Race Report: 2023 Slug Circuit Race - Men's P/1/2

Posted by Nathan Martin

Race: Slug Circuit Race - Men's Cat P/1/2

Date: April 9th, 2023

AVRT racers: Austin King, Cameron O'Reilly, Nathan Martin

Top Result: Nathan Martin (2/9)

Course: 18 laps of a 2.7 mile loop, with a 1.4 mile descent and a 1.3 mile 350 ft climb each lap. There was a slight headwind on the climb, especially felt at the bottom where there are no trees or protection. The climb is mostly consistent, but there is a steep kicker at the finish and some flatter spots near the feed zone and start/finish line.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8862706230/

Nutrition: I brought with me 2 lara bars and 2 gels, but ended up only eating one of each. I also had 2 bottles on my bike, one plain water, and one electrolyte mix. Got bottles from the feed zone from Austin, Gina, and Niky as it started to heat up.

Recap:

It was a relatively small group, only 9 of us, though some strong opponents in the mix like Tobin Ortenblad and Chris Reikert. Plan going in was to set me up as best we could since I was fresh from not doing Copperopolis the day before.

First lap Cam got a puncture, so the group rolled slowly for a lap and he got back in after plugging and getting some air in the tire. We then mostly stayed together until Cam put in a big attack on lap 4.

While Cam was off the front, Tobin, Chris, and Michael from Don Chapin took turns on the front to try and catch him. Obviously not doing any work to chase my teammate, my plan was to attack once he got caught.

After 2 laps off the front, Cam got brought back and I went for my attack. It was right at the bottom of the climb so there was a bit of a headwind, but I managed to get some separation. I then held a gap for about 3 laps before a reduced group of Chris, Tobin, and Michael caught me. 

We then just kinda rolled together, a few attacks here and there but nothing too serious, until with 5 laps to go Tobin put in a huge dig which I was able to follow, and then it was just us two. He didn’t want to work much in the break, and we weren’t talking much since I at least was pretty gassed, but I wasn’t sure how close Chris and Michael were so I did probably more than my share of the work just to try and make sure we weren’t caught. I did the work on the climbs, and he pulled, or at least ate wind for me, on the descent.

I was starting to hurt pretty bad with 2 laps to go, and we were caught by Michael. He put in a bit of a counterattack for himself when he caught us and it was pretty hard for me to stay on, but the three of us ended up staying together.

Coming into the bottom of the last time up the hill, Michael put in another dig and I was a few seconds off the back until about the feed zone. From the feed zone, it’s about 300 meters to the finish, and there’s a little kicker but then it flattens out a great deal at the line. I knew Tobin would have the absolute power advantage over me and there was no way I could beat him in a flat sprint, so I tried to go from about 250 meters, taking advantage of the last little bit of hill. I got a little separation from Michael but could not hold my power much longer and Tobin was able to blow past me for first.

Overall happy with the result, wish I maybe waited a bit longer for the sprint but was still glad I managed that after doing a lot of work. Love the course and will be excited to do it again in the fall!