Race Report: 2023 Copper Valley Circuit Race - Men’s Cat 4

Race: 2023 Copper Valley Circuit Race - Men’s Cat 4

Date: March 5, 2023

AVRT racers: Drew Mathews

Top Result: Drew (5/13)

Course:  A 2.75 mile out and 2.75 mile back stretch of road with nice pavement. Rolling terrain with an overall uphill on the way out out and downhill on the way back, with the finishing straight coming after a slight downhill. Our race was held at 60 minutes long, and we ended up doing 5 laps. 

Strava: Copper Valley Cat 4

Nutrition: I had some oatmeal at home before driving out to Copperopolis in order to give myself a three hour window to fully digest before the race. I had one or two Untapped maple syrup shooters in the hour to thirty minutes before the start. 

Recap: 

In the days coming into this race, I was nervous about how I would feel on race day. I generally was feeling really weak on the bike the week prior and was unsure if I would be up to snuff to race on Sunday. However, on the eve of the race, I had a good feeling about how the next day would go and decided worst case scenario I would get dropped in a race I didn’t have a lot riding on, so I decided to make the early trek to the central valley in the pouring rain. 

The pre-reg list had a little more than a dozen names, and the team showing up with the most riders was the Mike’s Bikes Dev team with a group of three. SJBC also showed up with three riders. 

My goal for the race was to salvage a good result given how I was feeling leading up to the race. I knew I’d have to race tactically smart without having good legs, but I was also fairly confident this wouldn’t be the most challenging race given the number of entries and the weather. Going in solo, I decided to accomplish my goal I’d sit back in the pack for most of the race and try and stick with the main group to the finish, forgoing any breakaway attempts. 

The race started off at a very chill pace as the rain decided to pour just after setting off. The first half of the race was marked by a relatively friendly pace set on the front with attacks going and failing to stick or being chased down. At each end of the course was a 180 degree turn around, and per usual coming out of that turn was where I had to spend most of my energy to catch back on to the strung out field. 

A little after halfway through the race, a Work Health Solutions rider got a gap and consequently got into a solo breakaway. He maintained this for about a lap, after which bridge attempts started to go from the pack. One bridge attempt split the field, and a chase group of five riders came out the other side that I managed to claw my way onto. We caught the Work Health Solutions rider and went into the last lap as a group of six. 

The lead group consisted of two SJBC riders, one MBRT rider, the Work Health Solutions rider, a Pen Velo rider, and myself. We rolled along into the last half lap together and slowed the pace down after the final turnaround. Meanwhile, a strong Mike’s Bikes rider was solo time trialing his way back to our group, and after sizing him up, I was concerned about his ability to win the sprint if he caught back on. I called this out to the group and did a pull on the front to make sure we made it to the finish before the Mike’s Bikes rider could catch us. Assessing my competition, I felt my best chances to win were in a sprint, and I sat towards the front to cover any attacks and otherwise help bring the group to the line together as the two SJBC riders sat on the front. 

At the 1 km to go sign, the Work Health Solutions rider attacked, prompting the Pen Velo rider to follow. I chased the Pen Velo rider, who managed to get a gap on me, and I managed to tow along one SJBC rider and the MBRT rider. Both came around me and eventually the other two to sprint it out, with the MBRT rider taking it at the line. I did my best to come around the two riders who attacked at the 1 km sign, but I ended up holding on for 5th. 

All in all, I’m very happy with the result - I got on the (extended) podium for the first time, and I gained a couple upgrade points. I’m glad I raced despite how I was feeling leading up to the race; it gives me more confidence in the future for similar situations. I kind of ran out of gears at the finish, at least so much as not being able to ride out of the saddle to the line. The finish line came on a slight decline after a gradual downhill, so the finish was relatively fast. I wonder if I need to upgrade my 52-36 chainrings to a 53-39 combo. I see room for improvement with my sprint, but I also wonder now if I will have more luck attacking from further out in the future. Overall, I had a good time racing in some bad weather! Excited to be back next year.

-Drew