough season.
