Women Cat 4 Jeff Cup- Faster or Smarter?

In women's racing, which is better- to race fast or race smart (I'll get to this in a minute)....

Congratulations to the Cat 4 ladies at Jeff Cup for (1) racing despite rain/cold and (2) for staying safe on the course, no wrecks for us (that I know of)! The Syn-Fit Race Team was strong and stayed consistently towards the front. A shout out to my friend NCVC/UnitedHealth Group racer Rebecca Lowe (former VaBeach gal) for pushing the pace on lap two to keep things interesting. There is a strong Cat 4 group this year, so the race was unpredictable at the start- nobody knowing who the new hotness would be this year, would it be a new Mabra girl or a beach girl?

This was my second year at Jeff Cup and that mother of a hill on lap 3 still hurts. I think a lot of Cat 4s struggled then too b/c the determining breakaway happened there and it was a chase to the finish line- I never caught the top 5. Finished 11th place. Again.

So- is it better to race fast or smart at Jeff Cup? I've tried both now and it still gave me 11th place, two years in a row. ha

Congrats to our own Va Asset Gp/ TWR racer Kim Cardenas for finishing top 10 and Avanell for finishing strong. Looking forward to Tyson's Corner in a few weeks!