Race Report: 2024 Sea Otter Circuit Race - Men’s A

Race: 2024 Sea Otter Circuit Race - Men’s A

Date: April 20th, 2024

AVRT racers: Flo Costa

Top Results Flo (8/43)

Course: 

45 min race (9 laps) around the Laguna Seca racing track. Each lap was 2.2 miles, featuring a 1-2 minute climb. The second half of the climb is the real kicker, with an average gradient over 8% for 1/4 mile. The corkscrew descent after the climb is incredibly fast. The wide grippy race track allowed us to consistently rip the corners above 45 mph without brakes. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11227096324/

Nutrition: Relatively short race so 1 bottle with drink mix was enough.

Race: After the race not being held in 2023 due to track repairs, I was stoked to be back on Laguna Seca for 2024. The last (and only) time I had raced this was 2022, back when I had just begun racing as a Cat 4. Now in the Elite A field, I was eager to see how I would do against this strong field who 2 years ago seemed mind-bogglingly fast.

This course suits me pretty well with a short but not too punchy climb to tired out the pure sprinters. I enjoy these repeated efforts and thought I could put together a decent sprint in the end. So, my plan was simple: stay with the group on the climb and conserve as much energy as possible for the final lap. There were a few really strong solo riders but the main teams here were Mikes Bikes, Red Truck, and Project 149.

Over the first few laps there were a lot of attacks with riders trying to breakaway. I was feeling pretty good, but I’m sure so was everyone else. This race is pretty attritional, so I stuck to my original plan to ride as steady as possible until the end. Luckily these early breaks weren’t lasting more than a lap, but once caught, they were immediately countered which made for a pretty fast race.

About midway through there were a few laps with really strong attacks on the climb that strung out and split the group. Here there was no hiding, and I had to go all out to follow the wheels while still trying not to spike my power too much. With two laps to go, it surely looked like it was going to end in a sprint as none of the breakaways were sticking. With that said, a lot of the Mikes guys were starting to look tired after attacking and chasing all day.

Entering the final lap a strong solo rider got away. Another solo guy nuked the climb and managed the bridge to the first guy, making them two up the road. The rest of the field tried to follow as we hammered up the climb in single file. This was the sprint before the sprint, and I went all out to crest the hill in the top 5 wheels.

We ripped the descent but weren’t making up a lot of ground on the guys ahead. A lot of guys were completely gassed and didn’t have many teammates left, so people were hesitant on eating wind with 1k to go. This meant it was now a race for third. I continued to surf wheels to stay in the top 5. From here it was a pretty standard sprint, with things opening up around 300 meters from the finish. I sprinted with what I had left and finished 8th overall.

I was pretty happy with the effort and result against the strong competition. Without teammates I raced pretty conservatively. It was a gamble, but this allowed me to feel pretty good in the final lap. This is one of my favorite races on the calendar and it definitely delivered.

Thanks for reading!