This Wednesday, All-Gender Cycling traveled to its first circuit race of the season. With this being the first circuit race for many riders on the team, it was a great learning moment for many riders on the team, as they began to familiarize themselves with the race style. Despite the new experience, the team raced exceptionally well, with many of the Boys C riders posting impressive first race times, while many Boys B riders posted personal bests.
David Porto ’26 explained what a circuit race is. The race has all riders start at the same time, and it typically has much more strategy involved compared to an Individual Time Trial, where there is only one person on the track at a time.
“It is a bit different [from] the Individual Time Trial we had earlier in the season, as riders typically try to conserve their energy and stay in the pack. There is a lot more strategy involved, especially around organizing your team,” said Porto.
Jasjit Hargun ’27 added onto Porto’s point by emphasizing that circuit races can feel much different than a running event. He noted how most of the race was battling for position before a sprint to the finish on the final lap.
Hargun said, “One thing about circuit races is that it isn’t like a running event where you go all out for the whole time. We started quickly to get positioning, and then we fell into packs. I split the pack in half, where some followed and some didn’t. Then in the last lap, it was all-out sprints, so the packs generally collapsed. There was a pretty strong headwind during the last uphill before the finish line, which was challenging.”
The day was warmer than most, causing fatigue to set in quickly. Coupled with the inexperience of many on the track, the race was difficult, but Matt Robinson ’27 noted that despite these challenges, the team did well.
Robinson said, “Our only other race was an Individual Time Trial, which is a really different style. It was a bit warm, so it was also hard for everyone because we are not used to that weather yet. As a whole, the team did great.”
Although A, B, and C races should be separated, Robinson noted a particularly interesting moment when the B race caught up to the A race, leading to a B rider winning the race.
“I would say for the boys B and A race, they were supposed to go off separately, about 30 seconds apart. The B race caught up to the A race, and a B rider won the race over all of the A racers. So, it was great to ride with some of the best riders in our league that we don’t generally ride with,” said Robinson.
Although unfavorable weather has affected the Cycling team, Hargun noted the benefits of the indoor practices. He also added that, especially due to the pack system of circuit races, the team has learned about proper posture and safety on the bike.
Hargun said, “The weather hampered a lot of our early practices. We spent a lot inside, but we built our endurance on the trainers. On the road, we learned about our bike and road safety. Another thing we are learning is our posture on the bike. Being aerodynamic is very important in races, as shown in our past two races.”
Looking forward, Robinson added that the team hopes to improve its tactics. He stressed the importance of the team using its good fitness without over-exerting.
“The next big thing is working more on our tactics. We have really good fitness, but we haven’t mastered using our fitness to win the race instead of just going fast. They sound similar but are very different, so that is what we are going to try to focus on,” Robinson said.
All-Gender Cycling plans to bike at another circuit race next Wednesday.
