Race Report: 2022 San Ardo Road Race - Men's Cat 4

Race: 2022 San Ardo Road Race - Men's Cat 4

Date: 8/20/22

AVRT Racers: Nat, Brian, Will, Daniel

Top Result: Daniel (1st / 30), Nat (9 / 30)

Course: Link to the Strava segment. The course was 3 loops of about 23 miles and 375ft elevation gain, so it was as pancake flat as it can get. We were told this race was notorious for its heat given that it’s in the middle of summer out in some farm fields. However we were blessed with 60-70 degrees for the first two laps, until the third lap where it warmed up to our promised mid 90s. Road conditions were pretty good for most of the course, except for a bridge that was covered only in pot holes and giant gaps. Winds were also fairly tame but a constant headwind heading towards the finish was always present. The race finish actually deviated from the course, having us turn left up some slight gradient with a bumpy surface.

Nutrition: 2 bottles filled with 60 grams of carbs, 1 bag of gummy bears, 1 Clif bar. I wanted to grab more water in the neutral feed from one of our teammates but missed the handoff so had to make it work with no water the last lap.

Race Recep: We had a number of gameplans going into this race and were prepared to execute them for any scenario that came up. We came to this race with a stacked squad having FTP monster Nat ready to go up the road in a break if the chemistry was right, Brian and I sitting in if it came down to a sprint, and Will ready to ride the front all day to bring back any dangerous attacks.

The biggest threats we noticed right away were Velo Kings team showing up with 8 or 9 riders and Dolce Vita with a team of 5 riders. The first lap was fairly tame with Velo Kings riding the front the whole time. On the approach to the mentioned bridge, the pace picked up and Will and I would rotate to the front and pull for a bit to ensure we were first to go through to get the best (flat free) lines. The second lap things picked up a bit and became spicy. There was a few miles of road where it got pretty hilly which people started attacking on. It was a flow of constant attack and counter-attack between all of us, but ultimately resulted in everything coming back together. 

Nat and Will threw in quite a few big digs during all this which definitely thinned the field up and left my legs a bit fatigued but once we were out of the hills, a rotation with Velo Kings fell back into place and we rolled into the third and final lap.

This time around Will stayed at the front for a bit and pretty much ensured the pace was fast enough where attacks were a lot harder, which kept everything together. At this point it seemed like everyone in this final group of 20 or so riders was content with going to the line for a sprint…and we were ready!!

Going into the last stretch of 10 or so miles, Nat got on the front and pulled everyone pretty much for the entire way into a headwind. This let us rest, relax, and eat, while not having to worry about big surges or attacks. As we got into town, this is where everyone was getting ready for the finish. Brian had tapped me and told me to go for the sprint as his legs were cramping. 

So began our leadout. With Nat still on the front riding, Will, Brian, and I all found each other and moved ourselves into position. Brian used his size to just move everyone out of the way which gave Will and I an easy route to the front. As we came into the final uphill drag before the finishing turn, we were sitting about 5th wheel with Nat somehow still having the legs to be riding the front. The moment we hit the uphill, a bunch of riders threw in a massive dig which blew apart the field. Given our perfect leadout to the front, we were positioned to cover this with Will and Brian burning all their matches to get me up to the front. I began to close the gap to the 5 or so riders that went off the front. Nat gave one final dig and I came around him to close the gap and I was sitting about third wheel going into the left turn to the finish.

However this almost fell apart, as just before the left turn, there was another left turn leading onto the 101 south. I began turning left onto the freeway onramp thinking this was the finish until some voice yelled out saying “NEXT LEFT”. This stranger saved my race as I quickly turned back and made the correct turn 100 feet later. The final sprint ended up being very ugly as the 3 of us had about a 250m uphill drag to the finish line. I ended up staying seated grinding it out for the win! I was one of the fastest times of the day for the San Ardo finish segment averaging 550 watts for a minute to win a sprint.

As a team, I think we executed perfectly and raced a very smart race, so I’m super happy to be able to deliver a result. We didn’t waste any energy and only rode the front when needed. We also communicated with each other through the whole race and made sure we’re all on the same page on which tactics we’re following.