Race Report: 2022 Dunnigan Hills Road Race - Men’s Cat 3

Race: Dunnigan Hills Road Race - Men’s Cat 3

Date: 8/28/2022

AVRT racers: Conor Austin, Flo Costa

Top Results: Flo 2/23, Conor 3/23

Course: 2 laps of a ~45 mile loop along I-5. Despite its name, the race is mostly flat with rollers on the first half of the course. The final 500 meters is up a small hill.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7717114583

Nutrition: Clif Bar, gels, shot blocks. This is one of the longer road races so nutrition was important throughout the race. Since each lap was nearly 45 miles long, I started with 3 bottles of rocket fuel (malto + gatorade). Also grabbed a bottle of water at the neutral feed.

Race Recap: After an excellent night’s sleep at Journey Inn Woodland, Conor and I were ready to take on the Dunnigan Hills Road Race. We had identified the strong riders in the field and would make sure to follow their moves. Being a longer race, we wanted to conserve energy for the second half. The race started out slow. About 8 miles in a break of 2 got away but the field was unbothered. I was towards the back of the group eating, drinking, and spotting longhorns and cows.

Just before starting the headwind section, about 30 miles in, we caught the early breakaway. This began a series of attacks and counter-attacks from the group. Conor and I had both moved up in the bunch to be able to respond to any moves. We both threw in a few digs to test the field. For the most part these were quickly brought back, especially since we were riding into a headwind. At around 40 miles in, I found myself in the back of the group and noticed some of the stronger riders were out of position. I decided to test my luck and slingshotted to attack the front. I continued pushing and was hoping for some riders to bridge up. A few minutes later I was still solo with some nice separation and committed to the long effort ahead.

As I passed the start line I had about a minute gap on the field. I knew things would heat up in the field on the rolling section, so I had to make sure to keep putting power down while staying within my limits. As I later found out, the field exploded on the hills but luckily Conor stuck like glue to each move and was able to make the selection of 6 or 7 riders that had gone off the front without doing any of the hard work himself. This lead group eventually caught me in the tailwind section and Conor shouted for me to hop on. I was feeling the 20+ min solo effort, but was motivated for this group of strong riders to stay away. I got into the rotation and rolled turns, seeing that the field was not far behind.

For the next hour and a half, this breakaway rotated together at a fast pace which seemed to nullify any attacks. We quickly gained on the field - most of the teams were represented. I was stoked for both me and Conor to have made the selection. In the final crosswind section, the attacks started coming and games were to be played. I was playing more defensive, being content with a sprint amongst this small group. Similar to the first lap, the headwind section was filled with attacks and counter-attacks with some lulls in between where no one wanted to take the front. We knew the field wouldn’t catch us, so there was less urgency to be in front.

We reached the final few km all together. I was feeling good, so Conor and I agreed to help me out at the finish. As we approached the final hill, we were on the left side of the road sheltered from the crosswind. Unfortunately, this left us slightly boxed in as the open space was on the right side of the road. There was a flyer with 1km to go, which was quickly shut down. Soonafter, a Davis rider opened up the sprint at the base of the hill and I had to quickly follow on the right to not get boxed. I passed him and continued the sprint to the finish, but got passed in the final 50 m. Conor was also able to put in a strong sprint and secured 3rd place for the Alto Velo 2-3.

I had felt strong on the day, so I was very happy that both Conor and I had made it on the podium. After the race (and after some mexican coke), I couldn’t resist completing the century on a bonus ride with more Alto Velo friends and teammates. Good times.

Race Report: 2022 Patterson Pass Road Race Cat 3

Race: 2022 Patterson Pass Road Race Cat 3

Date: August 7th, 2022

AVRT racers: Conor Austin, Flo Costa, Grant Miller, Nico Sandi

Top Result: Grant Miller - 3/31

Course: A 23 mile loop with two climbs and a rolling, fast descent to a slight uphill drag to the finishing line. The main climb averages 6%, but has a steep 10% pitch followed by an 11% finish where the group can blow apart.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7600040860

Nutrition: Bottles with 70g of carbs, 1 package of Cliff Blocks, 250mg caffeine

Race Report: Patterson Pass is usually a race for the climbers, but this year a strong headwind on the main climb completely changed the dynamics of the race. The field was also very large with 31 cat 3 riders. Our plan going into the race was to try and keep our team together through the first two laps and then use our numbers to blow the race apart on the third lap. Unfortunately, our plan pretty quickly went out the window when Conor hit a pothole on the first climb and had to drop out 15 minutes into the race.

The first climb of the race featured an extremely strong headwind and it was very easy to make it over the climb in the pack. The wind started shifting to crosswind as we reached the top of the climb, but for the most part it was easy to stay sheltered in the large field. As we hit the steep 11% finish, a few riders started to attack but we let them go as the field was still large and it would be easy to catch them on the descent. A few riders started to attack on the climb up Flynn and the backside, but Flo was able to cover most of the moves. A group of two or three managed to break away on the backside so going into the second lap our team and one other rider paced the field to keep them close. The section of the course on Midway road, including the finishing climb, had an extremely strong crosswind which made it easy to gutter the field while we paced to bring back the break.

As we started the climb for the second time we reconnected with the riders up the road. The wind had dropped a bit so the pace was slightly faster, but it still was easy to make it over the climb by staying in the group. No one really attacked on the climb of Patterson or Flynn except for one solo Fat Cake rider who we were glad to let roll away. In hindsight, it would’ve made sense for one of us to stay on their wheel just to incentivize the field to chase.

Going into the third lap, Flo got to the front and upped the pace. He led us out into the feed zone, where the climb started to pitch up. From there our plan was to try and get other riders to work with us to blow up the field. Nico took a hard pull and then Donald from SJBC followed through. Nathan Martin, a strong rider who eventually won, attacked into a crosswind section but the field just let him dangle with the steep 10% and 11% pitches coming up. As we went into the first steep pitch I put in an attack and seemed to be close to breaking away, but the extremely strong headwind caused me to hold back as it seemed like I was dragging the field up the climb. The whole group recovered going into the last 11% pitch and I tried to stay sheltered, but a strong crosswind managed to push me off the road into the gravel. After coming to a complete stop I had to reaccelerate to catch onto the group and managed to make my way back to the front but had to burn a big match to do so and the climb was nearly over. I also felt like my front tire had lost some pressure and might be flat, despite running tubeless. Later it turned out that my tire was fine.

Coming out of the descent the group slowed and I put in a big attack on Flynn Road. Two riders managed to follow me and one was clearly on their limit. I looked back and saw Nathan bridging up with Nico on his wheel. When they reached us we continued the hard pace until the last steep pitch on Flynn. Here I made a big mistake by not counter-attacking when the pace slowed. Towards the top, Nico was dangling off the front and I yelled at him to go. He accelerated slightly and no one followed. For the next 15 minutes Nico maintained a 15-20 second gap and the field worked to chase him so I got to sit in. Going through the one “tricky” turn on the course, the rider in front of me took an awful line and almost ran off the road. I passed him and realized I had a gap to the chasers, so put in one effort to see if me and another rider could join with Nico and roll to the finish. After the pull it was clear we would get caught so I sat up and waited for the remaining field (7-8 riders) to catch us. I took an awful line on the turn onto Altamount and had to do a really hard 2 minute effort to catch back on. Unfortunately that was right when the group caught Nico and I was too cooked to counter-attack. With about 5 minutes left in the race Nico put in another attack and two other riders joined him. This forced the remaining riders to chase.

The finishing stretch on Midway had a huge crosswind and our group slowed to almost a stop, spread across the road. I told Nico that I would try to lead him out since he had a better snap than me for an uphill finish. We were blocked in by a row of riders in front of us and I was concerned we wouldn’t be able to get past them. At around 300 to go, Keegan snapped and I immediately went with him to get away from the blocking riders. He started to burn out at 150 to go and I passed him, but then immediately got passed by Nathan. The last 150 meters seemed to take forever and I got passed by another rider, but managed to hold on for 3rd place. The final sprint was close to a one minute effort and I probably would have benefited by being more patient and using other riders to get me up to speed.

Overall I think our team executed tactics in the race really well. We were clearly in control of the race and able to make the field work when we wanted to. If I had done a better job of handling my bike on the last lap, I would’ve been in a better position to counter-attack off Nico’s great moves.

Race Report: 2022 San Ardo Road Race Cat 3

Race: 2022 San Ardo Road Race Cat 3

Date: August 7th, 2022

AVRT racers: Conor Austin, Flo Costa, Grant Miller, Matt Koenig

Top Result: Grant Miller - 1/13

Course: 22 mile loop with a 4% uphill drag on the first half, a bridge filled with potholes in the middle, and a flat headwind stretch for 10 miles back to the start.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7671409646

Nutrition: 3 bottles with 50g of carbs, 200mg caffeine

Race Report: Our team made up 1/3rd of the field for this race so our goal was to use our numbers to both win the race and dominate the podium. The whole race was around 70 miles, so we wanted to try to make the field work hard in the first two laps before making a decisive move in the 3rd lap.

The race starts with a slight climb to the finishing stretch and then makes a right hand turn where the climb continues but the wind shifts to tailwind. One the turn I immediately put in an attack and tried to stay 5-10 seconds ahead of the field to incentivize some to bridge. Luckily one rider bridged up to me and we started rolling turns through the fast tailwind section of the course. We maintained a 15-20 second gap for around 30 minutes and made some of the other solo riders put in work to bring us back. As the course shifted upwind, we could see a few riders from the field start to attack to bridge. They caught us right on the kicker but once we crested everyone sat up. Matt immediately put in a strong attack and no one from the field responded.

For the next 1.5 laps the field was extremely disorganized and we worked to cover any attacks and break up the rotation. With so many riders it was easy to get in second wheel and refuse to pull through which really slowed down the chase effort. As we got close to finishing the second lap we knew Matt was gone so we started to put in attacks. Every time one of us got caught, another counter-attacked which eventually led to Flo getting away solo through the feed zone. An SJBC rider started to bridge to him and once they were 20 seconds ahead I put in an attack to bridge. Because of all the earlier attacks, no one from the field responded to my move and I was able to bridge with a hard two minute effort.

Once I connected with Flo and SJBC we started rolling turns. In the distance we could see a solo rider which looked like Matt and after about 10 minutes we were able to catch up to him. Behind, I could see two riders trying to bridge and one of them was an AV rider. We kept a hard pace but those two riders eventually caught us. At this point we had a 4 to 2 advantage, so I immediately put in an attack knowing that the other two riders were unlikely to chase and bring my teammates back. After a hard attack I could see I was getting away, so I just put my head down and went into time trial mode. By this point the headwind was getting pretty strong which made the backside of the course take forever. Behind me I could see someone who looked like an AV rider, but I just kept my pace and tried to go as fast as I could.

After almost 40 minutes by myself I rolled across the line in first place. Matt came in a few minutes after me in second place. Matt did an amazing job in the race. He rode for almost 1.5 hours solo and after he saw my move was gone he put in another attack to ride away again for 30 minutes solo to take second. After 4-5 minutes the field came through and we saw Flo and Conor take 4th and 5th place respectively. 

Overall it was a great day for AV. We dominated 4 out of the 5 podium places. We executed our plan nearly perfectly and I think the results reflected that. All of the AV riders raced for the team and put in a huge amount of work for each other.

Race Report: 2022 Watsonville Criterium P123

Race: 2022 Watsonville Criterium P123 

Date: July 9th, 2022

AVRT racers: Austin King, Cameron O'Reilly, David Domonoske, Grant Miller, John Janetzko

Top Result: Grant Miller - 2/14 Cat 3, Cameron O’Reilly - 15/46 P12

Course: The course is a .75 mile, “L” shaped loop with a slight uphill rise to the finish line. The course is very technical with five turns, two of which are greater than 90 degrees and cause you to lose momentum, especially if you take a bad line. There was a head/crosswind on the back-side of the course leading to the finishing stretch, which had a tailwind. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7443247272

Nutrition: Started with one bottle of 80g of carbs and 75mg of caffeine. Took a 75mg caffeine gel before the race.

Race Report: The Watsonville crit is a technical course that is good for breakaways and rewards being on or near the front. Our goal for this race was to stay near the front and set up a lead-out for David going into the final three laps. The start of our race was delayed by around 30 minutes due to a crash in the last lap of the women’s P123 field. Luckily, it looked like no one had serious injuries but it was scary to watch someone going into the curb at 20 mph. Unfortunately, the delayed start meant that we got reshuffled in the starting lineup and I ended up further back than I would’ve liked.

At the whistle, several of us missed the clip in and that set us up horribly for the start of the race. Only David was able to make it into the top 10-15 riders and he had to cover moves solo rather than staying protected. The rest of us struggled to make up spots as the field surged out of the technical corners. It felt like 4-5 riders were getting shelled each lap, but luckily Austin, Cam, and I were able to hold on. 

As we started to settle in after the first 10 minutes, I tried to find opportunities to move up. The field was mostly single-file through turns 1-4, so the best opportunity was going up and over the finishing line into turn one. This was a very risky line as I had to try not to dive bomb the first corner and ended up killing almost all my speed into turn one and having to reaccelerate out of the turn. The good news was that I avoided a few wheel-eating potholes leading into turn one, which did some damage to others in the field. At some point in the first 20 minutes, I hit a pothole and lost my water bottle which I didn’t realize until later in the race. I slowly worked my way up into the top 20 wheels while the race was playing out ahead of me.

At the front of the race, a threatening break-away of two or three riders formed and Mike’s Bikes was chasing it back. This kept the pace high and the field strung-out, making our job of moving up even harder. About halfway into the race, I saw David on the side of the road with a flat tire. Unsure of what to do, I tried to hold my position until I could see if he was able to rejoin on the next lap. After a few laps, I saw Austin and Cam but realized that David was out of the race. It turns out David flatted, got back in the race, and then flatted again on the aforementioned potholes in turn one. At this point we had maybe five laps left and I realized that either Austin or I needed to be in a position for the sprint. I tried to get the remainder of the team together to burn a match to move up. We were at the end of the field and had about 20 riders we needed to pass.

Going over the finishing rise, I saw the field slowing and burned a match to accelerate past them. I went from maybe 30th to 5th wheel over the rise and tried to slot in behind the Project 74/Mike’s Bikes leadout. I was briefly next to Jeff Linder, which would’ve been the perfect wheel, but I wasn’t confident enough to win the battle for position behind him. Agonizingly, I slowly lost positions over the next few laps until I was around 15th wheel going into two to go. The Project 74 leadout took over the race and kept the pace high enough that there was no passing. I had plenty of energy, but was focused on saving it for the sprint in case I managed to move up any positions. In the last lap a gap opened between the top 10 and my group of 5. I saved my sprint until we turned into the finishing straight and was able to pass everyone from my group. 

Unfortunately I was too far behind the top 10 and wasn’t able to close the gap. I think I could’ve had a better finish if I had been able to hold my position in the last few laps, but I was glad to finish in a race where 50% of the field didn’t even finish. Despite not finishing close to the leaders, I was able to snag a 2nd place in the category 3 field. Out of 14 cat 3 starters, only 3 finished the race.

Race Report: 2022 University Road Race Cat 3

Race: 2022 University Road Race Cat 3

Date: August 21th, 2022

AVRT racers: Alex Rusoff, Conor Austin, Flo Costa, Grant Miller, Matt Koenig

Top Result: Grant Miller - 3/28

Course: 3 mile loop with a climb followed by a descent. The climb is 1.17 miles and averages 5.5%, with pitches up to 8%.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7677701426

Nutrition: 3 bottles with 50g of carbs, 200mg caffeine

Race Report: University Road Race is one of the hardest races on the Norcal calendar. The race is either up or downhill and there is nowhere to hide. The climb is shallow enough that there is a benefit to being in a group so it doesn’t make sense to try for an early break unless you have a strong group. Knowing this, our plan was to break the race into thirds. In the first third we would rely on other riders to make attacks and cover any moves but try to avoid doing work. In the second third we would start putting attacks to initiate small breaks but not commit to anything. In the last third we would go for the race winning move by trying to initiate either a solo or small breakaway.

Unfortunately, the cat 3 field was smarter than expected and it was clear that everyone was trying to avoid spending energy. Luckily our team was ready to race and when Matt saw the field sitting up he immediately put in an attack on lap 1. For the first 2-3 laps Matt was either a few seconds ahead of the field or keeping a hard tempo. After he was caught, I found myself with Flo heading into the climb. Going through the turn I let a gap open and Flo started to roll away from the field. He quickly had a 20 second gap and for 3 laps the field worked to bring him back. After Flo was caught, a few small breakaways tried to form and we were represented in each of them. 

Eventually a small group of 3-4 riders got a gap and Matt was with them. I stayed towards the front of the field and followed anything threatening, but no one seemed to want to bridge. At one point, two Fat Cake riders made an attack to bridge, but I saw they were attacking on the downhill so I stayed in the group to conserve energy. On the climb, the other solo riders closed down the gap and on the steep pitch I made an attack to bridge to the break of now 8 riders. Despite having a small lead on the field, no one in the break wanted to work so I sat at the back and we got caught by the field on the descent.

The next lap was one of the slowest as everyone recovered from the previous efforts. We still had around six laps to go which seemed too far to attack solo so I stayed patient. As we started five to go, I could see that the field was still going slowly so I put in an attack and immediately got a gap. I didn’t fully commit to the move since I knew I still had around 30 minutes left in the race, but I went at a sustainable pace and managed to get a 10 second gap on the field. I knew I would lose time on the descent so I kept the power down. As I started the climb I could see the field bearing down on me. I miscalculated my lead so I slowed down and got caught. When I got caught I could sense the field was tired so I immediately put in another attack. This time two riders came with me and we started rolling turns. 

Through one lap we were able to get a 15-20 second advantage and I could see one rider was on their limit. I upped the pace on the steep pitch and we dropped them. On the next lap we rolled turns and going into one to go I could see we were going to hold our advantage over the field. We kept a hard threshold pace on the climb but I looked back and saw a Fat Cake rider bridging up to us. At this point I made my biggest mistake. I was worried about going into the red and blowing up so I stayed conservative and the rider was able to catch us. I should’ve either attacked immediately when I saw them closing or attacked the moment they caught up to us. Once they bridged we stayed together through the descent. I attacked immediately as we turned into the climb and was able to get a small gap, but I could see they were going to catch me. When they countered I tried to jump into their slip-stream but couldn’t manage to hang on and rolled in for third place.

Overall I think the team executed really well. Everyone put in work for the team, especially Matt and Flo who both sacrificed their own race to help put me in a position to win. I wish I had been more aggressive at the end but it’s a mistake I hope to learn from in future races.

Race Report: 2022 SF Giro - Women’s Cat 4,5 and Masters

Race: SF Giro Women’s Cat 4/5, Masters

Date: September 5, 2022

AVRT racers: Sue Lin Holt, Niky Taylor, Louise Thomas

Top Result: Niky 3/15, Sue Lin 4/18

Course: This course is an L shape. From the start, T1 is the only left turn, then there’s a slight downhill to T2 which has train tracks cutting across it. It wasn’t as bad as I might have expected though because it’s not a sharp turn and it’s easy to cut straight over the tracks. In a bigger group it would likely be more sketchy. After that there is a short punchy uphill to T3, which turns onto the longest straight away. The middle is roughest, the right side was probably the best line but everyone in our race stayed on the left, probably in prep for T4 which turns right into a downhill and then T5, which turns right again into the final sprint section to the line.

It took a lot of willpower for me just to get to the start line of this race since I wasn’t feeling too hyped about crits. Sue Lin, Louise, and I decided Louise and I would cover attacks, but try to keep the field together and lead Sue Lin out for a sprint at the end. I also wanted to try and score some upgrade points but decided to play that by ear. 

The race started and stayed pretty chill for the first half. Louise did some work on the front and controlled the race, keeping it steady but fast and covering several attacks. After a few laps I went up and did some pulls on the front and realized I could get a gap on the climb. We kept up a decent pace and dropped maybe half the race off the back. Things stayed relatively calm until 8 laps to go when the pace picked up a bit. At 6 laps to go I was feeling good and decided it was time to do some stuff. I did a hard attack on the hill and tried to hold the gap. The group pushed to keep up with me, but when I was caught around T5 they seemed content to just hang behind me. So I did a similar thing on the next lap, forcing the group to keep up and catch up. I knew Louise would be fine on the climb and could take care of Sue Lin, especially since no one seemed interested in forming a break. After that I got back in the pack for a bit. At 2 laps to go I asked Sue Lin how she was feeling and she said good, so I figured it was time to set up our lead out. I attacked on the hill and stepped on the gas. I led us through a lap, then attacked again on the hill for the last time. Louise was behind me and Sue Lin was behind her and everything was beautiful and the world paused in awe of our incredible lead out train. 

Then an SJBC rider attacked going into T4. Two others followed her and I stuck on their wheels. We whipped around the last turn and the SJBC rider slid out. I was able to adjust to a wider line and avoid her fairly easily, but both my teammates lost momentum getting around her and our lead out train fell apart. I ended up hanging onto the wheel of the rider in front of me and rolling in 3rd, with Sue Lin sprinting to make up the lost time and coming in right behind me in 4th. 

Overall this was a fun race. I had a good time trying stuff and felt like we rode well as a team, it was just a bit of a bummer to not get to put it together at the end. It was also frustrating that for some reason our race had no primes but all the others did.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7759596207

Nutrition: I ate a blueberry scone before this and one clif shot blok (https://gelvio.com/collections/energy/products/salted-watermelon-energy-chews). During the race I drank maybe a third of a bottle of water.

Race Report: 2022 Dunnigan “Hills” Road Race - Men’s P/1/2

Race: 2022 Dunnigan Hills Road Race - Men’s P/1/2

Date: 8/28/2022

AVRT racers: Austin King, Shane McGuire, Cameron O’Reilly

Top Result: Shane 11/36

Course: 2 laps of a ~45 mile loop. Mostly flat terrain with several small rollers. Little wind and relatively mild temperatures (for Dunnigan in August) on race day. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7716671954

Nutrition: Started the race with 3 bottles, as I believe is mandatory for these long hot August races, loaded with ~90g of carbs plus some electrolytes and caffeine (malto + nuun). Bottle in the back pocket was frozen to start, which feels great on the lower back. Pocket food included the usual fig bars, shot blocks, and some emergency gels. If I’ve learned one thing about nutrition over the last couple years, it’s that the key to these long hot races is to put as many carbs as possible in your body to have the best chance of not cramping and having some juice at the end for the finish. The benefits cannot be overstated.

Race Recap: We came into the race with several race strategies within a race strategy, which ultimately may have been our most significant mistake. We agreed that Austin and I would cover moves in the first lap, making sure to be smart about which ones we followed (i.e. only ones where strong riders or members of the big teams were present). We had three riders, Pen Velo had 3, Ride Bikes had 3, the Olympic Club had ~5, and Performance Bicycle had ~7. On the second lap, I was to chill out in case of an eventual field sprint, Austin would continue to cover moves, and Cameron was to go for a late race break. 

An attack went immediately from the whistle. Austin did his job and jumped on it right away while I surfed wheels in the main pack and made sure to stay nearish to the front to be able to respond to anyone who might try to bridge. This section of the course was highlighted by rollers and sharp pot holes. The pace was pretty furious for the first 15 min or so until the early move was reeled back in. At this point I went to the front and did my part to cover moves, bridging across to one or two before we made the left hand turn that would transition from tailwind to crosswind. At this point Austin took back over as echelons formed and many riders were put in the right gutter. The wind wasn’t particularly strong, but even at 3-5 mph, it still felt significant at the pace we were moving. During this section I was able to hide in the gutter and take a nice draft, doing fairly little work. I would occasionally drift to the very back of the pack and always found Cam back there hanging out, trying to conserve energy. 

After the initial cross wind section I moved back up to relieve Austin, who told me that his normalized power was 340 and that he needed to back off. I covered a move or two and right around when Austin and I were trading guard duties, a group went off the front. We had done a great job to this point of not letting anything serious go, but unfortunately we missed this one and it happened to have representation from all the other teams and some strong riders. Shit. 

Austin and I took turns on the front and started clawing the gap back. Since all of the other teams had someone up the road, nobody wanted to work with us. After a little while of this I decided that if none of the solo riders would work, I would just start attacking. Austin I supposed like the idea and would counter as I came back. After a bit of this I think the message was received and we got a few strong solo riders to rotate with us on the front. Austin did a ton of work and Cam even came up from the back to help. Learning from my mistakes the week prior at San Ardo, I was careful to not push beyond my limits and would step out of the rotation every so often to recover. By the time we approached the end of lap 1, the break was close enough for the pack to smell blood. I rolled up to Austin and warned him to be prepared for attacks as we went into the rollers for the start of lap 2. No sooner than I said this, the attacks started going and the pace became vicious. 

As we crossed the finish line for the second lap, Cam was near the front, looking for a move to go with. I drifted towards the back to begin my role of conserving energy for a sprint finish and saw Austin, who had done too much work to bring the break back, drift off the back. I would spend this entire lap tailgunning and generally doing very little work. Cam would stay near the front and make sure that no big move went without him in it. Having lost Austin, we noted that having just 2 riders was to some extent advantageous, as other teams didn’t look at us to pull moves back. 

There’s not too much else interesting about this second lap, at least from my vantage point, until we made the final left hand turn with around 2k to go. I’ve raced this course several times before and know how tricky it can be to time the finish correctly, having never gotten it quite right. With this in mind, I decided to pick a wheel of a known strong rider and trust that they would go at the right time and look to come around them in the final uphill sprint. I noticed that Jackson from TMB had been tailgunning the whole second lap with me and figured he would be a strong contender for the sprint and decided to follow his wheel coming into the finish. We took the left side of the road, which was advantageous for being sheltered from the cross wind, but unfortunately, on the narrow road, this was not the side where you could easily move up. Leadout trains started going and guys started pulling off. Unfortunately for me, TMB guy sat up early and I missed my chance to hop onto the lead group up the final riser. I gave it a half-hearted sprint anyhow because why not for 11th. In retrospect I should have made an effort to move up towards the front earlier and trusted that Cam would have enough left in the legs to keep me in good position. Easier said than done and overall I’m happy with the way our team raced. Looking forward to the offseason and an exciting 2023.

Thanks for reading.

Shane

Race Report: 2022 San Ardo Road Race - All Women

Race: San Ardo Road Race - Women’s Cat 3,4,5 and Masters women (all women ended up racing at the same time)

Date: August 20, 2022

AVRT racers: Sue Lin Holt, Sharon Newman, Kristina Okamoto, Emily Schnell, Niky Taylor,  Louise Thomas, Gina Yuan,

Top Result: Niky Taylor 2nd overall and in Cat 4, Gina Yuan 3rd overall and 1st in Cat 3, Louise Thomas 3/12 cat 4, Kristina Okamoto 4/12 cat 4, Sue Lin Holt 2nd Cat 3.

Course:  San Ardo RR is pretty flat. There’s some rolling at the beginning of the course and a couple short hills after the turn to head back to the finish, but not much that will help a climber get away. The road is pretty rough in places, especially over the bridge on the far side of the course. Goat heads (thorns) are a hazard on the sides of the roads. The end of the course is on a short climb off from the rest of the course, about 4%.

We did this race as part 1 of our women’s team camp. The night before we came up with a plan to control the race, then have Gina and I attack over the very bumpy bridge section on lap 1 to break away. When the race started, Emily started out strong in front and set the tone, establishing Alto Velo as the controlling force in the race and keeping it steady for the first few miles. I struggled with a mild anxiety attack that pushed my heart rate up, but Louise and Sharon helped me keep position and stay calm. Sue Lin got a flat and had to pull out at mile 4. Luckily she was able to change it and keep riding, though it was a huge setback and we didn’t see her until the end of the race.

At mile 11 we were approaching the bridge. Kristina was in front, with Gina behind her and me behind Gina. Emily, Louise, and Sharon were behind us shielding from the rest of the pack. Kristina led us out, then Gina and I attacked. We had a harrowing sprint over the extremely bumpy bridge. We ended up with a gap, so we tried to hold it, but I was too tired to be much help to Gina (who seemed FINE). 

After I recovered we touched base on what had happened and what to do next. Since this was training camp, we decided to just try some stuff out and see how it went. It seemed unlikely that any attacks were going to stick, given the wind and the flat terrain, but we decided to play around and see how the peloton responded. Gina and I alternated attacking on a flat, forcing other riders to pull the group up when they chased. After an attack by Gina, there was a slight lull and I felt like I had some extra momentum. So I went ahead and attacked again. When I looked back I was surprised at the gap. I saw a wall of my teammates, so I assumed they were playing defense to let me go. Which was cool but I also didn’t think I could hold a solo break on flat ground in the wind for 30 miles. So I kept it pretty moderate to not sacrifice much energy, staying out solo for a few minutes before the group caught up.

After that we had a fairly uneventful half lap. We contemplated doing another attack on the bumpy bridge, but we weren’t that committed and Ilan (cat 3 rider from Terun) decisively positioned herself to keep us from trying anything.  At this point I was feeling tired and kind of resigned, because sometimes that’s just how riding on flats makes me feel. I pushed the group pace up the last small climb, then Kristina and Louise took over. About 8 miles from the finish Gina started getting us organized again. We still had 5 people in the group and were controlling things well, so we decided to do a lead out with me as the sprinter. 

Gina went off and started attacking and then counter-attacking her own attacks to break up the field. It was pretty amazing and blew up the field, but was a bit too effective because our lead out was also totally broken up and we dropped Kristina and Louise. Maybe that’s the risk when you let the very fit all-rounder blow themselves up as a domestique. 

Coming into the final stretch (between the start and the feed zone), Gina was out front with Gwen (cat 4 rider) chasing her, then me and two other riders chasing Gwen. Everything turned into a mess on the overpass bridge. Two cars were stopped in our lane, and another car was coming head on. Also two or three male riders were floating around, slowly riding around the cars, not aware that our race was finishing on the course. Gina and Gwen managed to swerve through safely. The remaining three of us were forced to slow down, then onto the centerline to avoid the guys and cars. The bumps in the middle caused the two other girls to touch wheels, and Ilan, who was next to me, went down hard. She screamed and fell into my leg, and I thought I was going down but luckily she hit below my center of gravity and I stayed up. She was able to walk away from it but didn’t finish the race, and didn’t get to race University the next day either.

Gwen at this point had passed Gina (who finally looked a little bit tired after attacking about 500 times) and was getting a big lead. The remaining rider and I started working together to get back up to her. Then I realized we were going up a hill! Wow. Amazing. Time to go for it with what I had left. I ramped it up and passed Gina, chased Gwen, closed the gap down but didn’t quite catch her before the finish, coming in 2nd with Gina in 3rd (and 1st for cat 3’s) behind me.

Overall this was kind of an odd race but a great learning experience. I probably wouldn’t target it for myself in the future and would instead do it to ride for a teammate. We all got a lot more comfortable riding together and it felt great to do team stuff, even if it didn’t always go exactly as planned.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7672041853

Nutrition: Feed zone was a bit over half a mile from the start, a few hundred meters from the finish. I started with one small bottle of scratch mix and one large bottle of water. I made sure to drink a lot of water the day before the race. I didn’t take any bottles during the race (George had scratch bottles for the women's team and neutral support had water) but drank most of what I started with. Anxiety made it hard to eat beforehand but I managed half a bagel and half a banana. Also ate 2 clif bloks during the race (https://gelvio.com/products/salted-watermelon-energy-chews).

AVRT Women's Recruiting Rides - Sat 10/8/22 and Sun 10/9/22

Our women’s race team is recruiting! Interested in racing your bike next year? Come join us for a ride and get to know the team!

We will be hosting rides on the weekend of October 8th and 9th, starting 9am at Summit Bicycles Palo Alto both days. All are welcome - invite your friends, everyone who loves to ride their bike, and come join us! Saturday's ride will be conversational pace, ~40 miles, finishing with a coffee/pastry stop. Sunday's ride will be a women-led A ride with the men's team, steady but fast, ~55 miles, with pizza at the end.

If you have any questions let me know. Hope to see you there!

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: 9am, Leave ~9:15am

Sat 10/8/22: Women's Coffee Ride (https://www.altovelo.org/events/womens-coffee-ride)

Sun 10/9/22: Women's A Ride (https://www.altovelo.org/events/womens-a-ride)

Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules

To stay updated on Alto Velo Racing Team follow us on Instagram (@altoveloracing) and Facebook (Alto Velo Racing Team)

Race Report: [2022 Dunnigan Hills W 4/5 & Master’s]

Race: Dunnigan Hills Road Race - Women’s Cat 4/5 and Master’s women (all women ended up racing together, but were picked separately) 

Date: August 28, 2022

AVRT racers: Emily Schell, Louise Thomas

Top Result: Emily Schell 2nd overall and in Cat 4, Louise Thomas 5/5 Cat 4 

Strava link here

Course: Dunnigan Hills, despite the name, is extremely flat (which made Emily (me) very happy). There is one small hill (~200 feet, 5% grade) at the start and in the sprint finish, along with some small rollers until mile 7, but there isn’t really any chance for someone to break away from the group easily. The road surface was pretty decent for that part of California, and I was pleasantly surprised that there weren’t more potholes.

Since this was a pretty flat race that would likely end in a field sprint (spoiler alert: it did), Louise and I figured our best bet would be for me to sit in the pack as much as possible and conserve energy for the sprint (as that is one of the few things I can do well!). There were a few attacks on some of the small rollers during the first 7 miles (by Lora and Kaia in our field, as well as from the SJBC women who were trying to split their Master’s group). I remembered our strategy and let Louise or someone else work to pull the attacks back to the main group (which was a small win for me in and of itself, as I used to try to chase each attack and tire myself out in previous road races). As the race was so flat, the attacks only split a few women off the back (i.e., half of the Master’s field). We ended up spending the next ~30 miles working together in a rotating paceline, with someone at the front putting in an occasional sprint attempt (likely to try and tire the rest of the field out). Even though we were working together, the paceline wasn’t exactly coffee lap pace; I still found myself pushing above my threshold at various times and our average speed was close to ~21 mph for that portion of the race. 

Things got a bit more exciting in the last 5 miles when there were a few more attacks (nothing stuck, though). Louise and I were also talking strategy then; things had gone basically to plan to that point, and the goal was for her to give me a lead out, which would put me in a good position for a sprint at the bottom of that short (~50 meter) hill. We ended up miscalculating how long the final stretch was, and so Louise started going too early and pulled the group for a bit. I ended up holding back to let others pull me for a bit more before jumping off the front to do my sprint. In what seems to be a trend, I also miscalculated how long the final hill was (1:30 at 175% of my FTP was a long sprint) and got passed at the end by one other rider (Kaia) who has been winning other crits and has a very strong spring as well.

Overall, this was my first road race where I was able to stay with the front group the entire time and actually execute a successful sprint at the end where it mattered. It also was my first podium (in my fourth ever road race)! I’m excited to do more races with the women’s team next season and work on my endurance so I can stay with the front group more. :)

This was an accurate portrayal of how I felt at this point (approximately 5 meters from the finish).

Race Report: [2022 Haute Route Alps]

Race: Haute Route Alps 

Date: August 21st, 2022 - August 27th, 2022

AVRT racer: Maxime Cauchois

Result: 55/302 (368 at the start), 5/16 in 18-29 Men 

Course: 7 day stage race in the French Alps, 792km/492mi with a total elevation gain of 21300m/70000ft, including a 10km/6mi uphill time trial on day 5. Each day, only certain sections (mainly climbs and flats, see red sections on stage profiles) are timed, whereas most descents are neutralized. 

Multiple feed stations with water, drinks, snacks, fruits, etc are available along the course, mostly at the end of timed sections, allowing us to stop, refuel and even take pictures, but also occasionally in the middle of a longer climb or section, in which case you need to decide whether to prioritize refueling or staying in your current group—often a tough call.

Strava: 

• Stage 1

• Stage 2

• Stage 3

• Stage 4 (Part 1 / Part 2)

• Stage 5

• Stage 6

• Stage 7

Nutrition: I started each with two 550 ml bottles of a mix of 20g Skratch hydration/30g Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin in each, similar to Skratch superfuel mix (=50g of carbs). I wish I had someone to hand me bottles on feed stops, but I did not, so when the first two bottles were empty, I would usually refill with water + grenadine. 

At feed stations, I would drink coke and eat bananas, apricots, a little bit of prosciutto (for salt) and occasionally dried fruits. On the bike, I would alternate between Skratch bars, energy chews, gels and shot blocks, all of which I had ordered on Gelvio prior to the event.

I tried to constantly monitor my energy levels, and to make sure I was never hungry or thirsty, but I’m not sure exactly how much I ate—if asked, I would answer: a whole lot. Interestingly, while most Bay Area climbs don’t require you to eat or drink during the effort itself, I found it much more imperative to do so on a 90 min HC climb, especially when there are several in a row.

Day 1: Nice - Cuneo (184 km / 4100 m+) // Stage: 34th / General : 34th

I arrived in Nice the day prior the start (on Saturday), and spent the day doing all sorts of preparation (basically some registration stuff, some food ingestion, some social interaction with my roommate and some light biking to the top of Col d’Eze, a shallow 9km/5% climb with panoramic views on the city of Nice, featuring every year on Paris-Nice.

The start of the first stage on Sunday was at 6:45am, which meant waking up for breakfast at 5am. I had arrived in France 7 days prior to the event, so jet lag wasn’t an issue, but I still dislike early morning starts, as they often trouble my sleep pattern and cause some sleep anxiety. The stage was 184km/113mi long and featured 4 timed sections, including Col de Saint-Martin (~7km/7% with a long uphill drag before) and the infamous Col de la Lombarde (~20km/7%) at the French-Italian border.

The first 11km were neutralized and uneventful, although the pace behind the race director’s car was already brisk. As I had been warned beforehand, early attacks from the gun immediately and severely upped the pace during the first 10km timed section. Several groups quickly formed and started working together, and I found myself in the second or third one, although I honestly had no idea at the time. The drag up the first Col of the day felt harder than I wished it had been considering the daunting program of the day—and the week—, which my power numbers later confirmed. I was still feeling reasonably fresh at the bottom of the col de Saint-Martin, and as the timing was stopped at the top, I settled into a 25 min tempo pace over the entire climb, a pace which I thought I could sustain even on longer climbs multiple times a day (spoiler alert: I could not). Still, I crested the col with strong legs and feeling confident about the next one, even though I feared its unusual length and elevation. I took a few minutes to refuel and eat, but I probably did not replenish my salt levels enough, as it was a hot sunny day in the south of France and my only source of minerals— my two initial Skratch bottles— was drying out.

At the bottom of the descent, the timing started again and I pacelined with a small-ish group over the entire 20 km false flat leading to the bottom of the Col de la Lombarde. I had estimated the climb would take me around 1h30, hence I immediately settled into a mid-tempo (=230W/3.6W/kg) pace, which was slower than the first one, but made sense given the length of the effort and the fatigue that my legs had accumulated—we had ridden for 4h already. I quickly felt this climb would be my first (and not only…) low of the week: after 30min of climbing, despite eating and drinking regularly, my legs kept feeling weaker and weaker, and my bike computer was showing lower and lower numbers, decreasing by about 10-20W every 10 min. Arriving in Isola 2000, about 4km from the top, I was struggling to maintain even 200W (Z2 in normal times), and on top of that , I did not have any water left in my bottles. In hindsight, I made a rookie mistake by not refilling at the bottom and trying to reach the top with a single full bottle only to save a few hundred grams. The last 3 km of the Col de la Lombarde looked like hell: the scenery of this narrow mountain road almost akin to a bike path is breathtaking, but the slope is very uneven, with several 13%+ ramps. My legs had already been cramping for a few km due to altitude (2350m at the top) and dehydration, but they were now fully dried out of energy, and 180W was feeling like a VO2 effort. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally noticed the summit sign a few hundred meters away, and the thought of foods and drinking awaiting at the top fueled the last pedal strokes to the Italian border. 

Col de la Lombarde

I was close to collapsing at the top, but I made my way to all the food and drinks I could find, focusing especially on hydration. I spent a good 20 min at the top, and I wish I had stayed there even longer to recover, but it was getting cold and I still had 60 km to go to Cuneo, including a 20 km timed flat section. The descent of the Col de la Lombarde on the Italian side is one of the most spectacular roads I ever cycled on, but its technicality also requires constant attention, so I tried to stay alert and well positioned on the bike despite the fatigue and cramps. Arriving at the start of the timed section, I was only riding with a friend from Quebec I had made along the way, so we decided to wait a couple minutes for a group to join us. A few moments later, we saw a team of 4 Russian riders flying by, and had to sprint our way into their draft (doing more than 450W for 30s with cramping legs, not recommended). These riders did not make our job easy on this section: following in their draft, I averaged over 42km/h for 30min, and even got a Strava top 10 for the segment. I have to admit I didn’t take a single pull, but they didn’t seem to care too much as one of their riders was actually doing all the work and pulling the entire group, with all the other riders hanging on behind him, and I was still producing more watts to follow them than I had been able to muster in the Col de la Lombarde. Unsurprisingly, my cramps came back even stronger in the last hill 1km from the line, but I managed to shut them down just enough time to finish.

Last timed section of the day

We still had 16 km (untimed) to reach Cuneo, which were quite unwelcome to say the least: we had to ride on busier average roads, and at this point, I was fully exhausted and only craving for a meal and hot shower. Arriving in Cuneo around 2:30pm, after 7h of riding and a hefty 341 TSS day, I discovered I had ranked 34th on the day, doing particularly well on the Col de Saint-Martin and the flat section leading to Cuneo (thank you Russian guys), but losing time on the Col de la Lombarde. Despite this very encouraging result, I was concerned about my recovery for the next stages given the heavy cramps I had suffered from over the second half of the stage.

Day 2: Cuneo - Briançon (141 km / 3600 m+) // Stage: 76th / General : 53rd

The Haute Route peloton left Cuneo early on Monday for a much dreaded 140km stage back to France, featuring two giant HC climbs: the Col d’Agnel and the Col d’Izoard, used multiple times by the Tour de France and Giro di Italia.

The first timed section was basically a 40km false flat starting with a short climb, and immediately followed by the proper Col d’Agnel ascent. My first concern was to find a fast but comfortable group to work with until the bottom of the climb, but I didn’t intend to follow the first wheels as hard as the day before, still concerned by my sudden energy drop the day before, and impressed enough by the climbs to come.

I still found myself in a reasonably fast group, averaging around 30 km/h over the entire (mostly) uphill drag that led us to Casteldelfino, bottom of the first real difficulty of the day and where the first feed stop was located. I briefly stopped there to refuel, letting go of the group I was in, as I didn’t want to relive the previous day’s experience and preferred to climb Col d’Agnel at my own pace anyway.

Col d’Agnel on the Italian side is a tale of two climbs: the first one, that averages about 5% over about 11km, is manageable and felt very bearable, as the altitude hadn’t kicked in yet and the slope was anything but unfriendly. I was purposely saving energy for the second part, which alone makes the Col d’Agnel one of the most difficult ascents in the Alps, and possibly the hardest of the entire Haute Route: 9km at 10% average, with ramps up to 14%, topping at a very respectable 2744 m, making it the second highest Pass in Italy (after the Stelvio). 

Col d’Agnel: not an easy ride!

I wish I could say I rode to the top out of the saddle like Marco Pantani would have done, but the truth is more mundane: I was suffering like everybody else, while altitude and changes in gradient were making it even harder to maintain a hard but sustainable pace. It took me around 53 min to reach the top from the start of the steep section, averaging around 220 W, i.e. a low tempo pace in normal times. Glad to finally reach the highest point of this Haute Route, I took a reasonably long break before the descent, making sure to eat and drink sufficiently before heading to the second climb of the day. The weather at the summit was noticebly chilly, and I wonder if stopping for more than 20 min was a good call in retrospect.

After a long but fast 25km descent, the second timed segment of the day, the infamous Col d’Izoard, was starting almost immediately. I didn’t have any clear expectation of the pace I would be able to sustain, or what power target I should try to hold, as I still had in mind how I had bonked on the Lombarde. In retrospect, I probably should have been more ambitious on the day overall, but that is all too easy to say after the event is done and dusted (spoiler: I did finish it). In any case, I settled into a high Z2 pace that I was confident I could hold for the entirety of the climb: it was a good 30-40W lower than what I should probably target given the length of the climb and the stage, but again it was only day 2 of the race, and I wanted to avoid any other unfortunate event at any cost. I climbed the 14 km at 7% in a little more than an hour, upping the pace a notch on the last 2 km after the surreal (and gorgeous) Casse Déserte, thereby immediately feeling the effects of altitude. 

Almost at the top of Col d’Izoard!

After about 5h30 of riding and 3600 m of positive elevation, Stage 2 was finally in the bank, as there only remained an untimed 20 km descent to Briançon. What I was not aware of, and was quite disgruntled to learn, was the fact that my hotel was located in the old Fort Vauban that sits on top of the city: it required me to climb an additional km at 10%+ average after I ate lunch and got a massage, definitely not an ideal recovery activity and even worsening a mild lingering knee pain. Having kept an easier pace than the day before, I unsurprisingly fared worse timewise, finishing 76th for the day, and moving down to 53th in the overall standing.

Day 3: Briançon - Les Deux Alpes (109 km / 3200 m+) // Stage: 96th / General : 65th

The profile of Stage 3 looked much more civil than the first two days, a much welcome respite: less distance (“only” 109km) and elevation, with the Col de Sarenne as the most challenging difficulty of the day. The Tour de France lovers may know Col de Sarenne was featured there a few years ago on its own, but many (including Zwift users) undoubtedly know its descent much better, since it is no other than the famous 21 Alpe d’Huez switchbacks. 

Day 3 started with a first technical issue: descending from my hotel—remember that 1km hill from the day before—, my Karoo 2 crashed on the ground before even the start of the stage, and as I arrived at the start line, it was not only showing new scuffs but more importantly, it didn’t care to start: not only did I have to record the ride on my phone, but I couldn’t rely on power reading to pace myself in the different climbs of the day. Tough start.

The first climb of the day, the Col du Lautaret, was very long (19km from the time start) but shallow (~4% average) with no real difficulty—the slope would never be above 6%. I am rather a lightweight climber, not very powerful, and this climb was definitely not the type of terrain I could shine on, so I didn’t really try to catch a fast group to the summit; that said, given my poor positioning in the field at the start of the time segment, my efforts would probably have been vain anyway. I settled into a group that felt like mid/upper zone 2, and comfortably made my way to the top, well aware that I was losing time on people with similar rankings, but planning to make some of it back in the next climbs.

The descent of the Col was reasonably fast after a short refuel, and I could even work on my descent trajectories in some of the switchbacks; I was complimented on my overall descending skills by much more experienced riders, so I can only thank the different descending clinics I attended at Stanford and with Alto Velo, as they contributed to make me a more confident descender—and also remember the three golden rules: look as far ahead as possible, push very hard on the outside foot, and pull the inside knee/hip out a little bit. 

The ascent of the col de Sarenne started at the end of the descent, and was the start of the second timed segment of the day—there was some road work preventing it from starting a few km ahead where it was initially intended. Col de Sarenne is a 12km long climb at 7%, with the last 3km averaging around 10%, making it challenging but not in the same league as some of the previous days climbs. Having no power reading on that day, I immediately settled into a pace that “felt like I was not working but not suffering”, as I often read about what tempo pace should be. 

Since I had sandbagged the first climb a little bit, I quickly dropped most people in my group, with the exception of a British rider with whom I exchanged a few words of encouragement over the course of the climb. As we made our way through extraordinary wild and unscathed scenery—if you have the occasion to ride in the area, go there, you won’t regret it—, we caught a few riders along the way before I broke away two km from the summit. Still feeling good even in the toughest percentages, I was able to bridge and drop another handful of riders before I reached the top. However, unlike the previous climbs, the timing wouldn’t stop at the summit but only 6 km later after a 4 km descent and 2 km of rollers to reach the Alpe d’Huez ski resort. You will soon learn a more personal reason why I think this decision from the race organizers was ill-advised, but simply know for now that the pavement in the descent was horrific, with constant bumps and potholes on a -10% grade, and that as I made my way down, I went by a rider who was taken care by the race medics and later sent to the hospital with broken bones. I tried to stay as focused on my own race as possible, and finally reached the end of the short descent when a very unfortunate event occured: I couldn’t shift anymore, neither at the back nor at the front. Suspecting some kind of Di2 failure—if you ask, I charged it on the day before Stage 1—, and stuck in a 52-15 gearing, I cursed myself as I had to climb my way to Alpe d’Huez standing on the pedals at a cadence of around 40 rpm, all the while being unable to pedal the slightest bit on the downhill sections. I actually got caught up by a very recognizable US female rider (Isabel King, for those who know the LA cycling scene), and we finished the segment together in a weird pattern, as she would get away on the downhill sections and I would make up the lost terrain on the uphill ones.

I tried to diagnose my shifting issue myself at the end of the segment, but I was unable to find the culprit, so I decided to make my way down Alpe d’Huez and call for mechanical support at the feed station down in the valley, before starting the last timed segment of the day. The mechanics guy quickly opined I had simply ran out of battery, and proceeded to manually shift the rear derailleur into the highest 34 sprocket, giving me a chance to reach the top of the last climb of the day, in Les Deux Alpes. I didn’t have much choice at the time, but I feel I should have protested and asked for a neutral bike to finish the stage, as the next 12 rolling km leading to the bottom of the climb were the worst of the entire week: I literally couldn’t pedal past 18 km/h, which meant I basically had to freewheel my way towards the finish, and at the same time my 52-34 gearing was not especially comfortable either on anything above 6%. I lost around 10 min over 12 km in the valley before I finally reached the bottom of the climb and could settle into a more “racy” pace. 

The climb was not a great time by any means, but it was slightly more bearable than the stretch in the valley, and at least I was able to pedal my way up, albeit at only 60-70rpm (against 85-95rpm for my preferred climbing cadence). My morale at this point was at an all-time low, as I could also feel I was only worsening some lingering knee pains. Still, the climb was shallow enough (9km at 6.5%) to allow me to reach the top without more desperate measures. 

Looking at Strava times afterwards, I had actually done better than expected in the climb itself, finishing it in around 35min, but the time lost prior to it was highly consequential. I finished 96th over the day, and fell down to 65th in the overall classification. Not a surprise given how poorly I’d done in the first and third sections of the day. Last but not least, when I came home and plugged my Di2 cable, I could see the derailleur was still not turning on. I then went to see Mavic mechanical support, and we finally found the reason of my issue: in the bumpy descent of Col de Sarenne, the di2 cable connecting the rear derailleur to the battery in the seatpost had been caught in, and almost fully severed by the rear derailleur screw, which was unfortunately not tight enough. 

With no bike shop with the correct replacement piece around, the mechanic proceeded to find a hack to re-connect the two pieces of the cable and make it hold for the remainder of the Haute Route. It seemed to be working, and I honestly did not have any other solution, so I could only hope for the best.

Day 4: Les Deux Alpes - Méribel (153 km / 4200 m+) // Stage: 69th / General : 65th

Stage 4 was the Queen stage of this year's Haute Route Alps, and probably the stage I dreaded most. It featured two mythical HC climbs from the Tour de France, the Col du Glandon and the Col de la Madeleine, as well as an uphill finish in the ski resort of Méribel, for a total of more than 4000 m of elevation, the most of any stage this year.

The first 30 km until the start of Col du Glandon were neutralized behind the race director’s car, including the descent from les Deux Alpes into the valley. This was particularly unnerving, as it meant descending the whole climb on your brakes in a field with more than 200 people. At this time of day—we started at 7am—, the weather was also noticeably chilly, hence it was crucial to wear sufficiently many layers before the start of the proper race itself. In the first ramps after the start of the first timed segment, the peloton immediately exploded in smaller groups and I settled into a mid tempo pace (around 230 W) that I hoped I could sustain until the top.

Col du Glandon is a very irregular climb, which “only” averages 5.5% over 25km, but in reality packs multiple climbs into one. The first part of the climb, before a first welcome respite, is about 6 km long with an average of 8% and took me about 25 min to complete. The gradient was sometimes hovering on the double digit area but remained overall steady enough. The second part of the climb is about the same distance and average gradient, but is an entire different story: it starts with 2 km at 10%+ and ramps up to 15%, requiring me not only to use my lowest 34 gear—luckily, I had installed a new cassette before Haute Route—but also to regularly alternate climbing positions and vary the pace a bit. Overall, I kept the same average power over the whole 90 min that the climb took to complete, and reached the top relatively satisfied with my performance. I took a few minutes to refuel and watch the spectacular views at the top before descending into la Chambre, which was the start of the second climb of the day. I had been warned the switchbacks in the descent were treacherous, so I made sure to stay very focused and alert, which is not a given when the whole descent lasts more than 20 min.

Col de la Madeleine was arguably the hardest climb of the day, a whopping 19 km at 8% average, and promised to keep me working for another 90 min. Unlike Col du Glandon though, it is remarkably regular, with the gradient rarely hovering over 10%, which makes it easier to find your rhythm. I settled into a slightly easier pace than on Col du Glandon (around 220 W), as the fatigue was starting to creep in and I wanted to make sure I could finish the climb strong. The effort itself was relatively uneventful: my pace felt reasonably challenging but never unsustainable, and as I was gaining altitude, I could witness the scenery around me slowly changing, from the valley floor to the more mountainous fields above 1600 m. The views of the mountains all around us were for me the definite highlight of the climb, making the effort more acceptable. 5 km from the top, I even increased my pace a bit and was able to finish the last 20 min catching up a few people along the way. 

At the top, after the traditional picture, I refueled with the traditional mix of bananas, apricots, dried fruits and prosciutto, but my stomach was giving me unusual pain signals, and I could feel my gut loudly complaining. I was hoping it would subside in the descent and was only a byproduct of altitude and the effort, but it was a definite concern as there still remained around 1000 m of climbing to go. The descent was fast but unusually long (~25 km), keeping us on our toes as there were multiple ravines along the way. We finally arrived at the bottom, where the third and final segment of the day would start. My Canadian friend and I waited for a slightly larger group to join, as there was a 10 km timed stretch on the valley floor before the start of the final climb. I was feeling relatively okay at this time, but I could also feel my legs were tired from all the efforts of the day and the ones before. I realized quickly into the climb that it would be a daily low: my stomach was painful, my energy levels were low—despite eating and drinking as much as I reasonably could, and my RPE and power zones were getting more and more uncorrelated. I was struggling to maintain a steady pace, but luckily I had a friend to keep me company and he was controlling the pace quite well. After what seemed like an eternity, we were finally making our way into the ski resort, and were getting past the first mountain chalets, indicating there were only a few km remaining. At that point, every km was an internal struggle but luckily the gradient never went past 10%, allowing us to maintain a steady pace and cadence, even though at least 20-30W slower than on the previous climbs of the day. I reached the finish line completely exhausted after around 7h riding time, finishing 69th for the day, and still 65th in the overall standing. I had performed reasonably well in the first two climbs of the day, but had lost a significant amount of time in the last one.

Day 5: Méribel - Col de la Loze (TT 10 km / 850 m+) // Stage: 26th / General : 63rd

I was looking forward to day 5 from the start of Haute Route for two reasons: first, it would mean the hardest stages would be behind us, and second it would almost be a “rest” day, as we only needed to ride uphill for 10 km, and were staying in the same hotel two nights in a row. While both statements are technically correct, they are overlooking an ominous reality, that is the sheer difficulty of the climb of the day, the Col de la Loze. In some sense, and unlike the Tour de France riders who tackle it, we were lucky enough not to have to climb from the valley floor, since we had already ridden the first 12 km to Méribel the day before. However, the Col de la Loze is mostly infamous for its last 6 km, ridden on a newly paved bike path that also serves as a ski run during the winter. Amid breathtaking scenery, it averages around 10% during that section, but that number is incredibly misleading. In fact, it is a succession of 15-20% ramps (up to 24% max) followed by (too) short flatter sections.

My goal on this time trial was to start at a steady 4W/kg on the first 5 km, and then try to push harder on the steeps and recover on the flats. Easier said than done. The first part actually went according to plan: I averaged around 250W over the first 20 min of the course, and, although it was hard and I was feeling the effects of altitude, I still had a bit more to give if necessary. 

And that turned out to be necessary. Even if I had been warned before, I don’t think one can prepare for this kind of effort: the last 20-ish minutes of the course were literally like a 30s-30s effort. I had to go over 300W in my lowest 34 gear just to keep moving up, and was trying to recover as much as possible when the slope would ease up a bit. At some point before a switchback about 2km from the finish, it became so insanely steep that I thought I would have to walk—I was later told that many ended up doing just that—but I managed to get past it using the “paperboy” technique for a little while. I could see one last 20+% ramp in the last 200m from afar, and I was able to muster all my will to punch through it standing on the pedals, almost closing my eyes to resist the temptation to sit down. I finally crossed the line in 43’21”, 26th on the day, which was a very satisfying result.

Day 6: Méribel - Megève (138 km / 3600 m+) // Stage: 55th / General : 57th

My feeling before the start of Stage 6 was ambiguous. While easier than Stages 1, 2 and 4, with climbs being generally shallower and shorter, it was also the first climb where descents would be timed and where I would not have as much time to refuel as usual. Indeed, we were supposed to climb Col du Tra (9km/7%) and Cormet de Roselend (19km/6%) without any stop in between, which means I had to be extra careful about fueling on the bike. 

After a neutral (boring) descent and a few minutes in the valley, we turned right to start the ascent of the first climb of the day. True to my initial pacing idea, I didn’t even try to follow a specific group and immediately settled in a mid-tempo effort. I had noticed that, probably by lack of race experience, I didn’t really enjoy sudden changes of pace on climbs, where riders usually start very hard from the start before easing up, and I would actually pick up more riders and finish stronger by first allowing myself to get dropped. In short, I needed some time to find my rhythm, which a race does not alway allow, and that will be a point for future improvement. Back to our first climb of the day, my only desire was to find a group to work with for the short stretch in the valley before the Cormet de Roselend, which is exactly what I was able to do towards the summit. Indeed, after picking up some banana pieces and coke on the fly at a feed stop, I joined a group of a handful of riders in the descent, which quickly grew to about 20 riders. I was able to shelter in the wheels during the 15 km in the valley, taking a few pulls here and there, but globally saving energy as I intended. 

I reproduced a similar pattern when Cormet de Roselend started. Not caring about others’ pace, I settled into an effort around 225W, but this time I wasn’t dropped from my group but instead got away from it, since stronger riders were already ahead of me. The Cormet de Roselend is not a hard climb in terms of gradient, since it almost never goes above 8%, but its length (19 km) still makes it a pacing challenge. I was able to keep a steady pace through the climb, and finished even slightly stronger than I had started, picking up a few riders along the way, which always feels more motivating. 

I made sure to refuel properly at the top, and since day 6 was the first day where rain was forecast, I had managed to secure a change of clothes at the summit, and I was able to change into a warmer dryer jersey and baselayer. I didn’t stay at the top for too long as it was a bit chilly and the sky was looming, and instead started the 25 km descent to the bottom of the last climb of the day, the Col des Saisies. I briefly stopped at the Lac de Roselend for a picture on the way down, and otherwise kept it safe on the downhill, as it was wet in some spots.

The last climb of the day was around 12 km at 7%, but had notoriously harder last 3 km, hovering around 10%. In the days before, I had often struggled on the last climb of the day, hence I was motivated this time to keep pushing to the finish line. Additionally, there would be no stop at the top, as the chrono would only stop on the finish line in Megève, 23km from the summit. I had let one of my fellow riders start the segment a few minutes before I did, as I was confident I might catch him close to the summit and we could work together in the valley. I kept a steady but sustainable pace throughout the whole climb, averaging a very similar power as in the first two climbs of the day, which was a first win. Additionally, I was able to bridge the gap to my friend about 1km from the summit, and I took advantage of the few seconds I had at the feed stop to drink a coke and eat some bananas before I started the descent to Megève. It started to drizzle on the way down so we made sure not to take any risk, and then quickly arrived on the last 8 km stretch leading us to Megève. At this point, my friend told him he was feeling very fatigued, whereas I was still reasonably fresh, perhaps inspired by the thought of my girlfriend waiting for me in Megève, so I took a long tempo pull to lead us to the finish line. I finished 55th on the day, and climbed to 57th on the general ranking.

Day 7: Megève - Megève (99 km / 2400 m+) // Stage: 32nd / General : 55th

Last day of the Haute Route Alps, it is also the easiest stage on paper, less than 100km and “only” 2400m of climbing. I was feeling confident my legs would lead me to the finish line, but I hadn’t planned to wake up with such an intense pain on the outside of my left knee. The ride to the start line turned out very uncomfortable, each pedal stroke hurt, and I had genuine trouble pushing on the pedals. At this point, my only hope was that the pain subsided when the knee got warmer, otherwise the whole stage would be awful, especially since there was no break after km 14 today: it would be a race to the finish.

We started the first lump (about 2km) with cold legs, yet the pace immediately surged and multiple groups formed. Initially conservative, I progressively aimed to up my pace to assert how the knee reacted to a higher intensity effort, and I was slightly relieved to observe that it seemed to get better. I was even able to bridge the gap with a few groups towards the top of the climb, which I found reassuring. 

The descent and flat segment leading to the bottom of Col de l’Epine went by fast, as I collaborated with a group of about 20 riders. The group soon exploded at the bottom of the climb, and while I was initially dropped, I settled into a sweet spot effort that allowed me to catch  up to the fastest riders in the group and reach the top in their wake after a 20min effort. I then decided to momentarily stop at the feed station to grab a banana and refill a bottle, which cost me about 15s and forced me to produce a hard effort to come back in the descent—at this point, I deeply regretted not having someone hand me bottles. My goal in the next 10 km was then to recover and conserve some energy before the start of the main difficulty of the day, the Col de la Croix-Fry, a 12km climb at 7%. 

The same pattern occured at the bottom: I let myself get dropped, preferring to climb at my own pace, and settled into a high tempo effort. As I worked my way up, I picked up a few dropped riders, even managed to increase my pace in the last 5km. At the top of the Col, I quickly drank a glass of Coke before heading down to the last climb of the Haute Route Alps, the Col des Aravis. While not a hard challenge (4km at 6%) by any means on that side, the climb is famous for its view of the Mont Blanc at the top, and I had been planning to stop for a picture at the top. However, little did I know that I would notice the group who had initially dropped me at the bottom of the Col de la Croix-Fry only a few meters in front of me. Seeing an opportunity not to be alone for the last km in the valley, I produced a hard effort in the last 2km to bridge the gap and caught the group right at the summit. I had now entirely forgotten about my photo idea, and instead followed the group on the descent.

For once, there were a lot of cars coming up at the same time, which forced us to remain careful and conservative. Some riders from the group briefly got away thanks to cars stuck between a few riders, but we soon caught up to them in the small climb following the descent of the Col des Aravis. Now only 8km from the finish, I started to realize that I would finish the Haute Route, but I tried to stay focused and enjoy the moment, also not wanting to make any last minute mistake. At this point, the pace in our group was quite sedate, and I didn’t have any trouble keeping up. Finally, after 3h30 of riding, including 3h of non-stop racing, I crossed the finish line and officially became a Haute Route finisher—I even got a medal.  Last but not least, I finished 32nd on the day, my best result on a normal stage, and I climbed up two spots in the general ranking to end up 55th overall.

Reflecting on the event, there are a lot of positives to retain: I was able to ride at a strong pace 7 days in a row, and the evolution of my daily ranking suggests I even finished stronger than most. There is also some place for improvement: I think I could be more comfortable on longer climbs, and that I should work more on changes of pace, as that would allow me to better showcase my physical capacities in a race environment.  Additionally, I am under the impression that I could also improve on nutrition: I actually gained some weight during the event, and was never sure I had the right balance between eating too much and too little. On some occasions, my stomach sent me some distressed signals, while I often lacked energy on the last climb of the day. Being able to better maintain my energy levels over the entire course of the ride is definitely the key to perform even better in this kind of stage races. 

Thanks for reading!

Race Report: [2022 La Verne Grand Prix - Women's P123]

Race: 2022 La Verne Grand Prix - Women's P123

Date: August 14th, 2022

AVRT racers: Gina Yuan

Top Results: Gina Yuan (6/15 Overall, 4/8 Cat 3)

Course: 50 minutes on a 3-4 minute loop. 7 non-technical corners on a wide road with good pavement. 2-3% uphill on the left side through T1/2. Consecutive T3/4/5—accelerating out of each corner was taxing over time. T6 and T7 dip through a chain-rattling gutter. Finish line ~150m after T7. Start/finishing stretch had a slight headwind but the rest of the course didn't feel as exposed. Hot (90°F/32°C).

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7639324296

Nutrition: FROZEN WATER BOTTLE.

This was a very lively and exciting race dominated by the 4 Incycle Mamis riders and the former Romanian national road champion. An Incycle rider attacks on the second lap and I join a break with a L39ION rider and someone with a California state champion jersey. We rotate well, except the Incycle rider just waves us through. Two more join us, causing further disorganization. 10 minutes in, the field comes back together and an Incycle rider counterattacks hard, going solo. In the field, the remaining Incycle riders are all near the front—marking attacks, hanging out 2nd wheel, and disrupting the chase really well.

The Romanian champion tries to create a sense of urgency and is clearly disappointed that no one will chase, but I trust she will not lose a race like this. She proceeds to single-handedly close the gap, making us work for it by attacking and setting a ballistic pace on the uphills. 30 minutes in, one of those attacks splits the field and I'm on the wrong side. I do not want to lose like this, so I attack and attempt a solo bridge, hitting 195bpm during this painful lap but successfully catching up. The gap to the solo rider continues to fluctuate around 30 seconds. 4 laps to go, we finally see her. 2 laps to go, the field catches her and there's a counterattack with two riders including one from Incycle. Final lap, I'm digging deep to get in front of riders who might get dropped and trying to make up position before the final corner. Leaving T7, the field just about catches the two riders, and I sprint across the line for 6th overall.

It was super cool to watch the Romanian rider and the Incycle team dictate the race. They were not only so strong, but employed their power with intention to make everyone else hurt. Next time I race, I want to play the game with teammates! I'm happy with my result and for not giving up when it got hard. Thanks to Majestic Cycling for putting on the event and our Alto Velo sponsors for the continued support.

If you are interested in racing with AVWRT next year (all levels welcome), reach out to me or any other AVWRT member, and keep an eye out for our women's recruitment rides in late October.

Race Report: [2022 Suisun Harbor Crit - Men’s Cat 3]

Race: 2022 Suisun Harbor Crit - Men’s Cat Cat3

Date: Aug 14, 2022

AVRT racers: Conor Austin, Grant Miller, Jack Liu, John Janetzko

Top Result: Jack (4/31)

Course: Simple 4-corner and super flat course (https://www.strava.com/segments/621954). 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7637945469/overview

Video: when we started our leadout: https://youtu.be/tqlgxdVn0gU?t=1914 

Nutrition: One bottle of Skratch mix.

Recap: 

Given the short course (<1 minute per lap), our plan before the race was to get in a break with good composition and try to lap the field win from the break. John, Bernardo, and I attacked multiple times in the first 25 minutes, but frustratingly nothing worked. I got a $10 prime (just enough) to remedy all those efforts though. Grant attacked and a counter from Conor formed a seemingly promising break, but everyone was motivated to chase and that got caught back too.

So time for Plan B.

From 7 laps to go, we had John, Grant, and Conor lined up at the front leading out me. John and Grant each did ~3 laps of super hard pulls. While I still had to constantly fight with people from right and left trying to steal my wheel, I think I’m more used to assert dominance of my position behind our leadout train and keep myself protected now. Going into the last lap everything all looked perfect as we still got Grant and Conor in front of me. When Grant pulled off with half a lap to go, Conor accidentally touched Grant’s wheel and went down (who fortunately only had road rash and apparently back on his bike the day after). I immediately brake hard and swung left to dodge the crash. Half of the group was affected by the crash and there were pileups of bikes and riders, but fortunately everyone walked away from it. One rider who wasn’t affected by the crash carried all his speed and got a good gap so I basically started my sprint early to chase him down. I got onto his wheel but didn’t have the legs to outsprint other riders and ended up with the 4th place.

photo credit: Beliera Photography 

While it wasn’t exactly what we planned or would expect, crashes are part of the races and we were fortunate not to have more severe injuries. More importantly, our leadout execution was perfect (until it wasn’t) and I think we’ve asserted dominance in local Cat 3 races now. (Pretty sure every cat 3 mentioned Alto Velo with fear after this race.) I’m looking forward to putting on my AV jersey and racing together as a team in the next race!

-Jack

Race Report: [2022 Toyota San Rafael Sunset Crit - Men’s Cat 3/4]

Race: 2022 Toyota San Rafael Sunset Crit - Men’s Cat 3/4

Date: July 30, 2022

AVRT racers: Andrea Cloarec, Brian Shreeve, Conor Austin, Daniel Fonyo, Flo Costa, George Wehner, Jack Liu, John Janetzko, Will Hakim, Matthew Koenig 

Top Result: Jack (1/95), Andrea (6/95), Conor (8/95)

Course: A rectangular, four-corner course (https://www.strava.com/routes/2982004863132650306). Slightly uphill from start to turn 2 then fast downhill till turn 4. From turn 4 to finish is 300m slightly uphill. Turn 3 and 4 are the fastest and most critical ones. The pavement is good and the road is super wide so generally there’s no need to brake into the corners. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7556211943/

Nutrition: One bottle of Skratch mix. Ate half Clif Blok on the start line and finished it when the race was neutralized.

Recap: 

It was a field with 100 people and we were the only team that had the number and strength, so our strategy was to utilize this to our best advantage. We planned to cover any threatening moves throughout the race, gather near the front with ~6 laps to go and control the front with 4 laps to go and lead out our sprinters (Daniel or me) for the finish. It didn’t all go exactly as planned, but good enough (for a win)!

Most of us lined up at the first row on the start, and we made it spicy from the start through the first uphill section, which immediately strung out the whole field. John and Andrea kept pushing at a high pace for the next couple laps. I was always on my teammates’ wheels in top-10 position but never touched the wind. At some point I was a bit worried that we would get swarmed cause our team had been working really hard at the front the whole time and I was just chilling on their wheels, but it never really happened. A couple people tried to attack/go for prime, but my awesome teammates always covered the moves and chased them down; Andrea even got a $200 prime himself!

As it got closer to the end and we were starting to prepare for the leadout, the race got neutralized, TWICE -- one with 6-lap to go and one inside the FINAL lap. The first neutralization was only a brief slow down by the race motor which didn’t affect our position too much. At this point it was pretty clear that we were the dominating team in the race, so after the first neutralization we had the whole squad at the front setting a high tempo, and we can hear the commentators yelling “Alto Velo'' every time we passed the start/finish, which was definitely a proud moment to be part of the team.  

With 1 to go, a solo rider attacked hard on the start/finish stretch. Flo and I immediately jumped onto his wheel. The three of us kept a good gap to the group till the downhill section. While we were concentrated and mentally prepared for the upcoming T3/4 and finish, the race motor suddenly stopped us and neutralized the race as there was a severe crash on the course. This neutralization was much longer (~20 minute), and we all just waited at the start/finish. While this kinda upset Flo and I cause we were certainly in the race-winning move, we knew everyone was tired too and decided to stick with the original leadout plan. Also, it was at this point that I realized what an amazing job our team had done to whittle the whole field down to ~30 people while we still have 7 men!

After the long stop, we were given a neutral lap and 3 laps to finish. John, Conor, Matthew, and Flo did an incredible work controlling the front from 3 to 1 lap to go, then Andrea took over to lead me out into the last lap. Andrea set a furious pace that no one was able to pass, until two riders sneakily attacked the inside line going into T3 and I jumped onto their wheels. I stayed patiently on their wheels as it’s a long drag (~300m) to the finish after T4 and I know I can save some energy by carrying a bit more speed through the technical T4 than most people. I waited until 150m to go to start my sprint and passed the two riders for the win.

Photo credit: Beliera photographpy

We had a victory lap as a team. Huge crowds were cheering on two sides; other riders came and congrats on our win and strategy; the commenters were shouting our names. It was a dreamlike scene in downtown San Rafael that I would never forget; as if we were the yellow-jersey team on Champs-Elysees in Stage 21 of the Tour de France.

Photo credit: Beliera photographpy

This was my first time being “the protected sprinter” on the team. I was never very confident in my sprint and was quite worried that I wasn’t competent for this role before the race. I want to thank all my teammates for their trust in me and their selfless sacrifice throughout the race for this epic team win. I’d also like to thank everyone who came to support the race and cheer on the sides —  we gave our 120% performance for you. Lastly, I want to thank all our sponsors for making this possible —  without your support, we won’t be able to ride together, race together, and win together.

P.S. Now I think I know how David felt when he was the protected sprinter at Snelling earlier this year: “bored” but fresh for the entire race :P 

-Jack

Pescadero 2022 Volunteering

Hi all,

As you may know, Alto Velo will be hosting the Pescadero Coastal Classic on 6/18 after a two-year hiatus. The race has been named the 2022 NCNCA elite road championships and we’re looking forward to some exciting racing!

To make the race a success we need your help! Volunteers are essential to make this a positive and safe experience for racers. Please consider giving back to the club by signing up for a volunteer position in this sheet.

For those of you who are club members, a friendly reminder that by signing the waivers you already agreed to volunteer at a club event 🙂

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

Thank you for volunteering!

May Sponsor of the Month - Kav Sports

Joining as club sponsor this year, KAV Sports is the creator of the KAV Portola helmet. 

This 3D Printed, made-to-order, custom bike helmet is the first to offer both cooling and aerodynamics.

Headquartered in Downtown Redwood City, KAV Sports 3D prints & customizes the Portola Helmet to your exact measurements. The result is, the best helmet Made For You – with no more pressure points, headaches, or dials to adjust. KAV offers what other helmets can’t, a five year warranty, a best fit guarantee and a 100% crash replacement on every helmet for the length of the warranty.

Working with Alto Velo, KAV has created a custom club design that matches our new kit. The Alto Velo/KAV Portola helmet is available to current club members. To order see the Club Deals page in the members’ section of Alto Velo's website.

Happy and safe riding to all.

Pesky Road Race - Save the Date - June 18th

Club,

As part of our membership to the club, we are obliged to volunteer for at least 1 event per year, and the majority of people volunteer for our annual road race. This year, Pescadero Road Race, will be held on June 18th. Please keep this date open. There will be no B Ride that Saturday.

We are really lucky to have Bernardo being our race organizer. He works at Stanford for Recreation & Wellness as the Director of Member Engagement and is also an Advisor/Coach to the Stanford Cycling Team. He has been racing bikes since 2014 and joined Alto Velo Racing Team at the same time as Madden, Shane, Alex, Sweet, Sue Lin, Wendy, and John. These days I'm a Cat 3 Masters Racer for Coretechs and I have rejoined the club this year to help organize the Pescadero Road Race. The Pescadero Road Race is like a local “monument” in the Bay Area racing scene and I look forward to hosting and to seeing you all the day of the race for volunteering as part of your club commitment. Be sure to sign up right away to claim your dibs on the most coveted volunteer spots and times.

Look for follow ups soon on how to volunteer. Thank you for your assistance.

Ed

President, Alto Velo

Please join us for the Bike Hut Classic 2022!!!

Peloton,

We are once again a proud sponsor of this event and over the month of July we will make a couple trips up Tunitas and qualify ourselves for the classic.

Please think about joining this event and helping Abundant Grace.

Ed

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: The Bike Hut
Date: Tue, Apr 19, 2022 at 3:18 PM
Subject: Please join us for the Bike Hut Classic 2022!!!

Dear Friends of the Bike Hut,
We are thrilled to announce that registration is now open for the Bike Hut Classic 2022! This fundraiser ride will once again be DIY, to be completed on your own from July 8 - 24.
All proceeds support Abundant Grace Coastside Worker as they hire the homeless to work at Potrero Nuevo Farm (behind the Bike Hut). The organic produce grown is donated to low-income families, and participants earn money while giving back to the community.
Registration includes a limited edition t-shirt with woodblock art of the Bike Hut (new design for 2022!), a chance to win raffle prizes from Patagonia and more, and entry to our Ride Reception on July 30 with strawberry ice cream sundaes and live music. Top riders will get their names on a plaque in the Bike Hut.
Please join us at www.bikehutclassic.com and help us meet our ambitious goals to register 500 riders and raise $50,000 for Abundant Grace!

*You received this email announcement because you registered for the ride in 2021. Please help us spread the word about the ride by sharing with your fellow cyclists!

Thank you!--
Jay and Suzie TrexlerThe Bike HutPotrero Nuevo Farm
& Abundant Grace Coastside Worker