Race Report: 2024 Snelling RR Men’s Cat 4

Race: Snelling Road Race - Men’s Cat 4

Date: June 8th, 2024

AVRT Racers: Clark Penado, Jack Larkin, Zack Berger

AV Club Guests: Matin Massoudi, Johannes Ferstad, Leo Lonzarich, Chris Ritchie

Top Result: Johannes Ferstad - 6th

Report Author: Clark Penado

Course: 11.7 miles of rolling farm roads with variable pavement in Snelling, CA. The final sprint is a bumpy 300m after a tight right-hand turn. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11606120914

Nutrition: 2 energy gels, 1 clif bar, 1 bottle of high carb drink mix, 1 bottle of Gatorade mixed with maltodextrin, 1 bottle of water

Event Recap: This race was rescheduled from the earlier February date due to flooding, which made the race a heater both in terms of weather and field ability. 

The race started with a neutral rollout to a bit of an uphill start, where I opted to move to the front to get a feel for the course. I tried a couple attacks during the first lap, which did not materialize into anything. Later on in the lap, I was also able to help neutralize an attack from a Specialized Sacramento rider. 

The second lap rolled into a bit more of a mellow pace, with one VeloTrap rider making a solo breakaway around halfway through the lap. Before the second to last turn of the lap, I was able to use a longer uphill to bridge up to the VeloTrap rider, but the gap only lasted until just before the end of the lap. 

Early into the third lap, a different break formed with Chris Ritchie present formed. After they built some separation, Matin and I moved to the front of the main group to disrupt any potential counters. Although there were some attempts to bridge, Chris was able to stay away throughout the third lap, as well as the majority of lap four. The fourth lap was also where Leo Lonzarich and I were able to grab a couple bottles from the feed zone. 
On lap five, the group held together, with the pace starting to pick up just after the feed zone. There were a few attacks throughout, where the field generally neutralized any attempts. This contributed to the pace gradually crescendo-ing into the last turn, where Johannes Ferstad was able to carry a good position through the final ~250m or so for our top result.