Emily, Megan, Leah, Lucia, and Corey made the trip out to Chicago for the 2023 edition of the Intelligentsia Cup in July and the crit racing community really turned up the heat. For most of us, it was our first time at Intelli and also our first time attempting to race 10 days in a row. It was INTENSE. We had our ups and downs that week, but left feeling like we’d learned some things and eager for another crack at it.

This was my first time at Intelligentsia and while I’d raced many stage races before, this would be my first* multi-day crit series. I’d attempted the Tour of America’s Dairyland a bunch of years back, but an unfortunate crash took me out on day 1. I’d heard really great things about the series from teammates who’d previously made the trip, and was most looking forward to having the opportunity to race so many days in a row in largely the same fields. Getting that repetition and figuring out technique, positioning, and tactics from day to day was what excited me the most about this event. I was also looking forward to the different courses each day and seeing how I stacked up against what would be a strong W2/3 field of 40-60+ racers each day. I wrote a brief recap of each day but the tl;dr is that this was one of the hardest things I’ve done and I got my ass handed to me. But, from an experience perspective, Intelligentsia was one of most organized, well run and well staffed races I’d ever participated in. Huge kudos to all of the event organizers and staff, officials, and the massive crowd of volunteers they recruited for each race. The series felt really pro, even for us amateurs, but still managed to retain that welcoming neighborhood grassroots vibe. I would recommend this series to anyone looking for seriously competitive crit racing against folks from all over the US, especially women’s field racers, who have multiple fields to choose from.

Day 1: West Dundee.

To summarize in one word: woof! This course was brutal and the pace was super hot from the gun. The combination of it being the first race of the series, bundle of nerves, having driven 13 hours straight from NYC the day before, the heat, that hill, the blistering speed from the gun, and it being a pretty technical course made for a rude awakening. The hill felt fine in warm-up, but at race pace, wow - nope. My body was not prepared. I had fought for a front row position (more on that later) and fought hard for positioning at the front of the race early on, and clawed my way back when I got gapped off. But, I eventually pulled the plug deciding that I did not wish to suffer that much so soon into my trip. It was still an awesome day and I was thoroughly impressed by Emily’s effort.

Day 2: Glen Ellyn.

This seemed like it would be another fun and somewhat technical course, which I liked, but it also had couple of significant hills, which I did not like. Having been extremely humbled by the race the day before, I decided my approach for today would be to ease into the race more, but also to dig as deep as i needed to to not get gapped off on the climbs to stay w/in the main group. With such large fields, each day had 2 races: the race to staging and then the actual race. Today, I deferred and slotted myself toward the back half of the field at staging (dear reader: this, too, is a mistake). I felt more comfortable in the pack and the hill didn’t even feel as bad. I was pleased with myself for taking the “cobbled curb” line every lap & make up a spot or two but eventually drifted too far back. The thing with crits, I had long forgotten but was very sharply reminded of this week, is that you can only go so fast & efficiently through a tight corner as the folks in front of and next to you. This field was jam packed with super strong and many very young racers, lots of whom were not the best at handling their bikes or taking corners smoothly without heavy braking. I felt like I was in the most intense accordion of my life, going from 25mph to 10mph in a corner to then having to full on sprint back up to speed immediately after. It was brutal. Again, I lost contact with the lead group, but stuck it out moving between chase groups, and eventually practiced a sprint against my chase group companions. Another fun day with more lessons learned.

Day 3: Winfield.

I assumed this course would be a snooze fest given its 4 - corner rectangular shape. But, what the course lacked in technical features, it more than made up for in super aggressive racing and swarming in every straight. By now I’d decided that lining up in the top 2-3 rows was critical to set me up for better positioning. So, that meant getting to staging at least 20 minutes before the race. The washing machine churn of the field in this race was in full effect. In one moment you are riding third wheel, and the next thing you know, 20 people have swarmed around and now you’re in the back half of the pack. It was also the most crashy and emotionally tense race I’d ever been in. It felt like an endless cycle of shouting and crashing and shrieking and crashing or swerving again. At some point, I forced myself to just focus on where the good wheels were, and stick to them like glue. I made it to the last corner on the wheel I wanted and fought as hard as I could to stay in the draft. Unfortunately, Emily got taken out in the sprint just ahead of me and I coasted through the finish and ran back to check on her.

Day 4: Mundelien.

What stood out to me most on this day was the really great USAC official who made an announcement at the start of the race to all the riders urging everyone to please be mindful of our collective safety. “You are a strong and competitive bunch, but let’s try to keep it under control and not lose any more skin.” I wondered if they’d had Emily in mind when the words were spoken. I really think the speech made an impact as the race was much less argy bargy. The best parts of the day were chatting with the super friendly locals who spectated at all the races in the series every year, and the super strong BuzzBallz premium cocktails we found at the supermarket on course, which none of us knew existed until Emily regaled us with stories about her college exploits the night before.

Days 5 & 6: Lombard & Brookfield.

These became 2 rest days for me because of horrendous heat and really bad air quality the afternoon of Lombard, and we’d already a planned day 6 rest day, which we honored by going to see the Barbie movie.

Days 7, 8 & 9: Northbrook, Elgin & Lake Bluff.

Elgin was another rest day - we played Immersive GameBox and visited downtown Chicago for some architecture and deep dish pizza. Northbrook and Lake Bluff were a blur of fast paced racing, technical courses, really awesome neighborhood & community vibes. By now I was realizing that in this 2/3 field, without the fitness and aggression to stay near the very front of the field, especially in the more technical courses, like Lake Bluff, it was just impossible to not burn all your matches just staying attached. I’d have to really re-focus my training next year if I wanted to come back and race at the front here. The racing here was at another level from what I’d been accustomed to in our local scene. Typically, we’d start out pretty chill, and maybe there’d be an attack or two, but often the field would settle back in and sometimes even soft pedal if tactics warranted. There was no chill in Chicago.

Day 10: Fulton St. (Downtown Chicago).

Hurrah! We’d made it to the end, mostly in once piece. This event really had all the vibes. Perhaps everyone was just delirious from exhaustion of racing in 10 different towns over 10 days, but you could feel a palpable celebratory atmosphere. Fulton St. had a really neat industrial vibe and all the racers squeezed up against the large brick lofts and the shade they provided. While I got caught in a pileup halfway through the race, I was able to jump back in and finish. I hadn’t felt so accomplished to just finish a race in a really long time. I had survived the week. I was so tired, so excited to get home, but also super motivated to take the lessons from the week with me. I have so much more to finesse with my training and my confidence. Intelli taught me that even though I’d been racing for over a decade, there’s always still so much more I could learn and improve. But, this is what motivates me to come back year after year. The field seems to grow ever deeper each year, and the community only gets better. Can’t wait to head back again and throw down in Chicago.