Race Report: 2024 Copperopolis Road Race - Men's Cat 3

Race: Copperopolis Road Race - Men's Cat 3

Date: March 30, 2024

AVRT racers: Drew Matthews, Henry Mallon

Top Result: Henry 2/9

Course: Each lap is 21 miles with about 1800 feet of elevation gain, starting with rollers and the main 2-mile climb at 5%. After the climb is an 11-mile plateau with several rollers totaling 300 feet of climbing. Finally, there’s a 1-mile climb at about 4% before a high-speed descent on insanely bad pavement. The road conditions improve just before a 0.2 mile drag at 3% to the finish. This year, we did 4 total laps, with rain and hail on the eastern side of the course and high winds throughout.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11072001165 

Nutrition: 3 bottles with 80g malto/fructose, 1 bottle with water, and 4 gels.

Race Recap: Written by Henry. After pre-riding the course in February, I decided to put 32mm tubeless tires on my road bike at about 45 psi. While this was manageable, I genuinely think a setup with much wider tires would be faster on the majority of this course. Drew was on his Specialized Crux, which is a lightweight CX/gravel bike, and possibly the ideal choice. There are long sections with continuous potholes across the entire road. The 5-mile descent is one of the worst sections, and you could easily reach speeds of 45 mph if you’re comfortable with the risk and can withstand the rattling. The descent can be just as selective as the climbs, and with the finish coming just after, it’s a place where the race can be won or lost. 

Lap 1: After a short roll-out, the lap begins with the main 2-mile climb up to a plateau with flat and rolling terrain. With no warm-up, I was shivering at the start line and regretting my clothing decisions. When the race started, we immediately crossed a deep puddle that completely soaked my shoes. A few minutes later, we were on the climb and an unattached junior (Mats Leckie) began setting a hard tempo. We crested the top in a small group of about four, but everyone looked exhausted or cold (probably both) and the entire field quickly came back together. On the plateau before the main descent, there were a few attacks and a Cycle Sport rider got away solo. 

With road rash still healing from crashing in the final corner at Bariani, I told myself going into this race that I wouldn’t take risks on the descent. I was happy to make it to the bottom safely, and quickly got to work with a few others to close a 30-second gap to the more daring descenders. 

Lap 2: Once we hit the steepest section of the climb, Mats launched an attack and it took everything I had to follow. The insanely bad pavement made the climb feel much harder than the profile suggests, and my rear wheel would skip uncontrollably if tried standing to accelerate. Initially, only Leo from Pen Velo and I were able to respond, and it required two minutes at about 7 w/kg and a 30-second burst over 500W. By the top, Mats let up slightly and we were joined by one more rider named Ivan. 

There was hardly any recovery and we quickly got to work in a paceline taking 30-second pulls. With the terrible pavement and strong wind, it felt like there was barely any draft. Up to this point, my NP for the race was well over 4 w/kg and it felt like a neverending crit or circuit race. On the plateau, we passed the lone leader who was stopped with a flat tire.

Next time down the descent, I went to the front and controlled the pace to stay safe and avoid getting dropped again. I used this strategy for the remainder of the race, and it seemed to discourage others from going around me and bombing the descent. 

Lap 3: The third time up the main climb, Ivan decided to make a bathroom stop and was never able to come back. Once again, Mats surged at the steep section and I found myself pushing 400W+ and barely hanging on. After the climb, it started to rain even harder and Mats, Leo, and I continued rotating in a paceline. At the turn-around on the plateau, I took a look behind and didn’t see any sign of a chasing group. By this point, the rain was starting to freeze and turn into hail. 

When we reached the short climb before the main descent, Mats raised the pace and Leo started to crack. By the descent, there was a 20+ second gap and it looked like it would be just two of us for the final ~25 miles of the race. 

I knew Mats was super strong, and recognized I would probably have to do less work to win the race. But, I was also motivated to keep chasers behind knowing that I would likely get last out of any group coming to the final descent. So, I did my best to take my turns on the front when the speed was lower on climbs or gutter Mats in the crosswind whenever possible. I also started counting the length of his turns to make sure mine were always a bit shorter and less strong. Had I known that we were minutes ahead, I probably should have refused to pull to see how Mats would respond.

Lap 4: Once safely down the descent, I started preparing myself for a final effort up the main climb. When we reached the bottom, I asked Mats a few questions with the hope of starting a conversation and lessening the pace of the climb. This seemed to work pretty well, as this was our slowest ascent and I wasn’t under much pressure to stay with him. 

Once over the climb, the hail and wind came back stronger, making it even harder to recover in the draft. We had been riding super hard all day, and I was really starting to feel the effort. By the base of the final short climb, I was empty and couldn’t follow Mats when he attacked. Even though the gap was small, I wasn’t interested in taking risks to close it on the descent. Even if I could close the gap, I knew at this point my chances were slim in a sprint finish. So, I took the descent carefully and rolled across the finish line for 2nd, completely shattered.

Overall, the crazy conditions made this race super epic and memorable. Tactically, I don’t know if there was much I could have done to beat Mats on the day. Possibly, it would have been helpful to recognize the situation earlier and refuse to take turns on the last lap. But, I felt I would probably get last out of any group coming to the final descent. So, I was motivated to contribute and keep any chasing groups behind. Had I known that Leo was chasing solo and ~10 minutes behind, I probably would have refused to pull to see how Mats would respond. With limited information, I was content with 2nd place and thrilled to finish the race safely without any damage to my body or bike.