Club News

Sue Lin Holt 10/18/22 Sue Lin Holt 10/18/22

Novice

Race: Oakland Grand Prix - Women’s Cat 3/4/Novice

Date: September 18th, 2022

AVRT racers: Emily Schell, Louise Thomas, Sue Lin Holt

Race Report: 2022 Dunnigan Hills Road Race - Men's Cat 4

Race: 2022 Dunnigan Hills Road Race - Men's Cat 4

Date: 8/28/22

AVRT Racers: Nat, Brian, Will, Ian, Daniel

Top Result: Daniel (3rd / 25)

Course: Link to the Strava segment. The course was 2 laps consisting of 44 miles with 150 feet elevation, as flat as it gets! The road surface was typical country roads with a couple of bumpy sections but overall fairly good. The back stretch of the course heading into the last mile had a strong headwind for the entire race.

Nutrition: 2 bottles filled with 80 grams of carbs, 1 big bag of gummy bears. Definitely felt a bit under fueled and felt the fatigue set in towards the last lap when the temperatures rose.

Race Recep: Going into this race, we were the largest team and had the most firepower. We came in with a number of gameplans depending on how the race played out. Given the hilly sections after the start finish line, we were expecting a possible breakaway, but knowing how flat most sections were, Brian and I were also ready to sprint.

As the race started, we were going snail pace. A couple of riders were yelling at us to pull through and ride the front but we just ignored them and sat in. We knew how long the race was and didn’t see any reason to start pacing the front. This continued for a while until about halfway through the first lap a couple of solo riders decided to start throwing down on the front. They pulled us along the rest of the lap, until the headwind back stretch where everyone just sat up refusing to work into a headwind.

When we started the second lap, the fireworks started. A super strong Pen Velo rider decided to light up the front going up the hilly sections which strung the field out. Most of us were already positioned up near the front expecting something like this, so Will, Ian and I did some pulls with the Pen Velo rider through these sections to keep the pace up and put some hurt in behind us. This continued for a while until we came out into the flats and the pace mellowed. Unfortunately during all this Nat flatted, and we didn’t manage to communicate this out between ourselves so we ended up drilling the front while Nat was trying to chase back on, which was a lesson learned.

As we neared the last 15 miles or so, a masters field ended up catching us, right as a solo rider attacked out of our group. We ended up getting neutralized while the masters peloton passed us, however the solo rider out front just kept riding and extended his gap. Will and Ian sensed the danger in this and immediately got on the front and started pulling hard. We then ended up catching the masters field and now they were neutralized as we passed them trying to reel this rider out front. When we caught the solo rider from our field, the pace settled and like clock work the masters field caught us again and we got neutralized. This happened two more times until we ultimately ended out in front of the masters group. Going into the headwind section, some of the strong riders noticed that we were the biggest and strongest team and started attacking us into the headwind section. This is where Will and Ian saved the race and began covering every attack. I was sitting in the draft the whole time and I was getting tired from just staying in the wheels with all the accelerations to put it into perspective. With a final turn going into the finishing mile, there was one Mikes Bikes rider left out front and Will burned his final match to reel him in and get us out of the headwind section. Ian stayed on the front and I slotted in behind in second wheel as he pulled us into the last few hills to the finish. Given the insane output Ian just did, he ended up blowing up with exactly 1km to go and I was suddenly left on the front. Knowing I can’t go from 1km out, I sat up too and started looking around which then caused things to explode as a bunch of riders attacked and came around me. I put in a huge dig to get into their wheels and just barely hung on to stay about 5th wheel going into the final uphill sprint drag. I started my sprint and being at my absolute limit while having to weave through a field of 4 guys, three of us came to the line together where I was able to snag third place by a bike throw.

The effort the team put out to cover attacks and keep the race together was amazing. We learned some lessons, specifically around knowing when a teammate has dropped (for a flat in this case) that we need to communicate and not pull on the front to let them catch up, and for me that sitting second wheel with 1km to go is not the right position to be in as it’s very hard to cover any attacks from the back if they come.

Alto Velo 10/16/22 Alto Velo 10/16/22

Race Report: 2022 San Ardo Road Race - Men's Cat 4

Race: 2022 San Ardo Road Race - Men's Cat 4

Date: 8/20/22

AVRT Racers: Nat, Brian, Will, Daniel

Top Result: Daniel (1st / 30), Nat (9 / 30)

Course: Link to the Strava segment. The course was 3 loops of about 23 miles and 375ft elevation gain, so it was as pancake flat as it can get. We were told this race was notorious for its heat given that it’s in the middle of summer out in some farm fields. However we were blessed with 60-70 degrees for the first two laps, until the third lap where it warmed up to our promised mid 90s. Road conditions were pretty good for most of the course, except for a bridge that was covered only in pot holes and giant gaps. Winds were also fairly tame but a constant headwind heading towards the finish was always present. The race finish actually deviated from the course, having us turn left up some slight gradient with a bumpy surface.

Nutrition: 2 bottles filled with 60 grams of carbs, 1 bag of gummy bears, 1 Clif bar. I wanted to grab more water in the neutral feed from one of our teammates but missed the handoff so had to make it work with no water the last lap.

Race Recep: We had a number of gameplans going into this race and were prepared to execute them for any scenario that came up. We came to this race with a stacked squad having FTP monster Nat ready to go up the road in a break if the chemistry was right, Brian and I sitting in if it came down to a sprint, and Will ready to ride the front all day to bring back any dangerous attacks.

The biggest threats we noticed right away were Velo Kings team showing up with 8 or 9 riders and Dolce Vita with a team of 5 riders. The first lap was fairly tame with Velo Kings riding the front the whole time. On the approach to the mentioned bridge, the pace picked up and Will and I would rotate to the front and pull for a bit to ensure we were first to go through to get the best (flat free) lines. The second lap things picked up a bit and became spicy. There was a few miles of road where it got pretty hilly which people started attacking on. It was a flow of constant attack and counter-attack between all of us, but ultimately resulted in everything coming back together.

Nat and Will threw in quite a few big digs during all this which definitely thinned the field up and left my legs a bit fatigued but once we were out of the hills, a rotation with Velo Kings fell back into place and we rolled into the third and final lap.

This time around Will stayed at the front for a bit and pretty much ensured the pace was fast enough where attacks were a lot harder, which kept everything together. At this point it seemed like everyone in this final group of 20 or so riders was content with going to the line for a sprint…and we were ready!!

Going into the last stretch of 10 or so miles, Nat got on the front and pulled everyone pretty much for the entire way into a headwind. This let us rest, relax, and eat, while not having to worry about big surges or attacks. As we got into town, this is where everyone was getting ready for the finish. Brian had tapped me and told me to go for the sprint as his legs were cramping.

So began our leadout. With Nat still on the front riding, Will, Brian, and I all found each other and moved ourselves into position. Brian used his size to just move everyone out of the way which gave Will and I an easy route to the front. As we came into the final uphill drag before the finishing turn, we were sitting about 5th wheel with Nat somehow still having the legs to be riding the front. The moment we hit the uphill, a bunch of riders threw in a massive dig which blew apart the field. Given our perfect leadout to the front, we were positioned to cover this with Will and Brian burning all their matches to get me up to the front. I began to close the gap to the 5 or so riders that went off the front. Nat gave one final dig and I came around him to close the gap and I was sitting about third wheel going into the left turn to the finish.

However this almost fell apart, as just before the left turn, there was another left turn leading onto the 101 south. I began turning left onto the freeway onramp thinking this was the finish until some voice yelled out saying “NEXT LEFT”. This stranger saved my race as I quickly turned back and made the correct turn 100 feet later. The final sprint ended up being very ugly as the 3 of us had about a 250m uphill drag to the finish line. I ended up staying seated grinding it out for the win! I was one of the fastest times of the day for the San Ardo finish segment averaging 550 watts for a minute to win a sprint.

As a team, I think we executed perfectly and raced a very smart race, so I’m super happy to be able to deliver a result. We didn’t waste any energy and only rode the front when needed. We also communicated with each other through the whole race and made sure we’re all on the same page on which tactics we’re following.

Alto Velo 10/16/22 Alto Velo 10/16/22

Race Report: 2022 Watsonville Criterium - Men's Cat 4/5

Race: 2022 Watsonville Criterium - Men's Cat 4/5

Date: 7/9/22

AVRT Racers: Daniel, George, Colin

Top Result: Daniel (10th / 50)

Course: Link to the Strava segment. The course was fairly basic yet had some more dynamics over the typical 4 corner crits. The start/finish line was on a small hill. Another notable factor in the course that caught a lot of riders out was the poor road surface quality. Besides the uneven pavement, there were a couple horizontal gutters across the road that were pretty bumpy and could throw you off your line if you were not paying attention.

Nutrition: Some gummy bears before the race and just 1 bottle with some electrolytes.

Race Recep: With a field of 50, our strategy was to just stay near the front and see how the race plays out. Given that none of us have raced this before, and the technical aspects such as the hill, and sharp corners, we just wanted to stay near the front and avoid getting caught out in a crash or the field separated. The first 25 minutes were absolutely flying. Given the size of the field and “eagerness” of newer riders, dive bombs were happening at almost every corner which caused the field to slow down and accelerate endlessly. I’d work my way to the front, get cut off in some corner or take a bad line, and find myself back in 15th wheel. This went until about halfway into the race where on the start/finish hill a couple of riders threw in a huge attack. I was about 5 wheels back and tried to follow but the gap had opened up enough where the riders in front of me blew up and couldn’t close it so it was up to me. I pulled on the front a little bit but after noticing that I had the whole field on my wheel again I sat up, thinking there is the second half of the race to catch them. This ended up being the wrong move as the winner, Matt Koenig (now racing for us!!) solo-ed away from that breakaway for the rest of the race to take the win.

But back to our group, while the pace settled down a bit after a large portion of the field got sent out the back, nobody would really pull through on the front. The pace would be fast for a few turns, then everyone sat up, and repeat.

Coming into the last few laps, I realized there was no way we’re catching the front, so while I rotated through a bit soft pedaling, I was mostly conserving for the finish. Coming into the last lap I was really happy with my position sitting around 10th wheel. From the warm ups I knew I couldn’t hold a powerful sprint out of the last corner all the way up the hill, so I wanted to aim for 2nd or 3rd wheel coming out of the final turn. However the second to last turn chaos ensued as everyone stopped pedaling and instead of carrying my momentum and just spending the energy to stay near the front, I waited to see who would continue the leadout. In this confusion I got shuffled back and coming out of the final corner, I had to sprint from quite a ways back to weave through to the finish.

Overall the race felt like it was very stressful and we came away with quite a few lessons learned as a team afterwards.

Alto Velo 10/15/22 Alto Velo 10/15/22

Race Report: 2022 Suisun Harbor Criterium - Men’s Cat 4/5

Race: Suisun Harbor Criterium - Men’s Cat 4/5

Date: August 14th, 2022

AVRT racers: Brian Shreeve, George Wehner, Daniel Fonyo, David Shih

Top Result: Brian Shreeve 2/45, Daniel Fonyo 3/45

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

Nutrition: All about this new mix by tailwind nutrition. More sodium than the rest.

https://gelvio.com/collections/hydration-mixes/products/berry-endurance-fuel

Recap:

The pre-race plan was to have Brian and Daniel sit in while George would try to start a break about halfway through the race. Since this was a mixed field cat 4,5 race we planned to stay towards the front where it was safer. The pace of the start of the race was high enough to shed lots of the Cat5 field. Once things settled in George moved to the front to attempt a break. After a few tries he got away at the same time Brian and Daniel tried to slow things at the front of the pack. But after a few laps and some determined riders in the group, George was caught. At the start of the bell lap Daniel was about 5th wheel and Brian was towards the back of the pack. Using the open far inside line Brian was able to move up to the front of the pack in the first two turns of the course. Holding some speed out of turn two he was coming up on Daniel which was forth wheel now. Brian yelled to Daniel “hop on my wheel!” as he still had momentum out of turn two to move to the front of the pack. As Brian moved past the lead rider he asserted his racing line moving to the left pushing the first few riders to the outside line. Brian stayed on the gas until the last turn and he was now in the lead with Daniel now pushed off Brian’s wheel into 3rd place. After the last turn Brian gave it all he had and got passed at the line for 2nd place and Daniel passing a rider to get 3rd. Great to see two Alto Velo riders on the podium and can’t wait for next season with more podiums!

Alto Velo 10/15/22 Alto Velo 10/15/22

Race Report: 2022 Oakland GP - Men’s 3

Race: Oakland Grand Prix - E3

Date: 9/5/22

AVRT Racers: Conor Austin, Nico Sandi, Matt Carvell, George Wehner

Top Results: Conor (1st / 21), George (8th / 21), Nico (9th / 21), Matt Carvell (double flat)

Course: Link to Strava file. The course was a 4ish-turn clockwise lap in Downtown Oakland. I say 4ish because the first turn has a small left-right chicane, with a soft left and then a hard right. The weather was downright awful and diabolical. The women had raced earlier in the day in sideways wind and rain. Velo Promo and the USAC officials were having a tough time keeping their tents in place.

Nutrition: I had a Gu salted lime gel about 20 mins before the start and used one small half-full bottle of water during the race.

Race Recep: With the forecast as it was, Road Captain Nico got clever with our strategy for the day. We wanted to see if we could get an early break going with Nico in it that could stick. If it didn’t, George and Matt would put in their own digs and I would sit protected in the field and wait to sprint for a win with the help of whoever was left. If it were really raining and windy, Nico and I would hit the front to put the pedal to the metal and take the cleanest lines to wean down the field.

Plan A worked! The rain was on and off throughout the race but never as terrible as it was earlier in the day. Nico went solo for at least half of the day in two different moves. In between those moves, George threw out his own moves that caused worry within the field. These moves forced other riders and teams to have to chase all race long. I was able to sit pretty on their wheels and expend zero energy.

We lost Matt to a double flat at some point in the race's latter half, so it was down to the three of us. With 4 to go, Nico was reeled in and George put in a huge dig that caused a bit of panic in the field. Dolce worked hard to bring him back and as soon as they did, Nico went again right at the start of 3 to go! The field panicked again! A few riders worked hard to bring him back and I actually worked to disrupt that chase since I was convinced Nico could go the distance. Unfortunately, he was reeled in as we came into the bell lap. I was prepared to sprint off the work of others as I knew George and Nico had just done a ton of work. With 1 to go, a flyer went from a Davis rider that I latched onto immediately. I found myself 3rd wheel on the backstretch when all of the sudden, I heard shouts of another flyer. It was Nico, again!! I hopped on and yelled to him, “GO, GO, GO!”

We rounded the final turn toward the long finishing drag. I hadn’t burned a single match all day and knew I could go for a long sprint. Nico pulled off and I hit the ignition button, holding on to the win. What I didn’t realize until after the race was that even though I forgot to post up for the winning photo, Nico and George got the job done for me:

Nico, George, and Matt were the absolute MVPs of the day. This was my first win of the season and my first race win period. I had come 2nd or 3rd enough times before to make this one extra special. I was also so proud of my teammates and was just plain stoked that I could bring it home for them and for AV. I only joined the AV race squad midway through the season and it has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. In addition to the win, I was also able to bring home the E3 California Cup, where AV went home with 2nd (Grant Miller) and 4th (Flo Costa) as well.

I’m looking forward to many long off-season rides with AV and meeting so many of you that I have not yet had the chance to meet.

Alto Velo 10/15/22 Alto Velo 10/15/22

Race Report: 2022 Giro di San Francisco - Men’s 3

Race: Giro di San Francisco - E3

Date: 9/5/22

AVRT Racers: Conor Austin, Nico Sandi, Flo Costa, John Janetzko, Daniel Fonyo, Matt Carvell

Top Results: Conor (6th / 40), Nico (9th / 40)

Course: Link to Strava file. The course was a 6-turn clockwise lap in the Levi’s Plaza area of downtown San Francisco. It made for a great atmosphere and it was great to have some of my friends in SF be able to make it out to see what I’ve been doing every weekend all summer. The first three turns came in quick succession, crossing over trolley rails and a few loose manhole covers. This was followed by a short kick up in the road to turn 4 and then a long back straight leading into the final two turns before the start/finish.

Nutrition: I had a Gu salted lime gel about 20 mins before the start and used one small half-full bottle of water during the race.

Race Recep: We knew coming into this race that this was going to be a tough course to move up on. We also knew it was going to be tough for a break to get away and stay away. I had volunteered as a marshal for the morning races and confirmed that was going to be the case. Road Captain Nico emphasized our strength would lie in our numbers as long as we all remained active and in the front half of the field. Our goal was to set up a lead out for either Flo or me to take the win, whichever of us two was feeling the best after 40 minutes.

Right from the gun, this Cat 3 crit classicly descended into disorganized chaos for most riders and their teams, but not for AV! Our guys did a great job of staying at the pointy end and covering early moves. There ended up being a lot of frustration generally throughout the field about the lines being taken into and out of the first two corners. Unfortunately, there were a few things shouted out between riders that should not be repeated here or anywhere. AV heads stayed cool and focused on the task at hand.

At one point about halfway through the race, Nico found himself riding at the front. This is where a string of bad luck started. While Nico was goofing off on the front, he got into a fight with the sidewalk and a parking meter. In the video, you can see my double take and general confusion at seeing him down on the sidewalk. Nico was able to dust off and get himself back into the race with a free lap. Just before that, Flo had dropped his chain going through the technical three-turn section. About a lap or two later, in the same spot, I also dropped my chain. We were both able to keep moving on our bikes and get our chains back on our rings to keep racing.

As the race wound down to the final few laps, Matt was at the front keeping the pace high and fending off flyer attempts. Flo, JJ, and Dan were doing their share of the work throughout the race and in the final few laps as well. I was able to locate Nico with about 3 to go and glued myself to his wheel. Looking around and not seeing many AV bodies, I realized our likelihood of pulling together a lead out was slim, so I tried to communicate as best I could with Nico to set us both up for success. With a little over 1 to go on the long backstretch, the flyers really started to go. We did a great job letting others bring back moves quickly and hold our positioning. Through the last few turns, we both found ourselves pushed off our lines where I should have fought harder to protect our positioning from those behind us. The winning flyer went from the back straight and because I hadn’t fought harder to protect my and Nico’s positioning, we found ourselves pretty boxed in towards the outside edge of the road. As we rounded the final turns onto the finishing straight, Nico and I found ourselves sprinting to pass as many riders as we could to make up positioning. A couple of riders ahead of us collided and crashed, creating a spectacular display of flying bikes.

Overall, this was as chaotic a crit as I have done as a 3. I hope to do this race again sometime in the future. It’s a great way to wrap up Labor Day Weekend!

Alto Velo 10/12/22 Alto Velo 10/12/22

Race Report: [2022 San Ardo Road Race - Men’s Cat p12]

Race: 2022 San Ardo Road Race - Men’s Cat p12

Date: Aug 20, 2022

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

Top Result: Andrea (10/27)

Course: 84 miles on a 22-mile loop of flat and rolling country roads in Monterey County. Good to fair paving, some narrow stretches

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7671499865

Nutrition: Based on 90g/hour with Maurten gels 100, Maurten solid bar, water with 80g Maple Syrup, and mix carbs bottle prepared the day before (with Skratch ?)

Recap:

We started this race as the biggest team of the team, with 4 riders.

The plan was either to get in the break with Cam, Shane or Austin. Or if a break isn’t possible, control the race for me, Andrea, to try to go for the sprint finish. So my job was to try to save as much energy as possible, and fuel correctly to feel fresh at the end of the 84 miles.

An early break of 2 guys during 3 laps held. And it was quite “funny” to see the other teams asking us, Alto Velo, to do the job as the “biggest” team.

Cam, Austin and Shane did very great efforts of controlling the pace and the break to finally catch the break with one lap to go.

Meanwhile we tried to control the other big team, Project 74, Mikes Bikes.

Finally we arrived at the last lap, I mentioned to Cam that I still really feel good, and I am confident in my abilities to have a good result.

In the last 10 miles, some action started. Some attacks, counter attacks, and finally a small group of 5 gets 10-20sec ahead with less than 6 miles to go.

Maybe impatiently I feel that no other team wants to do anything, and I decide to bridge this small group of 5. I managed to do the bridge with a big effort, and join this group with 2 miles to go. However the peloton is just 10 seconds behind.

I decided to go on the front to pull the small group, after asking for another guy to pull, and they all told me they were done, or just didn’t want to pull.

I think I made the mistake of staying at the front of this group, and finally the peloton catch us with 1 mile to go.

I do my best to stay close to the front, but I spent too much energy on the last miles to be able to have a good sprint finish, or any kind of sprint…!

I finally finished 10th behind the guys able to sprint.
Maybe one day this bridge would be successful, but on this day it was not the good option.

Anyway it was a good race in this p12 field with the AV team. There should be more to come next year where Alto Velo can have a very good impact in this field with a very good team.

Looking forward for the next season!
Andrea

Alto Velo 10/12/22 Alto Velo 10/12/22

2022 Suisun Harbor Crit - Men’s Cat P12

Race: 2022 Suisun Harbor Crit - Men’s Cat p12

Date: Aug 14, 2022

AVRT racers: Cameron O’Reilly, Andrea Cloarec

Top Result: Andrea (17/45)

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

And very hot, 102 F under the sun..

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7639330587

Nutrition: One 500ml bottle with Maurten 320 (not enough…)

Recap:

It was quite a big field with 45 riders and the big teams here in a very fast course, position would be super important

Cam started the first 15 minutes at the front, setting a very high pace, while I was sitting at the end of the peloton, saving energy.

From 15’ I decided to move up, it took me 7-8 laps just to get to the top 10 wheels, just when they rang the bell for the preem. So I decided to give it a go, no one really fought for it, and I got the 10 USD preem..! With a good effort haha

Laps keep going, I stay around the 20th position, focusing on my fuel and corners.

Every mistake costs a few positions, and gaining a few positions back costs a lot of power and energy.

From 25’ I start to feel SUPER thirsty. I made the mistake of taking just one bottle with Maurten 320, 80g in 500ml, that’s super dense and not hydrating at all. Next race I’ll definitely have a second bottle of just fresh water.

35’, I need water, but I still have 15 laps to go.

So I did not take any risk as I knew I couldn’t fight for top position, as I didn’t have the power, I was too dehydrated.

I just wanted to finish, focusing on my lines, not having any crash.

So I finished the race at the back of the first group, 17th. Over 45 riders starting, and only 30 finishing the race.

Quite happy for my first race in the p12 field, as I didn’t feel any lack of power or fitness. I’ll just need to keep racing, building experience.

And can’t wait to race with other AV members in this field as we start to build a strong team able to compete with the other big teams of California!

Next stop next weekend, San Ardo and University Road Races.

See you!

Andrea

Alto Velo 10/10/22 Alto Velo 10/10/22

Race Report: 2022 Sand City Criterium - Men’s P123

Race: Sand City P/1/2/3

Date: 9/11/22

AVRT Racers: Cam O’Reilly, Daniel Fonyo, Conor Austin, George Wehner

Top Result: Matt (24th / 54)

Course: Link to the Strava segment. The course was a super-technical 10-turn series of roads outside downtown Monterey. The middle featured a punchy 6-8% climb, which would help me and hurt some of the bigger sprinter folks. The start/finish was located at a brewery and food tents, so it was fun to hang around to watch the other races.

Nutrition: I pounded a quick gel shortly before the start. Had one small bottle of Skratch during the race.

Race Recep: Strategy-wise, since many of us were new to the P/1/2 category, our team had no expectations aside from riding together and navigating our first team crit in this elite field. We were aiming to get our feet wet with higher-category racing.

This race was the first large P/1/2/3 I had ever done, and I was nervously excited. I had zero expectations for myself aside from sitting in, learning the P/1/2 dynamics, and trying to move up through the pack occasionally. I had no problem tailgunning this race.

Since the course was technical, I pre-rode as many laps as possible in the short intermission before our race. Unfortunately, the downside of pre-riding the course was that I lined up last in the peloton — dead last. But in retrospect, I’m very glad I used the extra time to ride the course since the turns were very fast and technical.

The race immediately started with a bang, and it quickly strung out with riders dropping off the back. I tailgunned the first half of the race, happily passing other riders and trying not to expend too much energy at the back.

One difference I noticed from racing the P/1/2 fields vs. the lower categories is that aside from being a faster race, the field is strung out most of the time. The distance from the front to the back of the race (where yours truly rode) hovered between 150-300 meters. Competitors are much less willing to give up their position, so overtaking had to be more deliberate and somewhat calculated.

Cam, our fearless Cat 2 racer with more experience at this level, gave some wise advice about tailgunning and overtaking. He suggested that passing one or two places was a waste of energy since you'd just be trading places with those riders. You'd sprint around one rider, get tired, they'd sprint around you, and so on. Instead, if your goal is to sit in the pack, it's much more efficient to just stay towards the back, where it is easier to hold position. To move up, make one BIG move to overtake many riders.

So, I used this strategy to move around riders who were being dropped and hold my position. Towards the end, I eventually got more confident in the corners. After all, we did a whopping 35 laps of the course. The hill was a great place where I was able to pass riders. On the rare occasions when the pace slowed, I moved myself up through the pack in one big move.

I wish I could say that I duked it out with the leadout trains towards the front of the race (Mikes Bikes ended up winning the race – see NorCal Cycling’s video) – but I was way too far back to contest the sprint.

Overall, I was very stoked to have survived my first P/1/2/3 crit and to feel like I successfully participated. Our team rode well together for much of the race and was so fun getting our feet wet with the professional categories.

Highly recommend this course and hope to race it again next year with more aspiring goals. Only up from here!

My boring GoPro footage of the last 5min: https://youtu.be/d2HZ-1sH2vo

Perspective from another racer w/ commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJkbdRJfm0A

-Matt Carvell

Gina Yuan 10/10/22 Gina Yuan 10/10/22

2023 Alto Velo Racing Team Application

Thanks to everyone who came out to the women's recruiting rides this weekend. We had a blast enjoying the views on top of Mora, suffering on Skyline, and eating delicious pizza from our sponsor Terún. An announcement about men's recruiting rides is coming soon.

Applications for both the men's and women's teams in 2023 are now open here: https://forms.gle/JJHiLKQgkZERNtoQ7. Complete the application and we'll be in touch shortly. Questions? avrt@altovelo.org

Alto Velo 10/5/22 Alto Velo 10/5/22

AVRT Women's Coffee Ride this Saturday (10/8/22)

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

To kick off our recruiting weekend, on Saturday I’ll be leading a conversational pace ride from Palo Alto to Saratoga and back. We’ll regroup at the top of each climb (Page Mill to Altamont, Mt Eden & Pierce, and Mora: Trail of Tribulation), with a longer water stop at Saratoga and coffee/pastries afterwards.

For anyone that wants a bit more of a workout, this week’s A ride on Sunday will also be led by the women’s race team (stay tuned for more info).

Hope to see you there!

- Louise

Start: Summit Bicycles, Palo Alto

Time: 9am, Leave ~9:15am

Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3012112141136194760

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)

Alto Velo 10/3/22 Alto Velo 10/3/22

Race Report: 2022 Mare Island Pedalfest Women’s Cat B

Race: Mare Island Pedalfest Women’s Cat B

Date: September 25, 2022

AVRT racers: Niky Taylor

Top Result: Niky 1/10ish

Course: The course was described as “urban cyclocross” and “riding through 142 years of Naval history.” I did not learn much about Naval history but we did have to ride over some thick anchor chains, through some water, over wood chips, around a lot of trees and sharp corners, and much more. Apparently the course had 15 features but I’m not sure what they were counting because I felt like there were at least 100. It was awesome.

Leading up to the race, I was pretty nervous about racing in a cyclocross format (aka throw yourself everywhere) on pavement in an urban setting. But when I arrived and rolled onto the course for a pre-ride, that nervousness totally turned into excitement. The course was unlike anything I’d ridden before. It felt more like a scavenger hunt than a race. I knew it was going to be a blast just to ride it. I killed an hour cheering for the men, meeting some other women, and changing my race category to B after feeling like I’d sandbagged the C’s at VSRTCX the day before. I rolled up to the start line and they sent the A’s off, then the Masters age categories, then us (the B’s and C’s).

Right away I gunned it, not wanting to get stuck behind anyone for the first section—which involved a shallow pool, then weaving through hay bales, riding over the anchor chains, and finally balancing on wood planks. Normally this all came at the end, but at the start of the race they made us ride this first. I hit the water first but then another woman charged in front of me, pulling ahead through the hay bales and hitting the chains and wooden boards first. I later found out her name was Jessie (I am 90% sure that’s right), and pretty much my whole race was against her.

In the first lap I couldn’t stop smiling, it was just so much fun. I made sure to keep track of Jessie and not let her get away. Going over the wood chips I heard someone yell “Don’t jump!” but it was too late, I was already in the air. I came down front wheel first on a terrible landing and nearly crashed, screamed, and I heard the same person yell “Yeah I told you don’t jump!” I yelled ok and filed that helpful info away for future laps. I later learned that jump had apparently taken out like half a men's field.

I kept tracking Jessie, and we started passing a lot of the Masters riders. It was tough to get by but I managed to get in front. Then, on a hairpin, the rider in front of me got confused and stopped suddenly. I slowly, awkwardly crashed on the turn to avoid hitting her. She yelled “sorry!” I yelled “it’s fine!” and Jessie jumped over me and I scrambled to get after her. I caught back up to her, passed, and got a bit of a gap, until I dropped my chain at the start of lap 2. I threw it back on and caught her again, drafting on a rare straightforward pavement section to recover a bit. Then I dropped my bottle on a bumpy section which was a bummer but RIP can’t stop won’t stop (I went and got it after the race though).

I tried a couple times to gap Jessie, but mostly it was too hard to get by other people. I was confident I had more fitness, but she had slightly better bike handling. She was able to get a gap on the water crossing and hay bales the first two times, so at the end of the second lap I dropped back to learn her line. I copied it and stuck with her, and pedaled through everything to keep my chain this time.

Then at the beginning of the third lap we hit a wide, extremely smooth paved turn. My tires were still wet and I slid out and crashed hard. Jessie was gone. I picked myself up, considered leaving the race, but had been having so much fun and wanted to finish. I got back on and realized my bars were totally twisted. I stopped again and forced them back into a somewhat straight position, then carried on, just in time to get out ahead of the woman in third place coming up behind me.

I was resigned to second. But theeeeen I saw Jessie, and the gap wasn’t that big. It took me most of the lap to close it down, but when we hit the final stretch I knew I had her. I attacked, but she stuck with me. So I dropped back right before the water. I followed her line through, and then right after the wooden planks sprinted and threw my bike a bit to take the win by just a few inches.

As soon as we stopped moving Jessie and I looked at each other, grabbed hands, and just started screaming and laughing. This race really beat me up but it was so much fun. I loved the course, racing Jessie and the other women, and all the vibes. I was so excited to snag the win in the end.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7867391199
Nutrition: Had a clif blok before the start of the race.

Alto Velo 10/3/22 Alto Velo 10/3/22

Race Report: 2022 VSRTCX Women’s Cat C

Race: VSRTCX Women’s Cat C

Date: September 24, 2022

AVRT racers: Niky Taylor

Top Result: Niky 1/10ish

Course: This was a fun course, with lots of sharp turns, a few non-traditional barriers and some logs to ride over. It also featured a fire road climb, a rideable run-up, and a lot of weaving through Manzanita which resulted in a lot of ripped jerseys.

This was my second ever cyclocross race, so I signed up for cat C. The race started and it took me about 5 years to clip in. When I finally did I surged and managed to get into second position for my cat. Positions were pretty fixed through the first twisty section with no opportunities to pass. Then we hit the fire road climb which let me pass a lot of people, getting into first position for my cat. The rest of the lap was great until at the very end of it I dropped my chain. It took maybe 20-30 seconds to get it back on, and I completely lost track of the race. So when I finally got back on I ramped it up in case someone from my cat had passed me.

The next lap was faster. I got a gummy worm from a fishing pole. I got some air jumping one of the logs and there is a great photo and my face is terrible. Then the third lap was also fast but alas no gummy worm. Coming into the end of the third lap I was unsure if I was done or not, but since I’d only been riding for 33 minutes I figured I should go until I hit 40. So I rode another lap and it was pretty hard cause I was tired but it was fun. At the end I realized I was ahead the whole race and won the category by a decent amount, so figured I should sign up for cat B in the future.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7861995399
Nutrition: Half a bottle of Nuun hydration mix, 2 clif bloks at the start, half a gummy worm during the race

Alto Velo 9/29/22 Alto Velo 9/29/22

Race Report: 2022 Patterson Pass Road Race - Men’s Cat 4

Race: Patterson Pass Road Race - Men’s Cat 4

Date: 8/7/2022

AVRT racers: Jeremy Besmer, Nat Green, Matt Koenig, Ian Twamley, George Wehner

Top Results: Matt 1st, Jeremy 3rd, George 4th, Ian 8th out of 51 starters.

Course: 3 laps of a hilly 23-mile loop with two main climbs: 20-25 minutes up Patterson Pass Rd and 8-10 minutes up Flynn Rd. Very strong headwind on the Patterson Pass climb and descent, tailwind on the Flynn Rd climb, and crosswinds everywhere else.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7600178926

Nutrition: 3 bottles of Cam’s Super Secret Rocket Fuel (maltodextrin+lemon lime skratch+caffeine) plus 1 neutral feed water bottle

Race Recap: Patterson Pass is a notoriously challenging race with big climbs made harder by strong winds and usually hot temperatures. We ended up lucky this time with temperatures staying in the double digits.

We went into this race with a team of strong climbers who were all capable of winning the race. Since the starting field was huge with 51 starters and this race is typically a war of attrition, we planned to sit in for the first lap to get a feel for the field and course. For the subsequent laps, we planned to have Ian, Matt, and Nat initiate some attacks while George and I sat in. We had identified our likely strongest competitors to be Benedikt Bunz and Abraham Sanchez (SJBC), both of whom are very strong climbers but without teammates in the field. We wanted to isolate them early in the race to make them work.

Lap 1

The strong westerly winds effectively neutralized the Patterson Pass climb, which the peloton rode slowly and mostly together. I noticed people rode the first descent conservatively with slow lines which would be something that could be exploited later in the race. The peloton rode the Flynn Rd climb at a steady, hard pace but there weren’t any attacks, so I settled in for the rest of the lap trying to conserve energy in the crosswinds. On the crosswind section leading to the finish of the lap, Matt put in an attack that strung out and dropped half the field. Unfortunately Nat flatted out earlier in the lap, but the four other AVRT riders made it into this lead group.

Lap 2

The remaining lead group slowed as we headed towards the Patterson Pass climb. Climbing into the headwind was slow again, but there were some attack attempts on steeper sections. Most of these were fruitless, until a junior attacked on the final kicker near the top of the Pass. Matt and I followed the attack, which strung out the field leading into the descent. Matt went into the descent with a small gap ahead of the junior rider, followed by me at the front of the field. Matt dropped the junior rider on the descent, who then slowed the field and allowed Matt to establish a ~15 second gap on the field. With Matt off the front, the three of us stayed near the front of the peloton to follow and disrupt any moves. There were a few attempts to organize a chase in the field, but we managed to disrupt any serious attacks. Matt’s gap grew to ~45 seconds by the end of the lap. There was a strong attack on the crosswindy section leading to the finish of the lap, which dropped much of the remaining field, leaving a group of ~10 riders going into the final lap about 45 seconds behind Matt. This group included Ian, George, and me, along with our two primary threats, Benedikt and Abraham.

Lap 3

The group of 10 rode very slowly on the flat section leading into the Patterson Pass climb, with no one willing to pull into the headwind. This showed that the group had given up on catching Matt—this was now a race for second place. Leading into the final Patterson Pass climb, we regrouped to discuss how to change our strategy in order to finish best among this following group.

At the start of the climb, Ian set a hard pace for the first few minutes, which split the field. The lead group of 5 consisted of Ian, George, Abraham, Benedikt, and me. On the steep section in the middle of the climb, Benedikt attacked, which unfortunately dropped George but the rest of us followed. As soon as we caught him, I immediately counterattacked and successfully cracked Benedikt—this was the last we would see of him. Ian and I sat in behind Abraham for the rest of the climb, and then I attacked over the top to get a small gap leading into the descent. Benedikt ended up dropping back to George, and the two of them stayed together until George attacked him on the climb’s final kicker in an effort to bridge the gap solo.

Unfortunately, Abraham caught me on the descent so I sat behind him as we turned onto Flynn Rd where Ian and George soon caught back on. Ian told me he was cramping and he fell off halfway up the climb. Abraham subsequently attacked on a steep section, and George and I were unable to respond. He had a ~5-10 second gap at the top of the climb, which I knew would be hard to close in the fast cross- and tailwind sections leading to the finish. George and I tried to work together but failed to close the gap. We rode as hard as we could to the end, where I finished third and George finished fourth.

We didn’t see much of him, but Matt crushed this race! He won riding off the front solo for half the race while we did a great job with team tactics in the group behind to help him win. It’s amazing to get a win on a tough course with a huge field, but even more impressive to have 4 AVRT riders finish in the top 8!

Alto Velo 9/28/22 Alto Velo 9/28/22

Race Report: [2022 University Road Race - Men’s Cat 4/Novice]

Race: University Road Race - Men's Cat 4/5

Date: August 21st, 2022

AVRT racers: Daniel Fonyo, Nat Green, George Wehner

Egan racers: Jerome Sierra, Julien Amblard, Justin Molush, Otto Jolanki, Tanner DeVoe, Tommy Tognoli

Top Result: George 5/51, Nat 7/51

Course: 15 laps of a 2.75-mile circuit, consisting of a 1.25-mile climb with a steep kicker at the end followed by a 1.5-mile, mostly straight, wide descent into a headwind.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7678071822/

Nutrition: Started with two bottles of 90g maltodextrin-Gatorade mix, but only drank about ⅔ of a bottle before dropping both, and took a few sips from neutral bottles every 2-3 laps.

Recap: First off, I’d like to acknowledge how great it was to have this race be a collaboration between AVRT and Egan! It was amazing seeing so many people I know from the Egan rides at this race, and I’m really proud of everyone who showed up and gave racing a shot.

Going into this race, we expected the first few laps to be pretty spicy and for things to somewhat chill out after that. We knew the competition would be tough - while there weren’t a ton of teams, there were a lot of very strong solo riders pre-registered. I had marked solo rider Benedikt and juniors Owen (Team California) and Nate (Team Hairy and Scary). We decided that our best chance for a good result (and hopefully a win) was to race for me, as Nat had raced San Ardo the previous day. I also really wanted to win this race.

The first few laps of the race were a lot less difficult than I thought. Since everyone knew we had 15 laps, very few people wanted to push the pace. Solo rider Yann tried to get away solo on lap 2, but we caught him a lap later. Unfortunately, Justin crossed wheels with someone and went down on the steep kicker on lap 2, but fortunately he was ok and even almost chased back onto the group.

On lap 6, Team Swift junior Aiden attacked hard, and Benedikt, Owen, Nate, and another junior all followed, so even though it was earlier than I wanted to go, I knew I had to stay with it. Benedikt also helped contribute to making this break go. This lap was so fast that we did the climb faster than any of the Pro/1/2 racers that day. I was hanging on for dear life, but desperation is a powerful motivator, so I stuck with it. The next lap wasn’t much easier, as we were continuing to push the pace to establish the break. Nate dropped his chain at one point but miraculously managed to chase back on.

The next 5 or so laps were relatively uneventful - our gap had blown out and we probably had close to 2 minutes on the group at this point in time. Because of this, we decided to back off the pace to avoid blowing ourselves up and getting caught by the field. However, Benedikt would put in these digs every lap after the turn at the bottom of the hill and shut down the power as soon as we caught back on. The rest of us had to follow him, since he’s a risk even getting away solo, but these surges started to get to me by the last few laps. Towards the top of the hill on 3 to go, the Team Swift junior tried another attack, forcing me to use yet another bullet, which I was starting to run desperately short of.

On the second to last lap, all six of us just looked at each other, as no one wanted to work, so we climbed the hill at a snail’s pace. I was ok with this as I needed the recovery, but I was a little worried about attacks. Benedikt tried getting away on the descent this lap but it didn’t work.

Going through the bell lap, Owen and Aiden attacked the group, and I got stuck just a few too many bike lengths away to get the draft. I was chasing for the rest of the lap and almost caught back on at the top of the hill, but once we started descending, I couldn’t catch them. Benedikt, who ended up getting dropped a little further than me, caught me on the descent and I slotted in. After 10-15 seconds, he elbowed me through, and I didn’t go. He thought I was playing games, but the truth is, my entire body was telling me to stop.

After we turned the final corner onto the climb, I completely cracked. I didn’t cramp, but my whole body was just so shot that I physically couldn’t push beyond low zone 2, and even that hurt. Nate, who had been dropped a fair bit earlier on the previous lap, ended up catching me and passing me like I was standing still. It took every last bit of strength just to finish the race, and as soon as I crossed the line, I handed my bike to the nearest person and collapsed. I laid down on the ground, almost crying, for a solid minute and a half. I got up just in time to see Nat take 7th, winning the sprint from the main group (or what was left of it).

5th wasn’t the result I was looking for, but a podium is a podium, and I gave everything I had, so I can’t be too unhappy with the effort. There are some things I could’ve done differently - I ate a little too much wind on the descents - but overall, I think I made the right decisions and just lost to a very talented group. I’m pretty sure everyone on the podium, including myself, is now either upgrading to Cat 3 or getting quite close.

Cam O'Reilly 9/25/22 Cam O'Reilly 9/25/22

Race Report: 2022 Santa Cruz University Road Race - Men’s P12

Race: Santa Cruz University Road Race - Men’s P12

Date: 8/21/2022

AVRT racers: Andrea Cloarec, Austin King, Cam O’Reilly

Top Results: Cam 12/25

Course: 20 laps of a 2.7 mile course, spent going either up or down a hill. Basically no flat sections. Cool and foggy.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7677119920/overview

Nutrition: 2 bottles of Skratch/Maltodextrin for 150g carbs and 100mg caffeine. I should have done this as half-bottles and made better use of the feedzone to minimize extra weight as well as force myself to fuel more consistently.

Race Recap: This is a race of attrition. Typically I would have favored myself for a hilly race like this one, but I had put in a lot of work to reel in a break and control the pace at San Ardo the day before. The plan was for Austin to keep things together early on, allowing Andrea and I to conserve energy for when attacks went in later laps.

Unfortunately only about five laps into the race Andrea hit some road debris and flatted at the end of the descent. Thankfully he kept it upright and stopped safely. Then he went for a run. No doubt this contributed to his stellar Triathalon performance later this season!

At about 8 laps in one of the riders I remembered from Patterson Pass attacked on the climb and I followed along with Chris on Mike’s Bikes and Will on Olympic Club. In retrospect this was a bad idea; the long, straight descent gave too much of an advantage to the larger group and Chris quickly made it clear he was not going to contribute. We spent about a lap in the break and were then caught. The pace accelerated from there and we began dropping more riders, including Austin.

From there on I tried to conserve energy as more riders were dropped. At one point with about 3 laps to go I was gapped at the start of the climb and managed to claw my way back to the front group. This spot was always tricky for me, as I wasn’t as comfortable carrying speed through the corner and needed to accelerate harder than the more confident riders. With 1 to go the pace accelerated and I was dropped, finishing solo off the front group but well ahead of the rest of the field.

Overall I could have done better by being more conservative early on, fueling better, and carrying more speed through the corner at the bottom of the hill. Fitness-wise I was happy with my performance: 5w/kg normalized for over two hours is as fit as strong I’ve ever been. But racing, even on a non-technical course, is more than fitness. Looking forward to doing this one again next year!

Cam O'Reilly 9/25/22 Cam O'Reilly 9/25/22

Race Report: 2022 Patterson Pass Road Race - Men’s P12

Race: Patterson Pass Road Race - Men’s P12

Date: 8/7/2022

AVRT racers: Austin King, Cam O’Reilly

Top Results: Cam 8/19

Course: 4 laps of a hilly 22 mile loop. Two main climbs: Patterson Pass Rd and Flynn Rd with fast descents in between. Strong West wind, meaning the Patterson climb.descent were directly into a headwind and the Flynn climb/descent were with a tailwind.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7600113060

Nutrition: 5 bottles of Skratch/Maltodextrin for 350g carbs and 250mg caffeine, plus to bottles of neutral water which I half drank an half dumped on myself

Race Recap: Patterson Pass is known to be one of the hardest races on the calendar and this year was a nice reminder why. The day was extremely windy, making the Patterson climb even harder/slower than usual and meaning the Flynn climb was in what felt like still air on sunny, 80-something degree day. As such, the only people who lined up for the start were those who had a shot at a result, so we started with a field of 19. The field was full of extremely strong climbers, including Tim McBirney and Quinn Felton who went 1-2 in the race last year as teammates on Team California.

Since there were no large teams at the race, I expected us to have a slower first lap where the course would do more damage to the field than the riders would. That was not the case. About 10 minutes in, Tim attacked out of the group. At first nobody responded (80 miles is a VERY long way to go solo), but then Quinn attacked. Had this been any other combination of two riders I would have let them go and trusted the peloton to reel them in, but given both their strength and history as teammates the chances of them working well together and staying away were high enough, so I followed. Aden, who I raced with at Pine Flat earlier this year, followed me so we formed a group of 3. The next two laps were absolutely brutal. I dropped back from the break, joined a chase, made contact with the break, we were joined by some riders and lost some riders and all generally suffered.

The third time up Patterson I couldn’t quite hold the pace and was dropped just before the summit. I knew I had a large gap on any riders behind (but no idea what their composition looked like), so I focused on saving energy and maintaining speed wherever possible. The fourth time up Patterson I was caught by the remnants of field. Again as we neared the summit somebody attacked, but this time I was strong enough to go with the move. We rolled turns fairly well through the flatter sections, picked Aden who had been dropped from the front break, and made our way to the finish.

As we made the final turn with about 2k to go I attacked. I didn’t expect to get away here, but rather to shed some riders and figure out who still had the legs and will to chase. Four of us settled into a tempo. At 1k to go I positioned myself in 3rd wheel and prepared to sprint. Aden was riding the front and with about 300m to go surged and began to ride away. The rider in 2nd didn’t respond, but rather than close the gap immediately I waited another ~100m so I could jump across with a harder surge that was less likely to lead out other riders. I slipped into Aden’s draft, then passed him with about 100m to go to take 8th overall.

Looking back I definitely went in over my head by joining the early break, but even so I’m glad I gave it my best effort. I put myself in a position to win rather than settle racing for a top-10 finish, and had I ridden a little smarter or had slightly better legs on the day I might have stuck with the front 7 riders and been sprinting for a top-5 instead of a top-10. I’m also happy I made the most of the situation and came first in the bunch “sprint” at the end, as that’s been a significant weakness for me both this season and last.

Alto Velo 9/23/22 Alto Velo 9/23/22

Race Report: 2022 Mammoth Tuff

Race: Mammoth Tuffest 2022 - Long Course

Date: September 17, 2022

AVRT racers: Niky Taylor, Kristina Okamoto

Top Result: Niky 5th/8, Kristina 6th/8, but 1 and 2 in our age group :)

Course: This was a 107 mile gravel race so I am sorry that this report is so long. About 30% of the course was paved road, 70% was dirt/gravel road. Sand and washboard were major themes. The course started in Mammoth (about 6500ft altitude) with a 5 mile neutral roll out and went towards Bishop, overall descending into the valley for the first 55ish miles. The last 52ish miles involved climbing back up to Mammoth. Overall the elevation gain was about 8000ft for the whole course, and it being concentrated in the last half and on sandy roads made it a really difficult ride. There were aid stations at 55 miles, 78 miles, and 98 miles. Each was fully stocked with water and nutrition, and the station at mile 55 included a drop bag that we had each pre-packed.

This was Kristina’s and my first true gravel race, and going into it my main goal was just to do it. It was also longer than any gravel ride I had done before. We arrived in Mammoth late on Thursday to give ourselves some time to adjust to the elevation and prep. We rode the 18 mile pre-ride on Friday and were thrilled with the condition of the dirt roads we did on that ride. Unfortunately, most of that route wasn’t included in our race route.

The night before we packed our drop bags and bikes. In the morning, we took a bit too long making breakfast and ended up rushing to the start line. As soon as we rolled up, I realized my back tire was flat because my valve stem had rattled loose. A really nice guy lent me his CO2 to re-inflate it since we only had 30 seconds to race start, and I only had my pump with me. We got it inflated and caught on with the neutral roll out quickly.

After this fairly stressful start to the race, I saw several other riders get flats or mechanicals within the first 5 miles. Since it was during the neutral roll-out, most of them just did a quick fix and jumped back in. At 5 miles the race started and about half the group took off. The rest of us spent the next 10 or so miles spreading out and forming small groups, finding our pace, and enjoying the beautiful mountain views. We were mostly descending, so I found myself pushing to keep up with Kristina who is naturally a better descender. I started to realize how effective drafting still was even though we were on dirt. Kristina and I rode with two other women, Charity and Sam.

Around mile 19 we hit road and drafting became even more effective. Some guy shouted to me, Kristina, and Charity to do 30 second pulls. Sam was farther ahead. He pulled for about 5 seconds, then pulled off so Kristina took over. Charity and I did our pulls, then we caught up to two other riders, then Sam. A couple other guys, Kendall and Albert, caught onto our extremely disorganized group and we all drafted the two guys in front, until I went up and asked if they wanted help. They said sure, so I yelled at our group and got us going in a rotating paceline. Possibly the most successful thing I’ve ever done in a race.

At mile 30 we turned back onto gravel. Albert and Kendall missed the turn so we had to shout at them to come back. Then we began to hit more intense descents. Kendall dropped his chain and several other riders got mechanicals. Kristina was cruising. I was comfortable with the descent, but I was feeling a bit off and realized I hadn’t eaten anything. I managed a few sips of water and a clif blok, but the descents were getting sandier and steeper and soon I couldn’t take my hands off the handlebars.

We hit the major descent around mile 40 and I knew I was about to lose Kristina. She rocketed down the -12% sandy gravelly slope. I followed, nearly crashing in some sand but managing to keep it together. Somewhere I lost a bottle off my fork, but since I had 3 more and knew I could get another in 15 miles I didn’t bother looking for it. Kendall caught up to me but dropped his chain again. The road began to flatten out, but it was completely washboarded and still pretty sandy. Thus began what would be about 20 miles of choosing between washboard and sand or both. I saw Kristina in the distance and buckled down to catch up to her. I tried to eat something but the road was so bumpy it was still really difficult. This was probably the most frustrated I was during the whole course, because the washboard just made it impossible to pedal smoothly or eat or drink.

I’d just caught Kristina when my second bottle on my fork fell out, and I stopped for it since I had already lost one. I realized that the bolts on my fork were rattling loose and I had lost two, hence why I kept dropping bottles. I fixed it as quickly as I could with some spare bolts, slammed a handful of trail mix since I was stopped anyways, and then got moving.

At mile 55 I reached the first aid station. Kristina had been there for several minutes already. If we had been more serious about racing, this is the moment where we lost the race (well, where we lost third place) because both Charity and Sam had rolled up with Kristina and then taken off again quickly. Kristina and I both realized we had brought too much of the wrong types of food, but luckily we had plenty to choose from in our drop bags and at the aid station. We ended up taking about half an hour re-packing snacks, re-organizing kit, adjusting hydration, using the bathroom, and in general just fixing all the things we’d realized needed adjusting in the first 55 miles.

We set out again more calmly and resolved to just ride together for a bit. We’d done the first 55 miles in 3 hours, but knew it was the “easy” 55 miles and the toughest was yet to come. We continued on more sand and washboard, but now I was able to eat having exchanged my stupid trail mix for more practical granola bars.

The road began sloping up and Kristina started to fall behind me. When we hit the main climb around mile 68 she told me to just go. There were a couple people there handing out water, a “bonus aid station” that wasn’t planned. It was getting hot. The climb was about 2500ft over 8 miles. I made sure to pace myself and focus on drinking as much as I could. This climb had really cool rock formations, and if Kristina were writing this race report it would probably mostly be about the cool geology, but unfortunately I’m writing it so you have to just hear about how bad an idea trail mix was.

I saw a few people on the climb, but for most of this stretch I rode solo. I saw a snake. There were some other climbs after the main one. I contemplated how I probably didn’t need 4 full bottles of water, and how hydration mix is fantastic and I should just get more of that. I felt great rolling up to the second aid station at mile 78. I restocked on hydration and waffles. After a few minutes I headed out right when Kristina rolled in. Since there were some descents coming soon I figured she’d catch up.

Turns out there was more climbing that I forgot about. I was tired but it was fine, all about 4-5%. The scenery was nice. At mile 83 I hit a descent. It was incredibly sandy, and it started with a short -16% section. I somehow managed to slip and slide my way down without falling, then continued through essentially a 3 mile sand pit. I was super stoked that I was able to ride it all, and I passed several people who were walking their bikes through the worst of it.

I was feeling pretty good after the sand, and then at mile 88 I turned onto a stretch of road. I thought, excellent, I just rode through sand, this is gonna be really great. No. It was not great. Because I am a feather, and there was a strong headwind, and I got absolutely wrecked for 5 miles. I desperately wanted someone else to show up but I was totally alone.

At mile 93 it was back to gravel, still with a headwind. I was really struggling, but eating and drinking and just telling myself to keep pedaling. It was amazing how I went from tired but fine to totally spent in the span of about 6 miles. At mile 95 a very chipper guy suddenly popped up next to me and said hello. I was hyped to see another rider, and was even more hyped when it turned out he was riding with Kristina. The guy introduced himself as Andres, and then happily told me how caffeinated he and Kristina both were because they’d been drinking the monster energy drink at the aid station and eating lots of caffeinated goo. I told Andres I hadn’t had any caffeine and he assured me that it would solve all my problems.

We got to the aid station and I just couldn’t bring myself to try the monster drink. So I tried my first ever goo to get some caffeine. I did not like it very much. I ate a caffeinated waffle instead. Kristina said something about getting on her bike, so I followed her. Andres was happily chatting to someone else, but saw us leaving and grabbed his bike to leave with us.

That was really nice of him because we were still going into the wind, mostly on pavement, and Kristina and I mostly drafted off him. I learned Andres was at Mammoth racing to win, but had some mechanicals and was set back so much he’d bonked after catching back on. So he recovered and then decided to just have a good time and hang out with people. He was hugely helpful both for moral support and for letting us draft him. At one point I tried to return the favor, even though I was way too exhausted to pull for long. He told me to stop it, saying either I needed to grow or he needed to shrink for me to be an effective draft.

At 104 miles we hit the final gravel climb. Kristina fell back a bit and I continued up, Andres slightly ahead of me. We turned onto the final stretch of pavement, which felt like nothing when I’d biked it that morning but now felt like the longest mile of my life. As we approached the finish, Andres slowed down and I got confused. I asked what he was doing and he yelled “go go go!” and pushed me to cross the finish line before him.

Kristina rolled over the finish line a minute later and we celebrated by taking a selfie with Andres. I was tired and the sun was in my eyes and I did an abysmal job of aiming the camera, so I’m not in the picture. Then I got free pizza and talked with other people about their rides. This race was great, so well organized and quite the challenge.

Thank you for reading my novel. The end.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7825480539#kudos

Nutrition: I started with 3 bottles of water, 1 bottle of Nuun hydration mix, and tons of snacks including clif bloks, a couple honey stinger waffles, trail mix, and jerky. Over the first 55 miles I had a bit less than 1 bottle of Nuun mix, 1 clif blok, and the pack of trail mix. At mile 55 I reorganized so I could better access food. From there I ate at least 4 or 5 waffles, a Kate’s bar, a Bobo’s bar, a full sleeve of clif bloks, a packet of jerky, a vanilla gel, and 2 bags of lays chips. I drank about 5 bottles of various non-caffeinated hydration mixes from aid stations, water, and Nuun. Fueling was difficult the first half of the race, easier once I adjusted. In the future I would only carry 3 bottles, not 4, and I would pack mostly small bars like the Kate’s and Bobo’s which are easy to open and eat in a bite or two.

Feedzones: 55 miles, 78 miles, 98 miles. All had water, monster energy drinks, gatorade hydration mixes, lots of snacks including chips and waffles and gels. Mile 55 included drop-bags that each rider had pre-packed for themselves.

Alto Velo 9/21/22 Alto Velo 9/21/22

Race Report: 2022 Sand City Criterium - NCNCA Masters District Championship

Race: Sand City Crit - women 35-49 district championship race

Date: September 11th, 2022

AVRT racers: Sue Lin Holt

Top Result: Sue Lin Holt - 1st (age group), 2nd (combined field)

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/7793096941

Nutrition: A few Clif Bloks on the start line, half a bottle of SiS GO Electrolyte lemon & lime during the race

Course: 1.1km technical 10 corner course with a short hill

After Cam sent out this Strava course map, my immediate question was “how do we avoid crashes where the course crosses itself?”. Luckily I have really helpful teammates who were able to provide the following advice:

https://youtu.be/msWpkaCnWHY?t=198

and…

Based on this, I wasn’t feeling particularly confident about the course. But I was happy to realize that the 4-way intersection was in fact divided diagonally and so we were actually taking two right turns instead of going straight through racing traffic! Also I’ve been telling myself I should work on my cornering and 20+ laps of 10 corners seemed like an efficient way of doing that.

Race morning arrived, I lined up, and soon the whistle blew. A rider from the Live Play Real Estate team attacked from the gun, meanwhile I failed to clip in not once but twice. So I was left several bike lengths off the back struggling to catch back on through this twisty course. The first three laps were a struggle as the rider who attacked continued to set a high pace and I attempted to figure out the best lines through corners. Each lap I would just about catch back onto the group through the start/finish straight and then get gapped again as the front of the race sprinted out of corners ahead of me.

I was grateful to have Skyler and Nico on course cheering me on, and it helped me to stay positive and try to come up with a plan. I knew I needed to move up as it is always more surge-y through the corners if you’re at the back. I found that the easiest sections to move up on were the start-finish and the hill section, so I gradually started passing riders and became much more comfortable with the smoother cornering towards the front of the race.

A few riders attacked during the next 30 minutes but others seemed motivated to not let anything get away, and I was happy to only have to chase down one move, allowing me to recover slightly from chasing during the early laps.

As the bell rang for one lap to go I tried to figure out a strategy - either attack early or wait for the bunch sprint on the final straight. I knew everyone would be fighting for position around the last few corners, and as we rounded corners 1 & 2 I tried to focus on looking for an opportunity. Sure enough, after corner 2 the race slowed ever-so-slightly as we hit the headwind section. I saw space on the left side of the road and accelerated to gain a few positions before the fast-approaching right turn. Then I attacked as hard as I could up the hill. I reached the top of the hill first, and knowing there was less than a minute to the finish I gave it everything I had through the last six turns. I knew there were a few other women who were likely better at cornering than me, so I fully expected riders to start coming past at any moment, but somehow I rounded the final turn into the finish still in first position. By then my legs were burning but I could see the finish line and sprinted as hard as I could. With a few meters to go, the Live Play Real Estate rider who had been sitting on my wheel for the last half lap managed to edge past me and I crossed the line second place overall. But as she was in a younger category and I held off all the other racers, I won the masters district championship for my age group!

This was the inaugural race on this course and I’m glad I showed up and got some fast cornering practice. I feel like I learn a little more about my abilities with each race I do, and this ended up being a really fun course. Final lesson learned: don’t lend your fast socks to Skyler after your race - she will steal your course QOM by one second ;-)

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