Race Report: 2022 Oakland GP - Men’s 3
Race: Oakland Grand Prix - E3
Date: 9/5/22
AVRT Racers: Conor Austin, Nico Sandi, Matt Carvell, George Wehner
Top Results: Conor (1st / 21), George (8th / 21), Nico (9th / 21), Matt Carvell (double flat)
Course: Link to Strava file. The course was a 4ish-turn clockwise lap in Downtown Oakland. I say 4ish because the first turn has a small left-right chicane, with a soft left and then a hard right. The weather was downright awful and diabolical. The women had raced earlier in the day in sideways wind and rain. Velo Promo and the USAC officials were having a tough time keeping their tents in place.
Nutrition: I had a Gu salted lime gel about 20 mins before the start and used one small half-full bottle of water during the race.
Race Recep: With the forecast as it was, Road Captain Nico got clever with our strategy for the day. We wanted to see if we could get an early break going with Nico in it that could stick. If it didn’t, George and Matt would put in their own digs and I would sit protected in the field and wait to sprint for a win with the help of whoever was left. If it were really raining and windy, Nico and I would hit the front to put the pedal to the metal and take the cleanest lines to wean down the field.
Plan A worked! The rain was on and off throughout the race but never as terrible as it was earlier in the day. Nico went solo for at least half of the day in two different moves. In between those moves, George threw out his own moves that caused worry within the field. These moves forced other riders and teams to have to chase all race long. I was able to sit pretty on their wheels and expend zero energy.
We lost Matt to a double flat at some point in the race's latter half, so it was down to the three of us. With 4 to go, Nico was reeled in and George put in a huge dig that caused a bit of panic in the field. Dolce worked hard to bring him back and as soon as they did, Nico went again right at the start of 3 to go! The field panicked again! A few riders worked hard to bring him back and I actually worked to disrupt that chase since I was convinced Nico could go the distance. Unfortunately, he was reeled in as we came into the bell lap. I was prepared to sprint off the work of others as I knew George and Nico had just done a ton of work. With 1 to go, a flyer went from a Davis rider that I latched onto immediately. I found myself 3rd wheel on the backstretch when all of the sudden, I heard shouts of another flyer. It was Nico, again!! I hopped on and yelled to him, “GO, GO, GO!”
We rounded the final turn toward the long finishing drag. I hadn’t burned a single match all day and knew I could go for a long sprint. Nico pulled off and I hit the ignition button, holding on to the win. What I didn’t realize until after the race was that even though I forgot to post up for the winning photo, Nico and George got the job done for me:
Nico, George, and Matt were the absolute MVPs of the day. This was my first win of the season and my first race win period. I had come 2nd or 3rd enough times before to make this one extra special. I was also so proud of my teammates and was just plain stoked that I could bring it home for them and for AV. I only joined the AV race squad midway through the season and it has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. In addition to the win, I was also able to bring home the E3 California Cup, where AV went home with 2nd (Grant Miller) and 4th (Flo Costa) as well.
I’m looking forward to many long off-season rides with AV and meeting so many of you that I have not yet had the chance to meet.