Race Report: 2024 Copper Valley Circuit Race - Men’s Cat 3/4
Race: Copper Valley Circuit Race — Men’s Cat 3/4
Date: February 25, 2024
AVRT Racers: Zack Berger, Henry Mallon, Will Hakim, Drew Mathews
Top Results: Zack (19/36)
Course: 2.75 mile out-and-back along rolling road with excellent pavement. Overall uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back. Finish comes after a downhill stretch. 60 minute race, in which we completed 5 laps.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/10837037336
Nutrition: 1 Gu gel, ½ bottles of water with two scoops of Tailwind Endurance Fuel and a scoop of Maltodextrin (~80g carbs).
Recap [by Zack]
Earlier in the day, Will, Henry and I had a fairly successful Cat 4 outing. Equipped with an extra teammate, we were ready to dive into the 3/4 race. Dolce Vita was the most threatening team with 5 riders. Along with a load of unattached riders, Velo Kings, Pen Velo and Terun, each had a couple of teammates. Our plan was simple — get a guy in any threatening breaks, hope one stick, and if it comes to it, protect Drew for a bunch sprint.
Right out the gate the pace was much harder and much faster than the 4s. Exhausted from working in the break in my previous race, I sat in the middle of the pack while my teammates moved up. Multiple attacks went on the first lap, mostly initiated by Dolce Vita. Henry and Drew covered to make sure our team was represented in the potential breakaways with threatening compositions. After each of the preliminary attacks got brought back, on the second lap, a racer from Velo Kings, Dolce Vita, and two other riders attacked to form a break. Unfortunately, we missed it.
At this point, things were relatively unorganized in the peloton. Within a lap, the break gained a 30s gap on the field. Some motivated riders from Terun and Pen Velo began to trade pulls on the front. I moved up to help out while Henry and Drew dropped back. Dolce Vita very effectively disrupted, and a few laps passed with no dent in the gap.
A lap later, the Dolce Vita breakaway rider had fallen back. At this point all the major teams were cooperating, with the majority of solo riders hanging on the back. For the most part, my other AV teammates weren’t at the front — more on that later. The paceline was semi-effective, often hampered at the back as the non-participating riders inadvertently disrupted the flow of the rotation. The gap only shrank 10 seconds leading into the last half lap.
I was the first in the peloton through the final turnaround. The turns were extremely difficult during the race — I often spiked over 600W just to stick to the group — so I wanted to make it easier on myself. By this point, Drew was near the front with me (he came up during the last lap to help reel in the break). Will and Henry got swarmed during the turnaround and ended up at the back of the pack.
With just over a mile to go, I was in a similar position as my last race — too close to the front. I tried to fall a few bike-lengths back but immediately got swarmed as the pace picked up. Suddenly, I was ~15 bikes back.
I found my heart rate exceeding 200bpm as we entered the last kilometer. It was my first time in a bunch sprint and it honestly terrified me. Riders shooting around me, me swerving around other riders. At some point I passed Drew, then gave one last push to pass a Dolce Vita rider for 19th place.
After the race we got some food in Copperopolis and discussed what could have gone better:
We missed the first break. Our team had a sense of complacency and thought it couldn’t possibly stick. It turns out that this decision was the most critical one of the race. From Henry: In the future I definitely need to be more aware of the different teams and not waste energy chasing breaks with the wrong mix of riders.
Our team didn’t do a great job of working together. In the first third of the race, Drew and Henry were near the front trying to get in a break and then chasing. They got tired/discouraged and fell back at the same time I went up. Then, I felt isolated at the front burning my wick while my teammates were back in the pack. We should have been more coordinated, and should have all been up there cooperating with the other teams to reel in the break — perhaps the presence of all 4 AV racers could have further motivated the peloton.
By the time we went into the last half-lap, our team was splintered apart and could not help each other going into the sprint.
I was badly positioned going into the last half-lap. I made a similar mistake in the 4s race, so I need more experience figuring out where to sit in the peloton toward the end of a race.
I personally felt very overwhelmed from the whistle as the pace was faster and harder than anything I had done before. This was my first time racing against Cat 3s, so I psyched myself out into believing I couldn’t get a good result during the race. The irony of this is that I did a tremendous amount of work on the front, and certainly could have placed well had I done a better job of hiding. Going forward, I need to believe that I have the fitness to do well in these races.
I personally fell on the sword at the front to try and reel in the break and benefit the peloton. This sacrificed my ability to sprint at the end and properly support my teammates. I need to do a better job of conserving my energy. From Drew: I helped in the chase effort in the final third of the race, made my way to the front at the final turn around, and ended up being on the front twice between the final turn and the finish instead of protecting myself for the sprint. A takeaway from this race is thinking about when to call off the chase and save it for the sprint instead of effectively working for other teams.
Even then, the race was still a ton of fun. A lot to learn and a lot to improve on going forward!