Race Report: Winchester Circuit Race - Men’s 2/3 and P/1/2
Race: Winchester Circuit Race - Men’s 2/3 and P/1/2
Date: May 13th, 2023
AVRT racers: Cameron O’Reilly, Grant Miller, Jay Evans (2/3 only), Jeremy Besmer (2/3 only)
Top Results: Cameron 1/18 (2/3), Cameron 5/26 (P/1/2)
Course: 5 laps of a 4.5 mile rolling circuit. One long, fast descent. One longer climb that leads to the finish that is split into two pitches with sections over 15%.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9065740989 (2/3) https://www.strava.com/activities/9066421076 (P/1/2)
Nutrition: Two bottles of 20g Skratch/60g Malto, one during warmup and one during the race for each event.
2/3 Recap:
Winchester is a course with a lot of elevation change, but only one sustained climb (and even that is broken up). With four AVRT riders in the field, our strategy was to control the race, making it too hard for the sprinters to hang on and keeping me in good position to contest the uphill finish. We executed this flawlessly.
Through the early laps Jeremy did the bulk of the work pacing the climb, setting a hard tempo over 6w/kg for the 3 minute climb. I was able to sit 2nd wheel the whole time, benefitting from the draft and consistent pace and was able to latch onto any riders who tried to attack over the top of the climb. Through the rollers on the back stretch, Jay and Grant stayed near the front to keep me sheltered and pull back threatening moves from riders who tried to get away by punching over the rollers.
As we crested the climb with one lap to go, a group of riders attacked over the top. Jeremy had kept me in good position through the climb so I could easily follow, and Grant was well positioned among the other riders to go with the small group. The final selection had two AVRT, two Dolce Vita, and four other strong solo riders. I had been able to conserve some energy up to this point, but the race hadn’t been particularly surge-y and at least a few of the other riders had stayed patient waiting for the final sprint. A few halfhearted attacks went on the back stretch, but as we approached the descent it seemed like the field was gearing up for an uphill sprint to the line.
Just as I was thinking that in hindsight we should have done more to make strong riders from other teams work on the flat sections, Grant rocketed past the group. His timing was perfect. The rest of the riders scrambled to start chasing, but immediately spun out on the descent and couldn’t effectively position around each other to chase at 50mph. One of the Dolce Vita riders took the front and was clearly working for his teammate, but the momentum of the group over the rollers before the final climb made it difficult for people to roll turns in a chase. Meanwhile I was coasting at the back for a full minute, letting my heart rate come down before I’d need to sprint.
As we approached the finishing climb, it was clear we would catch Grant but it didn’t seem like anyone had the energy for a counterattack. I moved up to 2nd wheel, behind the chasing Dolce Vita rider, preferring to be farther forward given how steep the sprint was. We caught Grant just before the midpoint of the climb where it leveled out, and between one last pull from the Dolce rider and Grant somehow managing another pull after his attack, I was on the front with about 300m to go. I ramped up my effort steadily so as to dissuade an early flier, and took the right side of the road for the inside and steepest line on the turn into the finish. With about 200m to go I kicked. My usually pathetic 900W sprint was worth a lot more than normal on a 17% grade, gapping off the riders behind me. The small headstart I had from leading the group was too much distance for anyone else to make up and I crossed the line holding a bike length gap to the next rider back.
I’m really happy with both the win and how well the team came together on the day. 2/3 fields are a rare occurrence and few of us had ever raced together before, but we were able to apply the learnings we’ve had in other races to communicate clearly and take initiative when opportunities arise. While a less ambitious team might have just raced for podium spots in the final lap, Grant went all-in on his attack and sacrificed his race to get me the win.
P/1/2 Recap:
After a chance to shower and cool off at the AirBnB between races we were ready to go again. The P12 field was half Cat 2 riders who were cooked from the morning race and half Cat 1 riders with fresh legs. Grant and I agreed that while a break might stay away on this course given everyone’s fatigue levels due to our limited numbers and our own fatigue we should only go with moves that had at least three riders in them. If nothing went then I would work for Grant, pacing the climbs and patrolling the front so he could hit the last lap hard.
The first few laps were uneventful as some riders tested their legs but nobody seemed keen on working hard in the 90+ degree heat. The third time up the climb the group fractured a bit and three riders went off the front, but given we still had most of the peloton and half the race left to go I figured we would have no trouble bringing them back. But as we hit the flats after the climb it became apparent that almost nobody in the pack planned on doing any work and was content to let the break roll away. Zack (Terun) and I were left to do all of the work. Grant was able to sit in, but this meant we were essentially in a 2-vs-3 battle against the break. Not good.
After about lap of chasing Zack and I caught two riders from the break, Max (P74) and a Dolce Vita rider. Miles (P74) the last man in the break had rolled away solo. As we came through the finish line with two to go someone shouted that he had 30 seconds. While another Dolce Vita rider who had been sitting in now rolled a few turns he was pretty cooked from racing in the morning and so the chase quickly returned to me and Zack.
As we hit the climb with one to go Miles had grown his gap to over 90 seconds. I still wanted to pace the climb hard to prevent riders from sending attacks, but as we reached the top I couldn’t find Grant and realized he had been dropped. With no teammate to pull for I sat in most of the lap and hoped Grant would catch back on, but now there were enough attacks flying to sustain a pace that neither Grant nor any of the other dropped riders could catch.
The last time up the climb I stayed near the front and then jumped when a Dolce Vita rider sent an early flier. I managed to come around a few more riders up the finishing climb to secure 5th overall. I was glad to see that of the people who finished ahead of me only one had been a passenger in the chase group; Zack worked hard to chase and Max had Miles up the road and shouldn’t have been working. Not the result we had hoped for, but Miles was on another level and we didn’t anticipate a solo rider going so long on such a hard course in the heat.
These two races earned me my last upgrade points for my Cat 1. This has been a goal of mine for a while and I’m really happy to achieve it this season. I’m looking forward to returning the favor and getting more of our team their upgrades soon!
