Club News
2023 Cantua Creek Road Race - Women 3/4/5 & 40+
Date: February 18, 2023
AVRT racers: Steph Hart, Louise Thomas, Chris Davis (Friend of AV, Robin was also racing)
Top Result: Steph (1/10 overall), Louise (4/10 overall), Chris (6/10 overall, 1st masters)
Course: 24 mile flat(ish) road race (out and back with 180 degree turnround, uphill finish)
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8583112987
Nutrition: Banana and coffee pre-race, ~half a bottle of water during the race.
Going into Cantua Creek, Louise and I had raced a few times this year, but had yet to pull together a really cohesive team effort. Glad to be joined by an experienced racer, Chris helped craft a pre-race plan. Louise is a fan of long-ish climbing and TT efforts, and with relatively few technical sections of the course, the plan was for Chris to soften the field by launching short lived attacks in the first half of the race, and then Louise and I would attack and try and make a break stick at the 180 degree turn around point. After rolling off the start line for a few miles, Chris launched her first attack….and nobody responded (unclear if this was because the bulk of the field was not in the masters race or if people were just not interested in chasing). After a few more round of this with minimal chase efforts, the group settled into a smooth rhythm with friendly group ride vibes for the remaining 6 or so miles to the turn around. Sitting at the front of the field, Louise then attacked exiting the turnaround and I went with her, where we initially established separation but were quickly joined by 2 other riders (one from eclipse, one unknown). Given the lack of other places to attack on the back half of the course until nearly the end of the race, we decided to keep the break rolling with the four of us. However, in classic cat 4 fashion, our well-intended efforts to take strong pulls and maintain a gap led to a pretty surgey pace for the first few miles, and unfortunately Louise fell off the break that she established. I waited a few seconds for her to catch back on, but having already fallen back, Louise waved me on and from then, it was just the three of us. The ~2 miles into the finish consisted of rolling hills, which made me a little nervous given that the other two riders looked quite a bit lighter than me, but we made it through most of the rollers without any animation. As I haven’t really figured out how to sprint on a bike yet, I attacked with ~0.4 miles to go up the final incline and managed to keep separation from the other two riders until the finish. Louise rolled through in 4th less than a minute later, having held a solid solo effort for almost half the race. Robin then rolled through (absolutely crushing her first race) followed by Chris, mentioning that they got bored sitting in the pack after the break went and decided to attack the field on the way back to the finish. All said, this was the first time that I’ve been part of a planned and well executed team strategy, and it was pretty cool when it all came together for the win.
AVRT Opening Weekend Recap
Alto Velo,
The 2023 racing season has officially kicked off in northern California! AVRT women and men had a huge weekend across Cantua Creek Road Race, Pine Flat Road Race, and the Cherry Pie Criterium. Let’s take a minute to celebrate the team’s success, and look forward to what’s next.
Let’s start by congratulating our eight race winners Florian Costa, Fraser Bulbuc, Niky Taylor, Otto Jolanki, Steph Hart, Nico Sandi, Kelly Brennan, and Daniel Fonyo. That is quite a statement to kick off the season, and doesn’t even count the dozens others that claimed podium spots.
The team raced hard and worked together across fields, with more than thirty AVRT participants. No matter where you looked, the Eliel orange-to-navy fade was impossible to miss.
Weekends of this magnitude are made possible by the generous financial support of our sponsors Dave Keefe and Action Properties, Mark Bailey/B5 Capital, Palo Alto Concrete and Construction, and Summit Bicycles.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the logistics for this weekend click, including Jeremy Besmer who organized three Air BnBs in Fresno. Some of the best parts of race weekend are getting to know people outside of biking while sharing copious amounts of home-cooked food.
For all the ups this weekend, we also had our share of struggles, but we appreciate everyone pitching in and supporting their friends and teammates through some scary and difficult situations.
Next up - Snelling Road Race and Merced Criterium this Saturday and Sunday, where the team looks to build on our fast start. If you’re in the area, please come out and join the fun!
Thank you,
Cameron
2023 Cherry Pie Crit - Elite 3
Race: Cherry Pie Crit - Elite 3
Date: February 20, 2023
AVRT racers: Josh Worley, Drew Mathews, Daniel Fonyo
Top Result: Daniel - 1st/33, Drew - 15/33, Josh - Mechanical issue
Course: Flat crit with a bunch of somewhat tight turns around a parking lot, connected by 2 straight sections. Good road conditions with a couple of dusty corner apexes that you had to be careful about.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8596069391
Coming to this race Josh and I were feeling pretty depleted and unenthusiastic after two intense days of racing in Fresno, and being only us two from the 3s squad to be able to show up. Luckily Drew joined us to race again after he already raced earlier in the day in the Cat4s so that brought our squad up to three.
The biggest team was Dolce Vita bringing a full squad of 8, and then a few smaller teams who we noted each had some strong riders we recognized. With the course consisting of tight and technical turns, our number one goal was to stay near the front the entire race to avoid any crashes and gaps that may come with the dynamics of such a course.
We opted to pre-ride the race course a couple minutes before the race started to get a feel for it which led us to start at the back of the field. I treated the start as a CX race start and when the whistle blew went all out in the first lap to work our way to the front of the race. In the first few opening laps Josh and I put quite a few digs in coming out of corners to gauge how the legs were feeling after the past two days and to try to see what the limits were in each corner. Unfortunately Josh suffered a mechanical to his front wheel and had to pull out. After the pace lulled, around lap four, a single Dolce Vita rider attacked and immediately got around a ten second gap going into the first Prim lap. I continued to stay top three wheels and took turns on the front, controlling the gap and also made sure the pace stayed fast in the turny sections. After about 25 minutes of this and the single Dolce rider still off the front, we were coming to three laps to go. I was a bit worried because I spent a lot of time on the front and thought everyone was still fresh sitting in behind me.
With Dolce unwilling to work, me and a few solo riders took a couple strong pulls on the straight sections and brought the gap back down to where we could see the Dolce rider about two-to-three turns ahead. Coming into the last lap, the fight for the first corner kicked off. It was a tight and fast switchback that you did not want to come three or four wide into. With a little bumping and getting the elbows out, I stayed third wheel going into the corners and then dived into the next corner to get on the front. Coming out onto the back straight away with just under a mile to go I noticed a 2 bike length gap form behind me and I decided to just punch it. In the next few turns I pushed my tire grip to the edge, leaning in and carrying as much speed as I could. With 500m to go I was coming into finishing straight, digging as hard and aero as I could going full gas. At 150m I caught the single Dolce rider that’s been off the front the entire race and used him as a slingshot to throw down a final sprint to the line just as the chasing group was catching me to seal the win!
The 3s squad came to this race as underdogs after 2 days of hard racing against much fresher riders, and still pulled out a win which I think speaks to the level of effort and dedication we’ve been putting in all off-season. Over the last 3 days, 3 different riders each won from our squad on a flat road race, a climby road race, and a crit.
With a very busy race calendar for the next month and a half I’m so stoked to see what more the AV Race Team can accomplish after such a great season opener!
2023 Cantua Creek RR Women P123
Race: Cantua Creek RR W P123
Date: February 18, 2023
AVRT racers: Kelly Brennan, Skyler Espinoza, Lindsey Raven, Gina Yuan, Niky Taylor
Top Result: Niky and Kelly 1-2, Skyler 5th
Course + Recap: Cantua Creek is actually fairly pretty. It’s a 12 mile stretch of road that you ride out and back. The start is a little bit up in some rolling green hills, then the road goes down to some very flat stretches next to almond fields. Then there’s a very slight up to the turnaround and you get to do it all again in reverse. Lucky you.
We had a strong team going into this race and we knew it and I was excited. I told my teammates before the race that they should just put me where they wanted me and I’d send it. Gina and Kelly (our fearless race captains) talked us through some strategy the night before. Basically we were expecting attacks from Terun who had 4 riders registered. We’d cover them in the first lap, then go aggressive on the second lap. Kelly and I would try to “go bananas” as Skyler phrased it, and if that didn’t stick Lindsey and Gina would lead Skyler out for a sprint.
Day of the race we found out Terun actually only had 2 racers. So that’s nice for us. The race started and things stayed pretty calm. Then some attacks started. I think we all collectively decided that we should just go ahead and be aggressive. Kelly did an attack that got brought back. Gina did an attack, then I solo bridged up to her and we stayed off the front until the turnaround. After the turnaround, Lindsey attacked and stayed away for a while. Alex (Terun) and a solo rider were doing all the work to bring us back in. I’m always so impressed by how strong Alex is, and I didn’t want to give her opportunities to rest. As we came up to Lindsey, I attacked again. Alex shut that down, then I ramped it up a small roller just to try and tire people out.
When we got to the climb (it’s not an intense climb but it actually is very useful turns out), Kelly set a fast pace up. Gina told me to go up and stick with Kelly in case anything happened. The group started to fracture a bit. Coming up to the start/turnaround Kelly was on the front and could tell the riders around her were tired. Then Skyler yelled “go go go!” Kelly looked back at me and took off. I jumped past Alex to catch Kelly and we hit the turnaround to start the second lap. This was awesome teamwork and communication by Skyler, because she had a perspective that Kelly and I didn’t. Her timing in telling us to go was key for the success of our attack.
Alex and a couple solo riders were still pretty close behind, but Kelly and I committed. Kelly said we should blast every roller. So we did that. It was cool. We established a solid gap. Then we got into a groove and started grinding.
As we started the break I was feeling a bit antsy, wondering if we’d get caught. Kelly was super calm and just had us focus on communicating and staying steady. She is so physically and mentally strong and totally was the driving force of our break, calmly telling me what to do and where and when. I wasn’t sure how to stay consistent for the 20 miles of flat we were about to embark on. Then I remembered I have a power meter! And a computer! So I looked at data! For like the first time ever in a race!
I remembered from riding/talking with Jack that 250 W is a fairly sustainable number for me, so I decided to try to keep 230-250 W on my pulls. I probably actually wasn’t that consistent and kept it somewhere between 200-250 W. In Kelly’s draft I was at about 170-180 W. This kept us at about 22-25 miles per hour. Wow, data.
When we hit the turnaround we realized how far out ahead we were. We had about a 2-minute gap on the field, and our teammates cheered for us as we passed going the other way. We celebrated briefly but kept the power up. And that’s how the rest of the lap went. It was awesome.
We chatted on the final climb about who wanted to take the win. Neither of us cared very much so we decided to cross the line together. I have always wanted to do that. So we did that. So that was pretty special.
Strava: https://strava.app.link/4qiVbZiaxxb
Nutrition: 3 clif bloks during the race and 1.5 bottles of water+skratch
2023 Pine Flat Road Race - Men's Cat 4
AVRT racers (7): Logan Allen, Jeremy Besmer, Fraser Bulbuc, Maxime Cauchois, Michael Fryar, Ian Twamley
Top Result: Ian Twamley, 5th/29
Course: 62 miles, 4,000ft. Rolling for the first 26 miles on an out-and-back overlooking Pine Flat Lake. 2 mile fast, non-technical descent into a 16 mile valley with minimal features, then the main 11 mile climb that starts with rollers, gradually getting steeper until the last mile averaging about 10%. 6 mile descent into a 1 mile climb to finish the race.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8589554499
Nutrition: Failure! I did NOT stick to the fueling plan that Andrea helped me map out. I only had 1.5 bottles of Skratch (60g/bottle), and 2 Spring Energy Gels (30g total). That’s entirely insufficient.
Race Reacp:
Nico’s recap of the Men’s 3’s was how we wished our race played out. Instead, a combo of terrible luck and bad decision making lead to a difficult race. Lots to learn for newer racers below!
We had the biggest team in this race, and after Fraser’s win as our designated sprinter at Cantua Creek the day before, it was Jeremy’s turn to be our protected rider and punish people on Pine Flat’s brutal climbs.
Logan, Fraser, Maxime and Michael kept the peloton together through the fast out-and-back section, reeling back a lone early break and keeping the pace high. We then lost Max to a puncture, and were down to 5 AV riders. On the long descent into the valley, a rider managed to gain a 20 second gap on the field and committed to it.
Then disaster struck. A softball-sized rock took out Michael, Jeremy, and another rider while going about 35 MPH. We are extremely thankful that nobody sustained serious injuries, but at the time we knew teammates were down and probably hurt, and it wasn’t until almost 20 min later that the moto ref let us know everyone was alert and OK, which helped us focus. I was next-rider-up to go for the win.
During the commotion, the solo rider opened his gap to about 40 seconds. Then a minute.
Nobody seemed interested in reeling him back, so I made the call to get Logan, Fraser and I to alternate steady pulls to close it before the climb, worried he could lose us again on the next descent.
Mistake 1: That was the wrong choice. Plan A should have been to convince other teams to work in. Plan B would have been to send Logan and/or Fraser to attack and attempt to bridge to the rider, with the goal of waking up the field to chase.
Logan and Fraser worked extremely hard until the pitch picked up. Logan pulled up, and Fraser kept working for the shallow portion of the climb to help keep me out of the wind. It was also at this time that the breakaway rider was caught and teetered of his bike into a grassy patch, so mission accomplished, but at way too big a cost to our team.
When the climb truly started, the eventual rider launched his attack, and I managed to hold his wheel. Three minutes later, I realized he was way out of my league, and he opened up a minute gap on me over the top, while I carried at least a minute on the field. To me, it was now a race for second.
Mistake 2: I over-committed when I should have been conserving energy for the final shorter climb. Instead I kept the power up to try to hold my gap on the field through the final descent/valley. It didn’t work because my ego is dumb.
I was caught in the valley by 3 riders. At 1K to go I tried a final dig to lose them, but didn’t have it (remember when I outlined my terrible fueling strategy above?).
At 200m to go, all 3 launched, and I watched them cross the line ahead of me. I know I have the power profile for a finish like that, but it’s useless if I race poorly!
HUGE THANK YOU to Fraser for helping get Jeremy’s partner to the hospital, and for getting a very ill Will home. And thank you to Will for donating your car to them for the day to get them home to San Francisco. The races are pretty meaningless once someone is injured, but it’s the unflinching support of teammates that keeps me coming back.
Please wear and upgrade your helmets regularly (Jeremy might need a KAV now)
Brand-new Princeton CarbonWorks took the brunt of a 35mph front-flip.
2023 Pine Flat Road Race - Elite 3
Race: Pine Flat Road Race - Elite 3
Date: February 19, 2023
AVRT racers: Josh Worley, Conor Austin, Daniel Fonyo, Nico Sandi
Top Result: Nico - 1st/19
Course: 62 miles, 4,000ft. Rolling for the first 26 miles on an out-and-back overlooking Pine Flat Lake. 2 mile fast, non-technical descent into a 16 mile valley with minimal features, then the main 11 mile climb that starts with rollers, gradually getting steeper until the last mile averaging about 10%. 6 mile descent into a 1 mile climb to finish the race.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8589490298
Earlier in the week this was our plan (copy/paste from Slack):
Josh - Be aggressive in the first out and back. Initiate shenanigans. Be stupid :) Hopefully a small break sticks with you and we have climbers work to chase on the flats.
Conor and Daniel - Bully others into chasing Josh. If he gets caught you counter. We want a group up the road on the flats to make climbers work. Expect to get caught on the climb but it will cost people a lot of energy to do it.
And this was Josh’s approach to the race the day before the race:
“My goal is to ride solo for as long as possible. Just relentlessly attack.”
And that is exactly what happened. Josh had an unlimited amount of oats the morning of the race and absolutely smashed it. He attacked 20 minutes into the race (20seconds at 960W) and we didn’t see him for another 2 hours.
He brought with him two other riders who we deemed as threats on the climb but were happy to let go and have them get tired working on the break.
In the main bunch Daniel and Conor were patrolling the front making sure bridge attempts were shut down and the rest of the riders were working hard to try and catch the break. It was very surgey on the rolling out and back which meant some riders could not hang with so many attacks and high pace.
By the time we came down to the valley the gap to the break was over a minute and there was only 9 riders left in our group. At this point Daniel, Conor and I started helping with the chase a little bit. Just taking turns to encourage others to keep working. We knew that the two riders with Josh in the break were stronger climbers.
As the gap got smaller we were able to see in the distance that the break was now only two people. Josh was gone. Flat? Mechanical? Crash? Wrong turn?
Nope. Legend has it he told his breakaway friends “sorry boys”, accelerate and dropped them dead. He would spend another hour solo. And with no main engine the break was way easier to catch.
Once we caught them it was no longer our responsibility to help the chase anymore. If they chased Josh we would get a free ride to the bottom of the climb. If they didn’t chase, Josh would win the race.
Once the climb came around I got close to the front and just followed attacks and didn’t pull through. Eventually the pace picked up and we found Josh near the steep part of the climb. As soon as we passed him I started to turn the pace up a little higher and got some separation. I knew that the descent was long and not that steep so I wasn’t actually that ready to commit to a 15 minute solo effort. I crested the climb solo and didn’t fully commit to the descent. I was hoping to get caught by one or two more riders to help me pace the flatter sections of the descent because I knew I could beat them on the final climb.
I was caught by one rider (one of the riders who spent all race in the break with Josh) and we traded pulls to the bottom of the final climb. I knew he was tired from being in the break all day and that all I had to do was keep the pace relatively high on the final climb and that my fresher legs had a better snap that his for a sprint finish.
I kicked away with 150m to go and crossed the line first.
This kind of racing and teamwork is what excites me the most about racing with Alto Velo. We have a great season ahead!
Nico
AV Wednesday Intervals 2/22, by AC Coaching
Hi guys, lot of 2s this Wednesday! Vo2 and anaerobic work to beat the cold, still there…
Any level is welcome, come and do the effort at YOUR pace. I’ll be here to explain the training, help with pacing, give advice, and answer to any questions.
The meet up is at 7.15am
Back down around 8.15am.
Session: Vo2/Anaerobic work - 8 reps of (2’ @112% - 20” harder), 2’ rest
8 repeats of 2' effort @112%, directly followed by 20 seconds harder. then 2' rest.
5' rest after the 4th rep.
Build power slightly higher from 5th rep if you feel good.
If you are in a week between races, keep the 2 minutes easier (90-100%), and focus on the 20” harder. Keep a good technique, efficient cadence, play with your gears, fuel well!
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3049221988200414344?v2=true
Summary: 15 miles / Up&Down Kings. One warm up loop, Manuela/olive hill. After going on Kings for the intervals.
Start: Village Bakery Parking, Woodside. Intersection Canada Road / 84
(Woodside Intersection)
Time: Wednesday 22nd February, Meet 7.10 a.m., Leave 7:15 a.m.
Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules
Ride Leader: Andrea Cloarec, AC Coaching
Race Report: 2023 Livermore Criterium - Women’s P123
Race: 2023 Livermore Crit - Womens P123
Date: February 12, 2023
AVRT racers: Skyler Espinoza, Alana O'Mara
Top Result: Skyler 1/14
Course: 60 minutes of a flat .94 mile, 4 corner crit course
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8551442066
This was Alana's first P123 race since upgrading to a cat 3 (she was a lil nervous) but I know how strong she is and I was sure she could execute in the race (even if she wasn't sure) so I was really excited to race with her since there were some strong women’s teams represented in the race and it was going to be impossible to win alone. Our plan was for Alana to try to neutralize strong attacks off the front and have me try the same tactics I employed in the earlier race of staying towards the front of the field and riding strong wheels.
During the first 15ish min of the race Alana was still getting comfy and I was covering some early attacks. After the first 10 minutes there were attacks all throughout the race! Alana really started to come through once she was able to maneuver towards the pointy end of the field we were able to be in constant communication, and decide what breaks to chase, what attacks to make others chase, good wheels to get on etc. When Alana got to the front to bring back moves she was unstoppable! It was so awesome!! With 5-6 to go I knew we could keep it to a field sprint and I would have a good shot for the win. With 1 to go I asked Alana to try to get to the front between turns 2-3 and drive up the pace but another rider did that so I got on her wheel and wheel surfed a bit between turns 2-3 and then attacked midway through the stretch between 3-4 to control my line around turn 4. This sprint was much closer than earlier because I chose way too big a gear and was grinding, and was being gained on by the field. It was really fun to be able to to get the win and convert on the great work from Alana! Alana had a super strong finish coming in 9th, and overall just crushed it throughout!
Race Report: 2023 Livermore Criterium - Women’s Cat 3 & Masters
Race Report: 2023 Livermore Crit - Womens Cat 3 & Masters
Date: February 12, 2023
AVRT racers: Skyler Espinoza, Janene Ostrow
Top Result: Skyler 1/17 (1/6 Cat 3s)
Course: 40 minutes of a flat .94 mile, 4 corner crit course
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8550824181
It ended up just being me and Janene in this race, Janene's goal was to get her feet wet and get her first race of the season done, and mine was to try to go for the win and we both crushed our goals!
I focused today on staying towards the front of the race and staying glued to the wheels of other strong riders in the pack, keeping the race together and doing as little work as possible to try to bring it to a field sprint. I knew my best chance of winning was to prevent a break from forming, like it did in both of the Cal Aggie crits! In the past I’ve done a lot of work in the race and burned all of my matches before the sprint, but because I was racing against bigger teams I held it in and didn’t get pressured into doing more work than I needed to! I attacked going into turn 3 in the last lap because I knew I wanted to control my line through turn 4 and it worked! I was able to tempo on the front from 3 to 4 and then turn on the gas through the corner and to the line. First win for me of the season and I was excited to be able to have a safe and smart race.
Janene was able to hang in the race longer than she thought she would, and did a great job getting out there and doing the first race of the season! The beginning of the race was much faster/harder than either of us anticipated so it was a tough day to have your first race!
AV Wednesday Intervals 02/15, by AC Coaching
Hi guys, 3rd week of intervals, we’ll go with a training that will become a “classic”. A standard training that we will repeat every 6/8 weeks so you can assess your progress.
Any level is welcome, come and do the effort at YOUR pace. I’ll be here to explain the training, help with pacing, give advice, and answer to any questions.
The meet up is at 7.15am
Back down around 8.15am.
Session: 1’ VO2 max - 16* 1’ (@110 to 120%)
16 repeats of 1' effort, with 1' rest. Start conservatively at 110-115%
5' rest after the 8th rep. Re assess how you feel, keep the same power, or go and reach 120%.
Stay at a comfortable effort of 110/115% if you have a race this weekend ;)
This training is easily repeatable, and you can assess your improvement. If you do this training @300W this week with a RPE of 9/10. And re do this training @300W in 6 weeks but with a RPE of 6/10. You knew you progressed. And that’s what training is!
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3049221988200414344?v2=true
Summary: 15 miles / Up&Down Kings. One warm up loop, Manuela/olive hill. After going on Kings for the intervals.
Start: Village Bakery Parking, Woodside. Intersection Canada Road / 84
(Woodside Intersection)
Time: Wednesday 15th February, Meet 7.10 a.m., Leave 7:15 a.m.
Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules
Ride Leader: Andrea Cloarec, AC Coaching
Race Report: 2023 Cal Aggie Criterium - Womens Pro/1/2/3
Race: 2023 Cal Aggie Criterium - Womens Pro/1/2/3
Date: January 28, 2023
AVRT racers: Robin Betz, Chris Davis, Skyler Espinoza, Sue Lin Holt, Lora Maes, Jennifer Steele, Gina Yuan
Top Result: Robin - 5th/19
Course: 60 minutes of a flat 1.09 mile loop with a chicane
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8468492549
I haven’t raced a criterium for almost a year so I had no real goals for the race other than be aware of where my teammates are in the field and do my best. With 7 AV riders in the field, we decided to only let a break go if it had at least two of us, and my role as captain was to yell to chase or not. There were quite a few other strong riders and other teams represented.
Lora set a good pace for the first few laps and I stayed near the front to get the best line through the chicane. At the straight stretch near the finish, the eventual race winner attacks. We bring her back and per our team strategy, I go all-in on a counter attack. Chaos ensues and when the dust settles I find myself in a group with 6 other riders, including Sue Lin, 2 Revolution riders, 1 Terun rider, and 2 others who are very strong.
Great, we have 2 riders in the break! The others are very motivated to keep it away and we take pretty hard pulls. At this point I decide I am working for Sue Lin so I take reasonable pulls and tell the others to make sure Terun is working too. Sue Lin smartly sits on the back and I rotate through a bit extra but don’t go super hard. A spectator tells us we have 40 seconds and at this point I know the break is going to stick.
The eventual race winner attacks again pretty hard and we all chase with the knowledge that she’s strong enough to get away solo. We bring her back but unfortunately Sue Lin, who an hour ago had won the 40+ race, lost contact. The break has too much time on the field to be brought back given the technical chicane and so I become determined to survive and get the team the best result I can. I also thought “oh nooo now I have to write the race report so I’d better make it good.”
We work together well and I keep sampling the best lines for the first almost U-turn corner and can’t get it quite to my satisfaction. Eventually we see the back of the field and my life dream of lapping the field is within reach! My teammates have been chilling to deliberately let the break lap the field. As we approach I attack in an attempt to create confusion, but it doesn’t work and they just let us through. I think a better approach here would be to link up with my teammates again, as the rules say lapped riders *can* help someone in the break, but no one in the race knew that rule.
With one to go the pace is surprisingly sedate and I think about how I’m going to win. I ended up as the last rider coming into the final stretch and plan on letting everyone lead me out, but the final sprint is only 25 sec and the group shatters apart and I sprint in for 5th. I’m a good but not outstanding sprinter and that’s a lot of bike lengths to make up in time versus actual sprinters, and I could have got on the podium here if I’d been smarter. As a good descender and cornerer I should have attacked right after the U-turn and tried to hold it to the line, as my 30+sec power is great and I was gaining on third and fourth place at the finish. Nonetheless, fifth place was enough to get me my first 2 upgrade points as a cat 2!
Sue Lin rolled in for 7th in between the break and the field after chasing hard the entire race, and Skyler won the field sprint out of 12 riders for 8th! We have such a strong women’s team this year and I’m so excited to see what we can do together.
AV Wednesday Intervals 02/08, by AC Coaching
Hi guys, another week of intervals, hoping it will be warmer!
Any level is welcome, come and do the effort at YOUR pace. I’ll be here to explain the training, help with pacing, give advice, and answer to any questions.
The meet up is at woodside intersection of Canada Road/84, in the parking of village bakery, at 7.15am
One warm up loop, Manuela/olive hill. After we ride to Kings for the intervals starting at 7.30am.
35min of workout to the top. 8.05.
Back down around 8.15am.
Session: Anaerobic work 4x (4x 40” Hard !)
High power work.
4 sets of 4 times 40" hard work, with only 30" rest. The 4th rep of every set will be hard, it has to be.
Full 5min rest between sets, you've got time to rest and recover! And keep pushing high power.
Build the power from 130% to 150%, depending on how you feel!
Very useful to build your anaerobic power, power efficiency, spinning fast, follow any moves and be ready to sprint!
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3049221988200414344?v2=true
Summary: 15 miles / Up&Down Kings. One warm up loop, Manuela/olive hill. After going on Kings for the intervals.
Start: Village Bakery Parking, Woodside. Intersection Canada Road / 84
(Woodside Intersection)
Time: Wednesday 8th February, Meet 7.10 a.m., Leave 7:15 a.m.
Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules
Ride Leader: Andrea Cloarec, AC Coaching
Race Report: 2023 Cal Aggie Criterium - Women’s Cat 3/Masters
Race: 2023 Cal Aggie Criterium - Women's Cat 3/Master's
Date: January 28th, 2023
AVRT racers: Chris Davis, Skyler Espinoza, Kristin Hepworth, Sue Lin Holt, Lora Maes, Sharon Marucut, Jennifer Steele, Gina Yuan
Top Result: Gina (2nd Cat 3, overall), Sue Lin (1st 40+), Jenn (3rd 40+), Lora (2nd 50+), Chris (3rd 50+)
Course: 40 minutes, 1.09mi loop (Strava). Two corners at the top of the course including a sharp left, one corner on the right, and a bit of a drag to the finish.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8467830683
Cal Aggie is the first crit of the year, and I was excited to finally shake off the racing cobwebs with the AVRT women in all categories that day. Sharon's cobwebs were from 2020, so it was great to see her out. Also, it was Kristin's second crit that day, and ever! The 8 of us went into the race with a plan to attack and tire out some marked riders, then organize a leadout for our sprinters. Since it's common for nothing to go to plan, we agreed that it would be important to communicate during the race.
Jenn and Lora set a fast, powerful pace at the start, discouraging any attacks while keeping it smooth. Eventually, the pace slowed down, and I attacked into the technical chicane. Four riders followed, including Jenn who covered. One of these riders was the best (non-AV) sprinter in the field, so while she was trying to establish the break, Jenn and I sat in until the field caught us.
I attacked again at the same location and ended up in a break with two other riders. The same Terun sprinter did 90% of the work to stay away and the other rider did the rest. I sat in just hoping to get caught, since I am not very confident in my sprint, but it seems my teammates are really good at blocking as the rest of the field just wouldn't catch us! Two laps to go, Skyler and Sue Lin made an effort to bridge to a group of 3 ahead...but it was just a group of lapped riders. They were able to see the break at that point, but it was too late. The break of 3 had just rounded the last corner and we had to start our sprints. Despite my feeble sprint, I was feeling pretty fresh, and managed to narrowly beat one of the other riders for 2nd! Skyler launched ahead, almost closing the entire gap, for 4th. Sue Lin followed close behind, taking the win in the 40+ category. Jenn, Lora, and Chris, despite racing for the team's overall result, still managed to round out the remaining podium spots in the master's categories.
I've definitely come a long way from my first crit race, exactly one year ago on this course, when I hated cornering. After the race, I couldn't stop thinking about all the different ways a team of 8 could play a race. I have never raced with so many teammates before, but I learned a lot and am excited to explore this aspect of bike racing more!
Race Report - Low Gap Grasshopper 2023 Pro Men
Race: 2023 Low Gap Grasshopper - Men’s Pro
Date: Jan 28th, 2023
AVRT racers: Austin King, Florian Costa, Grant Miller, Cameron O’Reilly, Andrea Cloarec
Top Result: Andrea (19/44)
Andrea training for his No Hands skills
Course: 44 Miles, with the first part road, second part Gravel. One big climb of 20-25’ on each part.
It was cold!
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8467760870/overview
Nutrition: Two 500ml bottles with Maurten 320, total 160g Carbs (for 2h40min. Not enough)
Bike/Tires: Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M, 45mm wide, at 40 psi, on my home made gravel bike.
Recap:
So the race started directly with a 20’ climb… and we started fast! As expected, the field was quite strong, 6W/kg for the first 5’ if you wanted to stay at the front. Cam and Grant made that choice, with a very strong start! I preferred to stay lower, and pace the full 20’ more evenly. I finally caught Cam and Grant close to the top of the finish.
And I reached the top of the climb with Cam and two other Team Mikes Bike together.
One of the TMB, very good descender, directly left us. So we stayed as a group of 3 with Cam, me and the other TMB guy.
We did a good job together on the rolling roads part, and arrived together at the start of the gravel part.
Grant on the downhill section
The gravel part started with some small punchy climbs, from there I accelerated to follow a group of 3 with the TMB guy and 2 other guys. We kept riding together, pushing the uphills, and very fast downhill. And I put all my confidence in their lines, as I was not watching the trails at all, but just following the wheel in front of me and their lines, as I was sure they were better gravel racers than me. So they could choose the good lines!
Austin on the gravel part
Until I made a wrong turn.. Well, I went straight while I had to take a sharp right turn. Almost crashing with one of the guy.
I maybe just lost 10 seconds, the time to unclip, turn and start back. But I lost contact with the 3 riders. And 1 minute after, when trying to catch them, I unclipped, and didn’t manage to clip back in. Had to put the feet down. Just lost only 10 seconds again, but that was enough to not see the group anymore.
From there, I was alone for 1 hour until the finish line.
The long gravel climb felt awful. I wasn’t even sure I was still on the course, as a turn was VERY badly indicated, and I wondered if I made the right choice. I did. But a group not far behind me, with Cam, took the wrong turn.
I kept pushing as much as I could up to the top, to finally enjoy the last10 miles downhill on the road to the finish line. Keeping some power on the flatter parts, because I didn’t want anyone to catch me. And being careful on some muddy turns, because I didn’t want to have a stupid crash.
I crossed the line after 2h40min. Cam was already there waiting for me after an unlucky shortcut (course was definitely not indicated correctly!). (And he also didn’t have any post races photos! Sorry =/)
Grant followed shortly after, then Flo and Austin arrived all muddy =D <3
Flo finishing, easy.
That was a very great course, super happy with this first gravel race. And the Burritos after the race were so good, under the warm sun! Finally here.
Race Report: 2023 Cal Aggie Women’s 4/5
Cal Aggie Criterium, Sacramento CA
Alana Mari, Steph Hart, Alana O’Mara & Kristen Hepworth
Written by Alana O’Mara
Race: Cal Aggie Women’s 4/5
Date: January 28, 2023
AVRT Racers: Alana Mari, Alana O’Mara, Kristen Hepworth, & Steph Hart
Top Results: Alana O’Mara (2/24), Alana Mari (3/24), Kristen Hepworth (11/24*), Steph Hart (22/24*). *Got caught behind a crash in last lap
Course: ~1.2 mile flat crit with technical section at the back with one 270 degree turn and a few chicanes. 30 minutes.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8467461555
Report:
Coming out of team camp, we all felt very motivated and energized for the season. We were able to gauge each others strengths prior to the race. Before arriving, the womens 4/5 ( Kristen Hepworth, Steph Hart, Alana Mauri and I) chatted about goals - mostly for us as newer riders (Kristen’s first criterium!) it was to stay safe and finish. I knew I also wanted to make the race challenging as I’ve struggled in the past to enjoy criteriums as I spend most of the time noodling then getting out sprinted. So today on this sunny Sacramento morning, we briefly warmed up and then decided to play to our strengths of pushing the pace out of the gates. In addition to Steph and Kristen, Alana (pronounced ugh law nuh, not like my name 🙈) one of our teammates from SF was able to line up at the start line with us we quickly identified her from the orange jersey and knew she was on our side! It was a great group with more than twenty women on the line (unheard of for Women’s Cat 4/5). As the whistle went off the fun started, I applied some study pressure and the rest of the field followed. We kept this pace for the rest of the race and a few packs had to fall back.
We each turn turns around the front, keeping a steady pace but also recovering, attacking once or twice. Alana was incredible at communicating, signaling her moves and where we were in the back. I was not able to create a break with my first attack about midway through the race, but knew I had more gas left. With three laps to go, I sat in with the plan to attack with one lap left. I love 3-4 minutes of hard effort so it was ideal for me. With one lap I took off just as I felt a tail wind. Only one other competitor and Alana made the break. Steph and Kristen were right there but unfortunately a women went down bringing Kristen and Steph to a halt - luckily both stayed safe although Steph did have some road rash to show for it. I was able to keep a strong push and just kept grinding. I knew Alana and one other were on my wheel and that it was going to come down to the end. On the backstretch I tried to see if someone would pull, but competitor didn’t. I wasn’t sure how much time we had on the main pack and knew that I would get blown out if the others from the main pack approached if I left off the gas to let someone else pull at the very end. So instead of slowing down, I saw my pull as a lead out for my teammate Alana, either way I was going y to get an AV teammate an opportunity for a win. The line came and the UC Davis competitor was able to out-sprint me - yielding us second and third. In retrospect, I should have known the line was sooner and pushed or attacked a little more on the backstretch to get rid of the competitor, or I could have soft pedaled forcing myself to recover in hopes of having a little more of a sprint. But in the end, I think I played to my strengths and put myself in the best position to do as well as I could.
Overall we had a great day! Kristen went on to race again, Steph went out for an additional 40 mile bike ride, Alana and I confused the announcers with our names and I bolted to my favorite grocery store, Sprouts, to buy 5 pounds of trail mix. Will keep y’all updated on how long the supply of salty nuts and M&Ms lasts.
Race Report: 2023 Cal Aggie - Men’s P12
Race: 2023 Cal Aggie - Men’s P12
Date: Jan 28, 2023
AVRT racers: Jon Wells, Jack Liu
Top Result: Jack Liu 6/44 (overall), 2/17 (Cat 2)
Course: 1.09 mile loop in Land Park, Sacramento. The course features a technical chicane with a sharp left turn and a 90° turn into the finish straight. It is flat but has a very slightly downhill section on the start/finish straight and a slight uphill after that. There was headwind on the start/finish straight on the race day.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8468551828
Video: check out Jon’s commentary! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9HfEUsWmWc
Nutrition: a bottle of SIS
Race Recap:
ThristyBear and Terun seemed to be the big hitter for this race, both showing up with a team of 5. As the race started and attacks happened, Jon and I carefully selected moves that had both of the teams represented to follow; otherwise just relied on them to cover the attacks. Nothing really went away and we were happy that we didn’t waste too much energy chasing/attacking. Unfortunately, Jon got a flat midway through the race (and flatted again after fixing it…) so it’s down to me.
Fortunately, I was able to maintain a good position throughout the rest of the race as I found that taking a wider line through the chicane, which most people don’t do, allowed you to carry more speed after the turn and move up easily. ThirstyBear, apparently burning too many people covering attacks (or just tired from earlier races), was not seen in top10 position in the final laps. Meanwhile, Terun started their 5-men leadout with ~4 laps to go. Everyone was fighting for Terun’s wheel; it’s crazy! At one point when I was right behind the leadout train, 2 Ride Bikes riders sandwiched me and stole the wheel in a brute-force but effective way (good strategy though!).
With 1 to go, the pace really picked up and I got shuffled back a bit. Through the chicane, I took probably the best corner I’ve done in the race and made up a lot of ground to be within top 5 after Terun’s leadout. It’s impossible to move up after the chicane as the pace was so fast. Out of the last corner, I sprinted with whatever I’ve left and finished 6th place (thought I got 5th at first cause it was really close…) I finished 14th in the P123 last year, and I’m really happy with my improvement and felt more confident racing in the P12. Looking forward to racing with the team in the upcoming races!
-Jack
Race Report - Low Gap Grasshopper 2023 Pro Women
Race: Low Gap Grasshopper 2023 - Pro Women
Date: January 28, 2023
AVRT racers: Niky Taylor
Top Result: 2nd
Course: Low Gap is a 44 mile mixed gravel and road course with a lot (5600ft) of climbing. It starts with a 7% (6mi, 2000ft) road climb, goes into a twisty road descent, then rolls on road and gravel with scattered climbs until the final climb at mile 28. That final climb is an 8% (3mi, 1400ft) gravel climb, which then deposits you on 13 miles of mixed terrain “descending” that involves a disappointing amount of pedaling but great views.
Report: TLDR: that was awesome.
This was my first race in a pro field. The day before the race I freaked out and texted a friend who races pro that maybe I shouldn’t have signed up. She told me the first step was to calm down. That was very helpful. Another friend told me my goal of “don’t crash” was boring and that my goal should be “attack Kate Courtney.” Weirdly, that was also helpful (spoiler: I didn’t get a chance). I also got great advice from so many other people about the course, mentality, nutrition, etc. Katheryn reminded me to stay within myself and enjoy the ride. Kelly walked me through how to do pretty much everything. My friend Jenny decided to do the race with me for fun, so we drove up together and met up with Kelly and Riley and crew to get ready the night before.
The day of the race I was nervous but excited. Kelly and I warmed up with Santa Cruz friends. But since staging started half an hour before race start and I wanted to get a good position, all the warming up I did totally evaporated. Staging was the most stressful part of this race. Kelly and Bernardo lined up with me at the front, and I was grateful to have people I knew nearby.
The race started and I followed a wheel to the base of the climb. When the climb started the field blew apart. I saw Kate Courtney and Anna Yamauchi taking off ahead and wanted to chase, but my legs felt absolutely terrible. I wasn’t warmed up at all. I started getting passed by men and women and it was so demoralizing and I felt like maybe I shouldn’t have tried to race this. I thought, maybe I’m actually not good at climbing? I reminded myself to just stay present and trust my body and do what I felt like doing. About halfway up I started to feel my muscles coming online and knew things were about to get better.
After a bit of rolling hills at the top of the climb I felt my body fully wake up. The views were beautiful and I once again resolved to just put everything I had out on the course and let myself just go.
The descent hit and the group I was with split in half. The better handlers pulled ahead, the more timid group fell back. I was right in the middle. Rough, cause then we hit the flat and I was all alone.
The canyon was really beautiful, but I was a bit disappointed about being on my own. Kelly and I had talked about how this was a great place to conserve energy by being in a draft. I thought about trying to catch the front group, but didn’t want to commit. Lucky for me a couple guys came along and I got in a group with them. They didn’t seem to want me to pull. I spent some time trying to decide if this was sexist or not but ultimately decided I didn’t care and was happy to just sit in and snack while I could. Other riders merged into the group, including Maude Farrell and one or two other women whose names I don’t know.
Another road climb hit and then we were onto rolling gravel. I dropped Maude and the other women on the climbs. I knew I was behind at least Kate and Anna and probably a few other women, but I didn’t actually care very much. I felt great. Everything was so beautiful. I like looking at the tops of trees when I ride. I was so happy. I felt like I’d been holding in energy and I was finally free to just let it out and I felt like I could fly.
For a while I tracked a guy in a MAAP jersey, so I will call him MAAP guy. When we came to the reroute around the bridge, we went down and around and then I sped off in the wrong direction. I wouldn’t have noticed except I was trying to get MAAP guy to work with me and he wasn’t, so I looked back in exasperation and saw him riding up the correct way a couple hundred yards back. I slammed on my brakes and turned back, really glad to have realized my mistake. Turns out a lot of other people also missed this turn and took what was actually a shorter route to the finish.
A bit more rolling, and then the final climb hit. Some guy tried to talk to me and I asked him to not. I buckled in for the climb. It was a blast. It was really fun. I don’t know what else to say about it.
When I got to the top, the feed zone people yelled at me to turn. In the real world I’m technically a Geographer, so you’d think I’d be better at navigation but I guess not. Also my Garmin refused to work correctly all day, so my route guidance was frustrating at best and distracting at worst. The feed zone people also told me I was in second, which surprised and confused me but was exciting. I wondered who was in first and if I could catch her.
Then came the final descent. The gravel was great. Then came a lot of road descending that wasn’t quite steep enough to coast, but was steep enough that occasionally I’d spin out. So I sort of time trialed my way down but my gearing wasn’t quite up to the task. Luckily, in the last 5 miles a person fully decked out in unicorn kit caught me. I started drafting them but couldn’t tell what their gender was, so I asked their pronouns. They said he/him and I said cool glad to know I’m not racing you. He told me he was impressed to see a woman this far up in the race. I told him women can be fast. He agreed. I decided he was cool, mostly because of the outfit.
I drafted unicorn guy for a while and did some occasional work when my gears weren’t spinning out. Then in the very last mile I hit a bump and my chain fell off. I really didn’t want to stop, so I then did the COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE ON A BICYCLE and reached down and put my chain back on without stopping. I was so proud of myself. I know everyone thinks it’s cool I podiumed but on-the-go chain fixing was the cooler thing that I accomplished that day. I stood up, absolutely thrilled to bits with myself, and pushed as hard as I could to the finish.
I was so stoked crossing the finish line to know I had given everything I could in this race (and to have fixed my chain while riding, did I mention that???). I pedaled around slowly for a while in the sun feeling so grateful for my body and my bike and everything and everyone that has come together to allow me to do something like this, then headed back to find friends.
I was the third woman to cross the line. Kate absolutely dominated despite getting crashed into. Anna Yamauchi had an incredible ride but took the accidental short cut and was disqualified. So I got 2nd in my first pro race and I kind of can’t believe it. Riley and Kelly finished strong as well, Riley taking third in his age group and Kelly winning hers!
In the future I’ll test out my navigation before race day to make sure the route gets along with my Garmin. I’d maybe run a 2x, or at least take Riley’s advice and run a chain guide on a 1x. I’d like to learn how to warm up faster or stay warmed up during staging. And I’m going to practice riding on flats given that somehow on a 44 mile course with 5600ft of climbing, I thought “ugh this is flat,” at least 3 times.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8468611812
Nutrition: I started the race with 2 waffles, 2 sleeves of clif bloks, a syrup “gel,” and a small Kate’s Bar, also 2 large bottles of skratch+water. I had the syrup and the bar at staging. I ate most of the waffles in the canyon and a bit at the rolling gravel section. I went through most of 1 sleeve of clif bloks throughout the race. I also drank 1.5 bottles.
AV Wednesday Intervals 02/01, by AC Coaching
Hi guys, 2nd week for the AV intervals. Thanks to the people joining last week!
Any level is welcome, come and do the effort at YOUR pace. I’ll be here to explain the training, help pacing, give advices, answer to any questions.
The meet up will be at woodside intersection Canada Road/84, by the parking of village bakery, at 7.15am
One warm up loop, Manuela/olive hill. After going on Kings for the intervals by 7.30am.
35min of workout to the top. 8.05.
Back down around 8.15am.
Session: Over-Under + fun, 4 sets of:
2' @100%, 30" @110, directly back into 2' @100%, 30" @110. Finishing with 20" fun hard effort.
3' rest, super easy.
Repeat for 4 total sets.
Very useful to learn how to go back into your threshold zone after doing an hard effort (VO2max effort). Keep the first reps in control. You’ve got 4 sets to do. And always finish strong with a 20” at the end of each set, sprint for the win!
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3049221988200414344?v2=true
Summary: 15 miles / Up&Down Kings. One warm up loop, Manuela/olive hill. After going on Kings for the intervals.
Start: Village Bakery Parking, Woodside. Intersection Canada Road / 84
(Woodside Intersection)
Time: Wednesday 1st February, Meet 7.10 a.m., Leave 7:15 a.m.
Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules
Ride Leader: Andrea Cloarec, AC Coaching
AV Wednesday Intervals, by AC Coaching
Hi guys, the Alto Velo group ride for intervals starts this week! And will be running every Wednesday morning.
Any level is welcome, come and do the effort at YOUR pace. I’ll be here to explain the training, help pacing, give advices, answer to any questions.
The meet up will be at woodside intersection Canada Road/84, by the parking of village bakery, at 7.15am
One warm up loop, Manuela/olive hill. After going on Kings for the intervals by 7.30am.
35min of workout to the top. 8.00/05.
Back down around 8.15am.
Session: 11 times (1' @110 - 20" @125) - Repeats of 1' @110% directly followed by 20" @125%. With 1’30” rest, easy spin.
Be careful for the 20". Don't go all out, go harder, but still in control.
Or you might find the training too hard from the 6-7th rep. I’ll always advise to finish stronger, never “crash” a workout by starting too hard. You will always have time to empty the tank by the last reps if you want ;)
So start conservative, finish strong, feel good and enjoy!
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3049221988200414344?v2=true
Summary: 15 miles / Up&Down Kings. One warm up loop, Manuela/olive hill. After going on Kings for the intervals.
Start: Village Bakery Parking, Woodside. Intersection Canada Road / 84
(Woodside Intersection)
Time: Wednesday 25th January, Meet 7.10 a.m., Leave 7:15 a.m.
Ride etiquette: https://www.altovelo.org/ride-rules
Ride Leader: Andrea Cloarec, AC Coaching
Review: Princeton Carbonworks Wake 6560
The following review was written by John Janetzko. Alto Velo would like to thank Princeton Carbonworks for their generous sponsorship. If you’re not a 2023 Alto Velo member, join today and take 45% off any wheelset this holiday season!
Hey Alto Velo,
After quite some anticipation, a couple months ago I got my PCW wheels in the mail! I had ordered the Wake 6560s (Strada) which were something deeper than my previous carbon rims, the Roval CL(X)50s that came with my SL6 Tarmac.
Some context: the Rovals were my only wheels for that bike so I rode them all the time. With the exception of a couple of instances I had never felt like crosswinds were a problem, they handled well and were pretty durable and responsive.
My hope with the PCW wheels was for 1. something more aero optimized; 2. something that would keep the good handling and snapiness. I'm a rider who likes to ride in the break and eat a lot of wind, so having good aero wheels was going to be important.
My first impression when I took these out of the box was that these were some GLAM wheels. I had ordered the glossy silver decals. I also noticed that they felt very light, especially given their depth.
When I got them on my bike they were snappy, not dissimilar from the Rovals, but they had a lot more wooshing sounds than I was used to. My Roval wheels always felt like they were solid. It's not to say the PCW wheels aren't sturdy (more on that later), but they definitely feel a bit more dainty than my Rovals (if you'd consider this a negative).
So what can I say about performance? Well, they're pretty amazing. As I mentioned, they are stiff and responsive. They are also very light for their depth.
I got mine with the Carbon Ti hubs, which have been smooth as anything. My free hub is loud, which you can count as a pro or con, but I like it. The engagement is great, as a result. The frequency is not annoying for me, and if anything it motivates me to just keep pedaling.
From a speed perspective I can't really give you any quantitative metrics here, but they do feel at least as fast as the Rovals. Where I can comment on is their stability. These wheels have the sinusoidal rim profiles, said to improve handling in crosswinds. I can't speak in super quantitative terms here, but I can say that I've been impressed by how well they have handled in the wind. I've not felt any less stable than I had with my Rovals, which I'll remind are ~10-15 mm shallower. I can definitely feel when the wind catches them, but it has never felt like I was going to lose control. I've always felt like I can still keep focussed on my riding and expect the bike to do what it's told.
I guess lastly, I'll wrap up with: "and they look hot". I'm not sure everyone will be stoked to have a bike that draws maximum attention, but if you don't mind it, these wheels will definitely grab people's attention.
Thanks for reading,
JJ
