Race Report: 2023 Bariani Road Race– Men’s Cat 4
Race: 2023 Bariani Road Race - Men’s Cat 4
Date: 8:15am start, March 12th, 2023
AVRT racers: Logan Allen, Will Hakim
Top Result: Logan Allen 3/30
Course: A new course this year as the original course had “excessive mud and water.” The new course is 6 laps around a 10-mile circuit with 300 ft of elevation gain per lap. A strong south-south-west wind of 10-15 mph meant each leg had a considerable wind component. The leg leading to the finish featured the biggest hill of the course into the headwind. Light to medium intensity rain speckled the course for the entirety of the race leaving corners slick. Good pave quality for most of the race besides a half-mile section within a mile of the finish with flooding, which obscured deep potholes that contributed to many mechanicals.
Course map with wind arrows (CW direction)
Nutrition: Fueled with Gu Roctane ultra endurance mix. 90g carbs in 1 bottle. 1 bottle water. 2 sleeves clif bloks. For the intensity of the race, it felt sufficient. Did not utilize neutral feed.
Recap: Teams were Dolce Vita (6 riders), Don Chapin (2 riders), Super Sprinkles (4 riders), and AV. Lap 1 was uneventful. Very mild pace. A solo rider was off the front within sight for most of it, no one seemed interested in pushing to chase it back. At the start of lap 2, the break is brought back together and a pair of riders separate and slowly gain 20 seconds on the field. The downwind section is fast and after a chase group attempts to bridge and is brought back, I counter-attack and solo bridge to the pair. I pull through after reaching them and take a turn on the front. We all seem interested in working together. We take turns for the next lap and a half, aided by the field being temporarily neutralized by race officials as the master’s fields were passing. After that, the field does some work and begins closing the gap. There is some confusion among the officials and the break is neutralized and then caught before the end of lap 3. Lap 4 is uneventful. I try my best to shelter and conserve energy in the crosswind sections. Lap 5 there two more breakaway attempts, one by Don Chapin teammates and one by Will and Cole, a VeloKings rider. There is a crash on the hard right turn at the top right corner of the course taking out a Super Sprinkles and Dolce Vita rider before the break with Will is reeled back in. Near the top of the hill at the end of lap 5 an unattached rider attacks. Daniel from Super Sprinkles and I chase. The attack is more than I want to commit to following so I give up his wheel and settle in to work as a pair with Daniel. We take turns for the rest of lap 6, and watch as the lead rider’s gap grows, despite our efforts. Daniel makes a huge surge up a hill and I can’t hold his wheel. In no-mans-land, I push threshold for the remaining 2 miles and come in 3rd. Will contests the field sprint for 6th.
Overall sentiment was that for a team of two, we rode a very dynamic race with a well-executed strategy.
