Hey there bike racing consumers and welcome to another Criterium Nation takeover of the CXHAIRS Bulletin. I’m Rob, and these are your week six power rankings.
In the immortal words of Anthony Bourdain, to be a successful bike racer or a successful line cook, consistency is the key. So with consistency in mind, ridiculously high temperatures are the main ingredient this season that links Virginia, Knoxville, Tulsa, Alabama, and Boise. So let’s get cooking.
It’s now mid-July, and things are only getting hotter, metaphysically and literally. This week, the crit racing gang was back together at the 35th edition of the Boise Twilight Criterium around the picturesque state capitol building in Idaho.
If we learned anything from the live stream, it’s that the capitol was built from four different granites imported from all over the world. Another fun fact, the remains of the original U.S. Capitol building from before its most recent renovation in the early 20th century reside in an open field in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. You can literally stroll through history.
But let’s get back to Boise (pronounced BOYsee). With the return of the full L39ion of LA squads, the algorithm was provided with fresh data points and an end to the recent crit racing market volatility. For racers who jumped in after Sunny King, you either had to put up some new results, or you were shot out the back. Some rose to that occasion like Harriet Owen (InstaFund), while others, like Danny Estevez (Best Buddies), are now finding themselves on the outside looking in. But all is not lost with more than enough opportunities coming up in Salt Lake City and a full lineup at Intelligentsia Cup in Chicago. Crit racing may be all about the final sprint (the one at the end of the race, think of it as an inverted CX race), but crit racing power rankings are a marathon
WOMEN’S RANKINGS
1. Skylar Schneider (L39ion): Boise cemented her place atop the power rankings for another week. She has won six races in a row and done so in convincing fashion. Any fear that a week off the bike would have left Skylar rusty did not pan out. When Skylar got this season’s bike, she made sure they Simonized it.
2. Harriet Owen (InstaFund): Currently the best challenger to the dominance of L39ion is InstaFund and Harriet may be their Buster Douglas. We hesitated to put Harriet into the number one spot last week because of the old mantra: you must beat the best to be the best. Well, she was given an old-fashioned drag race opportunity on Saturday night and came up short in third place. Boise was the first race where InstaFund had more than two riders in the crit field, so there is now an opportunity for more team dynamics to play out.
3. Maggie Coles-Lyster (DNA): Yep, she’s back. A couple of weeks away from the crit scene to dial things in on the track did not leave us wanting for pure sprint power. Coming away from the track with a couple of silver medals at the Pan-Am games also appeases the algorithm’s thirst for accomplishments. When push came to shove in Boise, Maggie responded with a fourth-place finish. She’s still one of the most dominating sprinters in the field and the only person to beat Kendall and Skylar in the same race, an increasingly impressive feat.
4. Kendall Ryan (L39ion): The lead-out rider who finished second at Boise. A couple of weeks of California sun and time off did not dull her racing instincts, and when Kendall needed it, she popped off an incredible lead out.
5. Rachel Langdon (InstaFund): Finishing in fifth place this weekend moves her down a notch from fourth last week. It’s not a knock-on Rachel; but rather a testament to the two women who jumped above her in the power rankings. What strikes us is that this list contains two sprinter/lead-out rider duos. Tandems: the future of crit racing.
MEN’S RANKINGS:
1. Clever Martinez (Rocklands Racing): Remember when we said up top that the algorithm rewards consistency? This is where we bring it all back around. Clever hasn’t strayed far from the podium over the last six weeks. Over a variety of different course styles, environments, and atmospheres, Clever is as Clever does. And, for the previous two weeks, he’s been doing this mainly on his own. The blue helmet is easy to spot on the live stream, especially since it spends so much time near the front. His seventh-place finish at Boise is a solid statement that it will take a lot to dislodge him from the top spot.
2. Ty Magner (L39ion): You might question pulling the third-place finisher up in the rankings above the winner from Saturday night, but don’t forget, consistency is key. Ty’s third place this week was bolstered by a fourth-place finish the week before. On top of that, he has a podium from Tulsa Tough and a wide angle podium finish at Armed Forces. It’s these fully rounded results that move him up a spot on his teammate.
3. Justin Williams (L39ion): What can you say that has not already been said about the team leader? He’s good. He’s legit. And he proved it again.
4. Cory Williams (L39ion): Ditto. They are the most dominating team in the crit world right now. We are not exactly sure where the praise should be placed, but Cory is definitely not the wrong place to put it. It’s a team, and together they are achieving … everything.
5. Thomas Gibbons (Automatic Racing): Tom is clearly playing the long game. He sat comfortably in the field most of the race and popped up to the front from time to time to grab bonus sprints in the overall competition. He has his sights set on winning back the overall leader’s jersey, but he will need to improve on the ninth-place finish if he wants to do that.
So how did the algorithm do? Let us know your take in the comments and we will see you back here next week.
[all photos by SnowyMountain Photography]