Race Report: Sea Otter Road Race - Men’s A
Race: Sea Otter Classic - Men’s A
Date: April 21, 2023
AVRT racers: Nico Sandi, Grant Miller, Matthew Koenig
Top Result: Nico Sandi (22/73)
Course: 7 mile loop with a steep 3ish minute climb at the start of every lap. After lap 9 the course turns to the final 8ish minute climb.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8933154902
Nutrition: Four sleeves of clif shots, 3 caffeinated gels, three bottles with malto/gatorade mix.
This was a target race for me this year since I had won it in the B category last year. I was realistic about my expectations going in since I knew that the A category would be super fast and competitive. The start line was a sign of just how large the group was and all the pro teams that showed up with plenty of riders. I was intimidated.
I tried my best to stay close to the front on the neutral downhill roll out because I knew that the first climb would be very fast. And sure enough it was! I stayed towards the front of the group to make sure and not miss any splits. As soon as we crested the first climb a group of three went off the front with Legion, TMB and Project 74 in it. This forced other teams to chase which made the first lap incredibly fast.
The break was within sight coming into the second lap. As we turned into the climb it was even faster than the first lap. I was well positioned and was able to go with was eventually the winning move. 2 Legion, 2 TMB, another project 74, and a couple other fast riders made the split, joined the original break and crested ahead of the main group.
As we crested my chain refused to go into my big chainring. And as I looked down to see what was happening the move charged away in the the flat crosswind. I was both upset that I wasn’t with them after all the work on the climb but also relieved that my race would be way easier in the large chasing pack.
And that was the race. For the next 7 laps the main pack that I was on tried to send a couple counter moves but nothing sticked. The group slowly got smaller and smaller as the laps went on and fatigue set in. Eventually on lap 8 a small move went with another TMB and Legion while I was all was at the back eating. We came into the final climb in a group of around 9 people. At this point I was just following wheels and sprinting for the finish.
Just finishing this race was a huge success for me. I was happy to have been in the mix for little bit of a super fast race.
Nico