Race Report: 2023 Pescadero Coastal Classic – Men’s Elite 3
Race: 2023 Pescadero Coastal Classic – Men’s Elite 3
Date: July 22, 2023
AVRT racers: Andrew Ernst, Jeremy Besmer, Florian Costa, Matt Carvell, George Wehner
Top Result: Andrew 2/29, Jeremy 3/29, Flo 4/29, Matt 6/29
Course: 2.5 laps of a 27.7-mile loop totaling 70 miles. Each loop consisting of: Hwy 1 northbound with rolling hills and headwind, Hwy 84 eastbound with minimal elevation, the feedzone at the base of a 1-2 minute climb on Pescadero Creek Rd, a 1.6 mile climb up Haskins Hill, a fast and technical descent, and then a gradual downhill headwind section back to Hwy 1 on Pescadero Rd. The race started with a neutral roll-out from Pescadero to Hwy 1 and finished at the top of Haskins Hill. Detailed course notes by Jeremy and Jack: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13AtfoN_Ijgvx-VCrxTdlcNmgvCjABgnJe4CYF1xst6Q/edit
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9502283779
Nutrition: Started with two bottles (one with water and one with 50g table sugar and an electrolyte tab), picked up two bottles from the feed zone (one water and one with maltodextrin). Also consumed 5 gels. Total calorie intake was ~900kcal and 90oz for the 3 hour race.
Recap (by Andrew):
The week of the race, we all discussed our personal and team goals. Based on that discussion, we put together a race plan where Flo and George would cover early moves or represent the team in early breaks, Matt or Andrew would look for mid-race breakaways, and ultimately we would keep Jeremy as fresh as possible should the race be decided by the final climb.
Things started out conserved along Hwy 1 before attacks started on Hwy 84. EJ (Velo Kings) was motivated to initiate a breakaway. George and Andrew jumped on for a draft to the base of the climb. As expected the breakaway shattered when we hit the climb, and the climbers in the main field were chasing hard. At the top of Haskins Hill, it was Jeremy, Andrew, and a strong climber from Cycle Sport named Antonio. Jeremy lost contact on the descent and joined up with a motivated chase group of ~8 guys. At the end of the first lap, we had a group of about 10. After a fast climb and descent, we figured the main group was long gone, so nobody really worked to keep the pace up. We were a bit surprised when the main group caught back on just as we turned onto Hwy 1.
Attacks started again and continued throughout Hwy 1 and Hwy 84. Flo, Matt, and Andrew covered the dangerous attacks. Two riders were just up the road at the base of the climb and were quickly caught during the ascent up Haskins Hill. Antonio drove the pace leaving a group of six remaining at the top. Knowing that this breakaway could stick, we descended a bit more cautiously to keep the group together. The group was made up of Jeremy, Flo, and Andrew, a solo rider from Origin Factory Racing (Morris), and two strong climbers (Antonio from Cyclesport and Leo from Primal Audi Denver). We kept the pace fast and smooth all the way back to Hwy 1. We could see that Leo and Morris were struggling to keep up on Hwy 1, so Jeremy put in a good dig that dropped Leo. One less climber to worry about at the finish! Hwy 84 was quick thanks to a building tailwind. We discussed and considered a string of attacks to get an AV rider up the road for a solo finish. Instead, we settled on a few small attacks by Flo and Andrew to soften up Antonio while keeping Jeremy fresh for the final ascent.
Antonio again established a quick pace up Haskins. Flo stayed with for a few minutes to provide maximum support before dropping back. Andrew’s goal was to stay on Antonio’s wheel as long as possible and provide a draft benefit for Jeremey while minimizing the effect of Antonio’s surges. Unfortunately, Jeremy cramped when he stood up to attack, and Antonio continued on with Andrew on his wheel. Andrew held onto the wheel until about 100m from the finish, came around Antonio on the inside, but didn’t quite have enough to keep the lead for the win.
Looking back, I think our team did a great job establishing and executing our race plan. In retrospect, I think we could have come away with a win if we had attacked on 84, but I don’t regret leaving the race to be decided by the final climb as we had planned. At the end of the race, I think I could have waited just a little longer to sprint, and I should have come up on the right rather than the left. Had I been more conservative throughout the race, I know I would have had more left in the tank at the finish line. Clearly sprinting isn’t my forte and I need to practice it more. We got four guys in the top five which is fantastic. Well done guys!
