Race Report: 2024 Winchester Circuit Race - Men's 2/3 and 3/4

Race: Winchester Circuit Race - Men's 2/3 and 3/4

Date: May 11, 2024

AVRT racers: Drew Matthews, Henry Mallon

Top Result: Henry 4/23 (2/3), Henry 1/16 (3/4)

Course: 5 laps of a roughly 4.5-mile circuit with about 350 feet of elevation gain each lap. The main features are a safe but very fast descent and an undulating punchy climb to the finish that includes two sections above 15% grade.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11387541824 (2/3), https://www.strava.com/activities/11388742484 (3/4) 

Nutrition: One bottle with 80g Skratch for each race.

2/3 Race Recap (Written by Henry): 

This was my first race in a field with Cat 2s, and Drew’s second, so our plan was to let the larger teams control and try to survive until the finish. If we were both there at the end, Drew would help me with positioning going into the final climb.

Both Dolce Vita and PenVelo brought a team of four riders and used their numbers to keep the pace hard. Their presence on the front and high pace on the climbs discouraged all attacks and breakaway attempts.

My highest 5-minute power for the race came on the second lap during the main climb. This is where Drew wasn’t able to stay with the group and decided to pull out. With temperatures already in the mid-80s and hard surges on the climbs, this was definitely a super tough race. 

Going into the finishing climb on the final lap, I was able to position myself in about 6th wheel. When we hit the first steep pinch at about 15%, someone attacked and two people followed. I spiked my power to about 500W for 20 seconds, but they quickly had a 5-second gap. I knew this was the race-winning move, but I didn’t fully commit and trust myself with half the climb still remaining. I think I made a similar mistake at Berkeley Hills RR (and Sea Otter to a lesser extent) where I didn’t respond to the first attack and then ended up chasing in the wind. Going into future races, I need to decide in advance to give it everything and follow the decisive attack, even if that risks blowing up. 

After the top three got away, the group was shattered and I was next up with two guys on my wheel. I considered keeping the pressure up and trying to close the small gap to the leaders, but I didn’t want to tow the others on the flat and slightly down section of the climb. After freewheeling the short descent before the final 15% kick to the finish, I launched my sprint early at 200m to go and held off the other two for 4th. Overall, I was really happy to survive a tough race and still have a decent sprint at the end to win out of the second group. Also, it was encouraging to see that the next best-placed Cat 3 in the race was 7th, which gave me some confidence going into the 3/4 race later in the day.

3/4 Race Recap (Written By Henry):

The 2/3 race earlier was a big effort (I set a new all-time peak HR of 208 bpm), so I wasn’t sure how my legs would feel after waiting in temps approaching 90° for about three hours between the races. Drew went for a spin between the races and said he was starting to feel a bit better. So, our plan was for me to conserve energy while Drew chased any threatening breaks. Most notably, PenVelo had three riders—Charlie was our biggest concern for a breakaway, as we assumed he’d be trying to set things up for Leo and Niko, who are excellent climbers. 

Contrary to the 2/3 race, the pace started leisurely with no teams controlling. Charlie (PenVelo) did try sneaking off the front a few times, but Drew was all over it and the group always came together very quickly.

On the gradual incline just before the fast descent, a TMB rider swerved and crashed himself into the curb. I was able to scrub most of my speed, but I still ran into the back of his bike and unclipped. I didn’t fall, but I did have to get off my bike to move around him and get going again. 

I knew the group wasn’t working hard, so I stayed calm and made it back before the base of the main climb without exerting too much energy.

Last year, Drew successfully broke away in the 4/5 field at this race by attacking over the top of the climb going into the final lap. As we started lap four, Drew tried a similar move and got away solo. He stayed away for a few minutes, but no one attempted to bridge and the group eventually caught him. 

As we crossed the finish line into the final lap, Charlie went to the front and ramped up the pace. Drew was on my wheel and just barely couldn’t hang on over the top. I considered dropping back to help him reconnect, but Charlie kept on the gas over the top, and the gap expanded. This group now contained five riders including all three PenVelo guys. 

Even though I knew Charlie would likely attack to force me to chase and set up his climbers Leo and Niko, I still missed the moment when he snuck off the front. Once I realized he had a gap, I knew it was my responsibility to chase. Charlie is a great time trialist (he soloed Bariani RR from the first lap), and he would definitely win if I hesitated. With Leo and Niko sitting on, I wanted to close the gap on the rollers where there’s less draft and they would at least be doing some work. The fifth rider in the group was Peter (Team California Juniors), and thankfully he didn’t hesitate to take some pulls with me. 

I put in a hard dig on the final roller before the long descent and caught Charlie just as we crested the top. The timing worked out really well because I think PenVelo would have counterattacked if I had caught him at any other point. 

After the descent, Charlie stayed on the front and pushed enough to keep any chasing groups behind. When we reached the first ramp of the finishing climb, Charlie upped the pace and then pulled off. Leo paced the front until the final 200m steep ramp when I came around and started sprinting. This was surprisingly my best-ever five-second power of 977W, which usually isn’t worth a whole lot. But at the end of two hot races and at 15% grade, it was enough to hold off Niko and win the race.

Overall, I thought this was a really fun and safe race course with fast descents and steep, punchy climbs. There are no technical features and the pavement is nearly perfect. And, the circuit race format is a great opportunity to race multiple times or try racing with a higher category for the first time. I would definitely encourage everyone to come out to this race next year!