Race Report: 2023 Copperopolis Road Race - Men’s 35+ 1/2/3

Race: 2023 Copperopolis Road Race - Men’s 35+ 1/2/3

Date: 4/8/2023

AVRT racers: Shane McGuire

Top Result: Shane 4/8

Course: 4 counter-clockwise laps of a 21 mile, 1800 ft elevation circuit featuring iconically bad pave and potholes at times spanning the entire width of the road. The elevation is frontloaded into the first 6 miles of the course, with rollers leading up to a 2 mile climb at 5%. After the hill is a 9 mile plateau cutting through now flush, green pastures (courtesy of all the rain this year) and then a bone-jarring, bike-mangling 5 mile descent before a 0.6 mile drag at 3% up to the finish. This years temps ranged from the low 50s at start to low 60s at the finish. Wind was about 9mph from the south.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8856822145

Nutrition: Four 100g bottles (maltodextrin + nuun or blue gatorade), two sleeves of shot blocks, 1 gel.

Race Recap: Having never actually finished this race, my primary goal for the day was to survive and finish. I was on good form and thought I had a decent shot at the win if I could avoid mechanicals and save as much energy as possible for the finish. 

I had driven out the night before and camped near reg with some other like-minded bicycle racers. So rather than getting up at 4:30 in the morning for a 2 hour drive, I woke at 6:00, brewed some coffee, crushed a giant bowl of oatmeal, and proceeded with the usual pre-race routines. It was an absolutely beautiful morning in Milton, CA and our massive 8 person field amassed at the start line. There were four guys from Creative Blue Monster Racing (the old Peete’s squad), three of whom had stars and stripes on their sleeves. We also had one guy from the Voler Factory team, AMain, and Work Health Solutions. Given the small number, one of the Creative Blue guys suggested that we combine with the 3s to make it more interesting. Unfortunately one of the solo guys didn’t like the idea and it got the veto. 

The first half of the lap, including the climb and the scenic stretches around the Salt Spring Reservoir, was more or less a friendly group ride. We chatted and rolled at an easy pace, no one eager to start the inevitable suffering that this course is sure to bring. This all changed when we reached the small climb prior the the downhill when the Health Solutions guy attacked. One rider immediately followed while I waited for one of the Creative Blue riders to make the move and planned to jump on. One did and by the top of the hill there were four of us. Interestingly the Creative Blue rider was not who I expected (national champ and former copperopolis winner Dan Bryant), so I thought perhaps that Dan was just not on good form for this ealy season race. We bombed down the hill and just when I was sure the rest of the field was long gone, Dan appeared out of nowhere and joined in the group. So OK, he is still the guy to watch out for.

As we started the second lap, it was clear that the Work Health and Voler guys were the most eager to push the pace, while the two from Creative Blue and I were content to sit in and save energy. This time the climb was uncomfortable, but not unreasonable. Somewhere along the line we had dropped one of the Creative Blue riders (not Dan) and were down to four. The pace slowed considerably at the top, with no one wanting to work except for our friend from Work Health. He rolled up beside me at one point and asked why I didn’t want to work. I explained that there was no reason for me to do so when he was perfectly willing, and clearly he was feeling quite good given he was the one who had drove the pace the last time up the climb. We rode on and eventually the dropped rider caught back on. 

The third time up the climb is when the race got hard for me. Work Health and Voler pushed the pace hard again and the rest of us were holding on. Just before the top at the steepest part I couldn’t stick it anymore and fell off the back. Figuring they might soft pedal on the flats I kept pushing and put down a steady tempo pace and caught back on before too long. But then the games began, with the Creative Blue pair putting in back to back attacks. They hurt real bad but ultimately weren’t successful in allowing one of them to get away. Then we hit the small climb, another spicy attack went, and both of my legs cramped. Shit. I had to ease way off to avoid falling off my bike and by the time things calmed down the group was well ahead of me. 

But remember the primary goal - finish the damn race. I kept pedaling and was determined to complete the final lap. I distracted myself from the pain my body was in by then with the beautiful scenery. At the top of the climb I saw one of the riders from my field on the side of the road with a flat. Too bad for him, but now I was in 4th.

Overall I’m pleased with my performance on the day. I gave it everything I had and finished this race for the first time. I’m sure I’ll be back next year for more fun at the “Paris-Roubaix of Northern California”. 

Thanks for reading.

Shane

Race Report: Copperopolis Road Race - Women

Race: Copperopolis Road Race - Women’s 50+ (raced with cat 3 & 60+)

Date: April 8th, 2023

AVRT racers: Lora Maes

Top Result: Lora Maes 1st Female

Course: 2 counter-clockwise laps of a 21 mile, 1800 ft elevation circuit featuring iconically bad pave and potholes at times spanning the entire width of the road. The elevation is frontloaded into the first 6 miles of the course, with rollers leading up to a 2 mile climb at 5%. After the hill is a 9 mile plateau cutting through now flush, green pastures (courtesy of all the rain this year) and then a bone-jarring, bike-mangling 5 mile descent before a 0.6 mile drag at 3% up to the finish. Beautiful weather in the low 70’s by race time with some wind up to 10 mph. 

Strava File

Race Recap:

There is not much of a race to report for this one.  We only had 3 women in the women’s field (one cat 3, one 60+, and me).  At the start we asked the officials to start us all together.  The cat 3 from Eclipse (Evelyn) stated she was not going hard because she was racing Santa Cruz the next day and the 60+ from Splunk said she was out of shape.  Ok, this isn’t going to be interesting unless someone is lying.  They started the three of us with two junior boys (that’s always interesting). Off we went on the nice pavement of the lead that was only about 200 meters then we made the turn to the 2 mile lead into the climb. Wow, it’s bumpy!  They were not kidding.  I had wrapped duct tape around my cages so my bottles fit tighter, I was terrified of losing them on the rough pavement (thanks Sue Lin for the warning).  Evelyn stayed with me until about halfway up the climb on the first lap then I never saw her again.  The 60+ dropped even before that.  Alright, solo effort all the way now.  I saw the two junior boys not too far ahead, they were making some strange moves so I let them go for now.  Once I made it up to the top, it’s not exactly flat and there’s some rollers.  It’s really beautiful country and I was just enjoying the scenery and putting in a TT effort.  I caught the junior boys on one of the flat sections but they weren’t much use for drafting as they would pull through way too hard.  Everyone was pretty spread out at this point from all races.  I was happy on the flats to then see an AV kit, it was Shane.  I asked him if he was on his 2nd lap, he said no it’s my 4th.  I was only on my first lap and our race was only 2 laps.  So he rested and drafted for a bit until we came to the pitch before the descent and he took off.  That descent was soooo bumpy!  My eyes were vibrating so hard, I was getting dizzy!  Just tried to catch smooth patches where I could.  It actually went by pretty quickly.  I was feeling pretty fresh as I came through to start the 2nd lap.  The next lap was fairly uneventful and I focused on going harder on the second time up the climb.  Once I got up top, there was some wind but not bad, I was wishing I had someone to work with but was still enjoying the scenery and the sunshine.  I then started passing some of the masters men which was fun, it gave me a target to look at and kept my mind focused.  Then back down the bumpy descent again and made the short climb to the finish.  

I had heard the road was awful, and it was.  But I really enjoyed this course.  There are a lot of features that make it an interesting one - the climb, rollers, really bumpy pavement, and technical skills on the descent.  Hopefully more women come out to this race next year!  

Nutrition:

Pre-race - two banana pancakes, PB&J sandwich, during - two gels, two bottles of fluid.  Plan was to take a gel every 30 minutes which would have been four gels but I lost track on the 2nd lap.

Race Report: Copperopolis Road Race - Men’s E4

Race: Copperopolis Road Race - Men’s Elite 4

Date: April 8th, 2023

AVRT racers: Logan Allen

Top Result: Logan Allen 8/16

Course: 3 counter-clockwise laps of a 21 mile, 1800 ft elevation circuit featuring iconically bad pave and potholes at times spanning the entire width of the road. The elevation is frontloaded into the first 6 miles of the course, with rollers leading up to a 2 mile climb at 5%. After the hill is a 9 mile plateau cutting through now flush, green pastures (courtesy of all the rain this year) and then a bone-jarring, bike-mangling 5 mile descent before a 0.6 mile drag at 3% up to the finish. This years temps ranged from the low 50s at start to low 60s at the finish. Wind was about 9mph from the south. Course map and elevation profile can be seen below. 

Course map (CCW starting at the most western point)

Elevation profile

Nutrition: Fueled with maltodextrin mix in my bottles. 2.5 bottles at 90g carbs each, 1.5 sleeves clif bloks. Teammate Drew in the feed zone proved very helpful with the third bottle of mix hand-up.

Race Report: I treated this as my first “A” race of the season with a week of tapering preceding and a practice recon lap the previous day. This would be my 3rd attempt at Copperopolis and I wanted the win sorely. 

The race started off hot, with a Mikes Bikes rider pacing the climb. We pass up the masters 1,2,3 group, who had started 5 minutes before us. The pacing proved fast enough through the first climb to whittle the peloton down to 9 riders. This group stayed together until the descent on the first lap where large gaps grew due to differences in descending prowess. 

Having rode the course the day before I knew what to expect and put 30 seconds on the field. After assessing my fatigue level, I decided to wait up for riders to catch me. A group of 4 of us paced together to the start of the climb on the second lap. The pace up the second climb proved to be too fast for me and I had committed too much to hanging on so I lost a few positions up the hill as I tried to recover enough to be competitive on the flats. 

Now in 7th place, I ride solo until the Masters 1,2,3 catches me at the very east end of the course, with two riders in my category tailing them. I group with the two E4 riders and we push ahead of the masters. The Mikes Bikes rider who led out the first climb has mechanical issues and we end up adding him to our group before the descent. We stay together until the base of the 3rd climb. Mikes Bikes and an unattached rider pace faster than I want to up the hill and I settle in to ride the remainder of the race solo. They hold their lead and I ride in for 8th place. 

Overall I felt very strong in comparison to previous years. My nutrition felt good, my new team kit and tire set-up felt fast, my form was ideal. Unfortunately for me, a strong set of riders showed out this year, and even though I took 35 minutes off of my time from last years E4 race, set some power records and PR’d every Strava segment, I managed to place the same. Excited for next years race!

AV Wednesday Intervals 04/12, by AC Coaching

Hi guys, weather is good, perfect for morning intervals!
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.
As I’m not here this week, Flo will be leading this ride!

The meet up is at 7.15am
Back down around 8.15am.

Session: Over-Unders : 4* OU(2*(2' @90 - 30" @110) +20" fun)
2' @90%, 30" @110, directly back into 2' @90%, 30" @110. Finishing with 20" fun hard effort.
3' rest, super easy.
Feel the difference between the over and unders, so don’t go to hard for the 2’.
Repeat for 4 total sets.

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 5th April, Meet 7.10 a.m., Leave 7:15 a.m.

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

Ride Leader: Flo Costa

Race Report: 2023 Hwy 17 Omnium - Women’s Cat 4

Date: March 25-26, 2023

AVRT racers: Elizabeth Ordeman, Louise Thomas

Top Results: Louise 2nd, Elizabeth 4th

The Hwy 17 Omnium is comprised of two local crits: Cat’s Hill in Los Gatos on the Saturday followed by Santa Cruz on the Sunday. 

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Cat’s Hill 

Date: March 25, 2023

AVRT racers: Elizabeth Ordeman, Louise Thomas

Top Result: Louise 2/9 

Course: 0.9 mile L-shaped course. Features a 23% climb up Nicholson (which caused many dropped chains throughout the day).

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8777557513

Nutrition: Pizza from Terun and a muffin or two before the race, part of a bottle of maltodextrin mix during the race.  

Recap: Firstly, thanks to everyone on the B and C rides that came and supported at Cat’s Hill! It made the race much more exciting with a crowd there to watch. 

Going into the race I knew the hill was going to be the main deciding factor for two reasons: the 23% grade is enough to wreck anyones legs, and shifting at the wrong time will often cause a dropped chain. While practicing the hill with Elizabeth before the race I didn’t shift in time, got stuck in the big chainring, and had to end up walking up the hill. Lesson learned: it’s better to shift too early and lose a bit of momentum than shift too late and get stuck. At least I only did it in the warmup rather than the race. 

The race proceeded as expected for the first few laps, with the hill taking its toll on several riders. Things started to get interesting on lap four when a prime was called. I saw this as an opportunity to practice my sprint, ultimately winning the prime but leaving me pretty gassed. On the rollers just after our next time up the hill the Terun rider attacked. Tactically it was a great move, but at the time I was regretting my choices to go hard for the prime. 

The attack whittled us down to four riders in a breakaway, which stayed together for most of the rest of the race. At one point someone dropped a chain on the hill, but impressively managed to catch back on after a lap or two. Going into the final lap I was happily sitting in on second wheel. The lead rider flicked me the elbow to take a pull, but I’ve been stuck on the front going into a sprint way too many times before to fall for that one so I stayed behind her.   

On the final hill Tess attacked. I struggled to stay with the group, and going into the downhill section I was last in the breakaway. From previous laps I’d noticed everyone was going relatively slow on the downhill and taking the corner wider than necessary, so I decided to bomb it down the inside and managed to be first out of the corner going into the home stretch with the others hot on my heels. In the sprint the Terun rider came around the side to take the win, but I managed to hold off the other two riders to end up with second place. Overall I’m pretty happy with how it all played out - after all I do like a good hill repeat or two. 

Santa Cruz Classic 

Date: March 26, 2023

AVRT racers: Chris Davis, Elizabeth Ordeman, Janine Bubner, Louise Thomas

Top Result: Chris Davis: 1st (masters 50+), Louise: 3/7 (cat 4), 5/16 (overall)

Course: 0.9 mile course featuring a sharp hairpin turn and an uphill finish  

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8782437368

Nutrition: a gel before the race and a few sips of maltodextrin/fuctose/sodium drink mix during the race

Recap: The race started with the women’s cat 3, cat 4, novice and masters categories all raced together, including Jamie Chapman who had lapped the field with a solo break in the cat 3 race at Cat’s Hill the day before. As the whistle blew, Chris got the party started by getting to the front and pushing up the pace. I tried to stay near the front of the pack, not wanting to get stuck behind any slower riders on the hairpin turn. 

I’d been keeping an eye on Jamie, assuming she would attack at some point, and on lap 3 she made her move on the rollers before the “hill”. Four of us followed: two of the riders that were in the break with me at Cat's Hill yesterday and Gwen (from Revolution). As expected, none of us could hold Jamie's wheel. Unfortunately me and Gwen also couldn't hold the wheels of the other two riders and we got jettisoned from the chase group. With Gwen in cat 3 and me in cat 4 we weren't really competing against each other and both wanted to stay away from the peloton, so decided to work together taking turns to each pull for a lap. 

With three laps to go Jamie came up behind us, having just lapped the field once again, so we hopped on her wheel for a free ride on the Jamie train for the final laps. Once she finished we assumed we still had one lap to go since she was a lap ahead, so continued around for another lap. Turns out that's not how it works. Apparently we should have stopped as soon as we crossed the line after Jamie, but no one told us that so our sprint for 4th was all for nothing and only served to confuse the number recording. In the end it didn’t really matter since Gwen was ahead of me both when we drafted Jamie across the line and in the sprint finish, but good to know for next time (though I’m not planning on making a habit of getting lapped). 

All-in-all it was a fun weekend of racing, and congratulations to Elizabeth for racing her first (and second!) crit, Chris for winning her category, and Janine for a strong race for her first one in the US after a hiatus of a few years. 

- Louise

2023 Santa Cruz Classic Masters 35+ 3/4 Race Report

Race: 2023 Santa Cruz Classic - Mens 35+ Cat 3/4

Date: March 26th, 2023

AVRT Racers: Bernardo Tapia, Shai Traister

Results: Shai (6/17), Bernardo (9/17)

Course: Start/finish is at the highest point of the course. Sharp right hairpin after the start line, which begins during the descent. The descent takes you into a fast flat section of the course with two 90 degrees right turns into a narrow, sort of winding section with a tiny kicker and a tailwind. This leads you to a 90-degree right turn into the finish straight, which features a punchy hill. Notably, the finish is about 50 meters after the end of the climb.

45ft climb, beginning quite steep, but then it keeps going at a few percent into a headwind.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8783044616

Nutrition: Oatmeal before the race. One bottle of Skratch mix

The race: The race was only 40 minutes long, so obviously it started fast (and stayed fast throughout). First couple of laps the racers were getting used to the course, the turns, and the wind. Some small gaps opened then closed. Bernardo and I tried to stay close to the front, just in case.

The first prim lap was called, so the pace picked up a bit. A Penvelo rider got a gap but was brought back. We got to the climb, and I decided to give it a go. I attacked on the right side on the steep section, but couldn’t keep it up on the run to the line. A few more laps went by, with Bernardo spending some time on the front.

Second prim lap. I decided to give it another try, pace the climb better and leave some power for the sprint. Again I was outsprinted by two other riders, which opened a ~5-10 seconds gap on me by the time we reached the hairpin. I decided to chase and keep pushing. Others caught from behind and I continued on the front until we got to the climb. We closed the gap to the two in front and it all came together.

Third prim lap – after the previous two attempts weren’t successful, I decided to skip the 3rd prim and conserve some energy for the finish. I guess the others felt the same, as the 3rd prim lap was considerably slower. Oh well.

Last lap. Everything came together. Bernardo told me he was going to attack, and that I should counter if/when he got caught. Bernardo got to the front but couldn’t get a separation and soon got passed by another rider. We got to the climb and sprinted to the line. I ended up in 6th.

Race Report: La Ruta del Lago - Elite Open Men

Race: La Ruta del Lago - Elite Open Men

Date: April 1, 2023

AVRT racers: Nico Sandi

Top Result: Nico Sandi (1/55)

Course: 60 miles out and back on newly paved road long Lake Titicaca (starting elevation of 12,600ft). Two main climbs at the very beginning and at the end of the course. Climb 1 was short and steep. Climb 2 was longer, with steep bits at beginning and end, but false flat in the middle. Mostly flat with some mini climbs the rest of the way. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8814849975

Nutrition: Coffee and oats in the morning. Four sleeves of clif shots, two bottles with malto/gatorade mix (one bottle flew away early in the race so I was left with only one). 

I was targeting this weekend as my A event for the road season. I had planned to travel to Bolivia to race elite road nationals on this same day. I got my UCI license, insurance, permits from local cycling association, planned travel…everything. But nationals got postponed last minute. So I pivoted and reframed my trip as a time to spend time with family and train at altitude. And luckily found a road race to go use my fitness and smash it. 

A note on racing and riding at elevation: After riding at elevation for almost two weeks I had to recalibrate my expectations of numbers I saw on my bike computer. My new max heart rate was 170 (down from 190 at sea level). I lowered my power expectations by 50 watts at least. And, at anything above 10,000ft, relative perceive effort was through the roof because I was constantly gasping for air. Very uncomfortable. 

My Strava investigations into this race from previous years showed me that people went super hard in the first and second climbs right off the start. Then settled into a steady group ride pace and then used the final two climbs to decide the race. 

As advertised the first climb was hard. Only 2.5 minutes but I was already questioning my decision to race at such high elevation. 

The second climb was also super hard. Two riders went clear and I decided to just do my own pace and not implode trying to chase them. I eventually caught up to them and was able to just sit on their wheels through the false flat and final steep bit of the climb. 

Coming down the other side of the climb it was only 6 of us. The race was completely blown apart 20 minutes into the race. I liked it! This meant it was a small group to control, it was mostly flat for the next 90 minutes. I just had to focus on eating well, taking short fake pulls, saving energy and preparing for the two climbs at the very end. 

I didn’t know anybody in the group. Three of them looked young and fast, but the older man was the one who put the hurt on the climbs. I eventually found out he was Juan Cotumba, Bolivian cycling legend. He was national champ and had won the Vuelta a Bolivia 10 years ago. He is 42 now and still fast! I marked him as the one to keep and eye on since he was the one dropping us on the first two climbs. 

Nothing of note happened during the flat part of the race. A couple of the guys in the group attacked on a couple of rises. We would slowly bring them back and then let them dangle off the front letting them waste energy. I did not attack or try to get away. I was confident I could follow and/or create separation on the last climb. 

As expected, we were all together coming back into the last two climbs. The second to last climb starts with 4 minutes of steep, levels out and then a final 2 minute kicker at the end. Juan made his move in the middle of the steep bit and I was the only one to follow. I was glued to his wheel until it leveled out. I came around and we had a chat. I told him we should work together until the bottom of the next climb and then see what happens. He agreed and so we worked well together to keep the rest of the group away. 

We came into the bottom of the last climb with a very healthy gap on the chasers and so we had plenty of time to finesse. We started the climb super slow and I was just waiting for his move to go. And it did and I tried and I couldn’t. He got away. I decided to not burn myself chasing and just try to pace my own climb. I had reconned the climb the day before and I knew it is deceivingly long.

I noticed Juan started to slow down ahead of me. I was closing in just focusing on my own pace. I caught him with 100 meter to go on the climb and I could tell he was cooked. I still had a little bit more in me to accelerate and get a gap in the the decent and keep that gap to the finish. 

No brakes, full send down the hill and I thought I had it. But I looked behind and he was gaining on me (100% aided by a motorcycle that should not have been there but whatever). I knew he would catch me so I stopped working hard and waited for a sprint. 

The finish is weird because it is literally 30 feet after a left turn. I just had to be first into the corner. I lead it out, gapped him and turned the corner to see the finish first.

You can watch a video of the final climb here. (minute 8:30) You can also try to find more videos of the race on the same Facebook page. I would recommend this video (minute 41:45) just to see how beautiful this race was. You can see the Andes in the background! This guy was on a motorcycle live streaming the race from his phone and commentating. It was great!

Hopefully I get to race road nationals next year!

Nico

Race Report: Tour de Murrieta Grand Prix Crit and Circuit Omnium

Race: TdM Crit Women’s 35+

Well attended race weekend with Legion riders showing up in the P123 field

Date: Apr 1, 2023

AVRT racers: Chris Davis

Top Result: Stage 1: Masters 35+ (1 out of 4) Combined with 3/4/5 (9/22 Overall)

Course: Technical Crit Course about 1 mile with 6 turns, two are onto brick and two are into gutters. Long finishing stretch with a slight .5% uphill grade. WINDY in the afternoon, with a tailwind on the finishing straight. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8814649410

Nutrition: Two scoops of Fluid Nutrition for my bottle with a small scoop of beet powder. 

This is a great weekend with some awesome competition. I have traveled with Greg Beliera for the past three years to race as he photographs. Legion has shown up in the Men’s P12 race each year I have been there. 

Crits are not my favorite, especially technical ones. This one is a great opportunity to take advantage of great cornering skills. Therefore, I made it my goal to work on my cornering. The field of Masters and 3/4/5 combined was the biggest women’s group of the day, with about a quarter of the field being from Mexico. SoCal racing is a bit different in that it is a contact sport. In the first few laps two girls were shouldering each other rather aggressively. Fortunately, they were both adept at handling this as neither caused a crash at that moment. It’s pretty amazing that the 3/4/5 fields are so aggressive. 

A solid team (Incycle) in pink came to play. They had 5 in this field and one was the birthday girl (who promptly took off at the gun). I wanted a good result overall, so I charged after her. Others joined and we eventually caught her with her teammates tagging up as well. Half the field was shattered at this point. As the nine of us rounded a corner in the penultimate lap, a crash happened right in front of me. Bodies were flying and I just missed running over a fallen rider. I screeched to a halt and bumped her leg, but she seemed okay so I went after the five that got away. As I came around to the finish line, the officials had stopped the five front girls (all pink)  and they were waiting at the line. We were then divided by where we came in. They moved two girls to the top group who had crashed (Is this supposed to happen?) I was in the second group with several lapped riders (Argh). In hindsight, I should have asked to be put into the top group  because I was with them when the crash happened. Oh well…. The officials then sent us out with two laps to go and 60 seconds between each group. It was silliness, especially when a rider joined our group on the backside from the side of the road (her result was removed from the race).  I came in 9th overall and was most happy that I bridged up to the break, did not crash, and felt great in the corners. 

Photo credit: Greg Beliera

Race: TdM Circuit  Women’s 35+

Date: Apr 2, 2023

AVRT racers: Chris Davis

Top Result: Stage 1: Masters 35+ (1 out of 5) Combined with 3/4/5 (5/22 Overall)

Nutrition: Two scoops of Fluid Nutrition for my bottle with a small scoop of beet powder.

Course: Approximately 4.2 miles per lap, mostly flat with a couple big ring rollers. Super fun course with a short finishing run after the last right turn. Winds pick up at noon. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8821746579

Knowing that Incycle would make a move from the gun, I stayed glued to the pink train (5 riders). As we rounded the turn off of the slight incline (with major headwind) to a steeper section, Incycle attacked. I quickly responded because after the incline comes the fun rolling section. The taller girls railed downhill, leaving me and one of the smaller girls in a pink jersey behind. I jumped out from behind the Incycle teammate that let a gap open and went to chase. I asked her to help since I was not in her category (3/4/5), but she was not biting. Then another rider joined us and I thought we had a chance. No such luck, the pack caught us and the 4 pink got away. Cornering behind a few of the riders that are still working on this skill motivated me to fly the coop. So on the third lap I sat in and rested, especially going up the headwind section. As we rounded the corner, I copied the attack that worked for the breakaway and it stuck for me. I rode 2 and ½ laps solo and loved every minute of it. Taking the corners at speed gave me a solid minute lead (moto informed me) and I crossed the line 5th overall and first in the 35+. This weekend was a real boost for me because my season this year started out in the gutter. It feels good to have some solid racing in the books finally. The SoCal scene is a blast: food, music, and people! I would highly recommend this race weekend for your calendar. Just be ready to rumble. Oh yeah, Legion will likely be there!

Photo Credit: Greg Beliera

AV Wednesday Intervals 04/05, by AC Coaching

The rain is over..! Back to the intervals on Kings!
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’ repeats and fun: 11* (1' @110 - 20" @125)
Repeats of 1' @110% directly followed by 20" @120%
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.

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 5th April, 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 Cats Hill - P123W

Race: 2023 Cats Hill - P123W

Date: Saturday, March 25th 2023

AVRT racers: Kelly Brennan, Ari Pascarella, Nike Taylor, and Gina Yuan

Top Result: Kelly Brennan (6/24), Niky Taylor (8/24), Ari Pascarella (15/24), Gina Yuan (17/24)

Course: Steep short hill. Flowy corners. Strong winds the day of the race.

Recap: 

TL;DR: The field was pretty stacked with some pro criterium racers. I attacked off the front about 40 minutes into the race for 1 lap. Gina, Ari, and Niky were doing a great job of staying in the main group for the whole race. A dropped chain is not a mechanical at Cats Hill, so unfortunately Gina and Ari (and many others) lost a lap. With 2 laps to go, Niky was on the very front of the group, and I tried to move up to try to help her out and keep AV in a good position. I finished the last climb about the 6th wheel and held that wheel to the finish.

Full story: 

This was my second criterium at the P123W level, my first Cats Hill, and I was nervous about doing one of the more famous classic northern california races. My legs were not feeling great going into this race. I was tired from a long week of finals and traveling. After doing the hill 4 times, I swore we must be 30 minutes into the race only to look down at my garmin and see we’d only been racing 10 minutes and had 50 more to go. I wondered if I could continue.

I hung in there, often at the very back. But every once and awhile, I experimented in getting to the front. I found that the straight away with the finish line (and a tailwind) and the hill were good places for me to move up. It was really windy, so anyone at the front at the top of the hill and heading into the climb faced a pretty strong headwind.

Niky and Ari did a really good job of staying in the top 10 wheels most of the race. Gina ripped the descent into the finish a couple times to help push the pace.

About 40 minutes into the race, my legs were finally feeling warm and I was the 2nd wheel into the steep climb. I decided to attack the climb and ended up with a 10 second gap on the field. My main goal here was to get some of the other teams to work to catch up. I stayed off the front for a whole lap and was caught on the next climb. Niky tried a counter attack. With the headwinds, being solo was exhausting. I barely hung onto the field as I tried to recover, but fortunately found Gina’s wheel.

With 2 laps to go, I saw Niky on the front pushing the pace. After knowing how exhausting it was to be on the front, I spent that lap trying to move up to get her out of the wind, but the pace was too fast. With one lap to go, the pace on the hill was fast. I moved from the 12th wheel to the 6th wheel on the climb. After the 3rd to last next corner, I tried to move up more, but the headwind was pretty strong, so I ducked back into the group to keep my positioning all the way to the finish.

Given my legs at the start and my first time at this race, I’m pretty happy with my result and how we raced as a team. I’m already excited for next year because I see more ways we could improve. For example, if we had had Niky on the front for that 2nd lap to go and a teammate behind her (or vice versa), she could have launched one of us up the hill to snag one of the top positions. I’m really excited to continue to race with these ladies!

Key learnings: a dropped chain is not a mechanical at Cats Hill. To win or get a top position, you really need to get to the second to last corner first.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8777168328

Nutrition: Drank most of my scratch water before the race, and left a few sips in the bottle for the race. 1 SIS Salted Strawberry gel about 10 minutes before the race. I got kind of hungry and thirsty during the race… could have eaten more.

Race Report - 2023 Santa Cruz Classic Crit Women P123

Date: March 26, 2023

AVRT racers: Sue Lin Holt, Niky Taylor, Gina Yuan

Top Result: Niky 11th

Course: Alright so first it’s flat. Then there’s the main feature of this course which is a hairpin turn that sends you into a rapid descent. Then you whip around two 90 degree rights into a narrow, sort of winding section with a tiny kicker. Then you turn onto the hill (4%) and then you get to the top of it but don’t stop now cause you still got a flat 300m to the finish line.

Recap: This was a cool race and we approached it as a learning experience. We didn’t make a race plan beyond hang out and hang on and have a good time learning from the pros. My two goals for this race were to try something new with warm-up, and to have some fun showing off a bit :) 

I always struggle to warm up before races, so this time I wanted to try a longer and more aggressive warm up strategy. Jack, Gina, Cam, Grant, and I went and rode around for an hour and a half before the race. That worked pretty well for me and I was definitely warm but I also maybe don’t need to push that hard in warm up in the future. Cam said later he “actually didn’t really feel like keeping up” with me at one point which means I cracked Cam’s z1 and can retire from biking now.

Sue Lin, Gina and I lined up at the start, then they blew the whistle and the race started. It was fast. It was awesome. We had a ripping tailwind out of the hairpin that sent us flying down the descent. After turns 2 and 3 into the narrow winding section I learned I could use the kicker to get an easy gap. The main hill was useful for moving up too. The last flat 300m into a headwind was my nemesis. 

I attacked off the kicker at one point and spent 2 laps off the front trying to look good for photos. I think I looked cool. I’m working on my race face. I got brought back in.

A bit later Paige attacked into the headwind and went solo off the front. I tried to follow but WIND omg. But I was like ok, she’ll just hang out there for a bit and then Monarch (the largest team out there) will shut it down. The pace was blazing and it was down to just me and Gina for AV, plus I was tired from my solo photo break. Gina came by me and ripped it through some turns to represent us up front. 

After about 10-15 minutes of Paige off the front I went up and asked Dani (TWENTY24) if we should bring her in. Dani was like “yes, obviously, help out” and I was like “oh ok let’s roll some turns.” So Dani, Melanie, Chloe (Monarch), and I started working to bring Paige in. It was a tough course to roll turns on, and we ended up doing weird quarter-lap pulls. I kept getting the hill. Which was fine with me. After a couple laps of dedicated chasing I pulled us up the hill and Paige was right there. I pulled off, hoping someone who doesn’t turn into a jellyfish in the wind would finish it off. I dropped back about 5 wheels. The pace kept up for another half lap and then slowed. I got swarmed. I thought we’d caught Paige. Nope, turns out we didn't. I found out at the end of the race. Oops. Good for her.

Anyways. Gina checked in with me and said she could lead me out. I said I was tired and she told me “everyone is tired.” Things got fast again. Someone slid out on the hairpin but no one else went down. In the final lap Nicole (Twenty24) was leading out Dani (Twenty24) with Melanie (not Twenty24) on her wheel. Chloe (Monarch) was trying to lead out Helena (Monarch) but I kept stealing her wheel which I was pretty happy about. Then Gina blasted by on my right and yelled at me to get on her wheel. I was like oh damn ok here we go, then she took a trademark Gina (crit shark) incredibly well-executed insanely fast inside line on the turn that I completely failed to follow. I caught back on her wheel (sort of), she launched me through the kicker, I screwed up my gearing on the final hill, then blew up at the top of it as soon as the wind hit me. 

The field sprint group flew past me and I died my way to the finish. I hope people enjoyed watching our somewhat-clumsy-but-full-of-love lead out move. If the finish line were 300m closer maybe that would have worked.

There’s definitely several things we could have done differently to win this race but who cares, sometimes it’s just fun to play the game and race in the race. It was so awesome racing this field. So many fast women, so many cool moves.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8783583552

Nutrition: 1 bottle of water during the race and maybe I ate a clif blok but who knows

Race Report: 2023 Bariani Road Race P12

Race: Bariani RR P12

Date: March 12th, 2023

AVRT racers: Austin King, Conor Austin, Grant Miller

Top Result: Grant Miller (6/47)

Course: The “old” Bariani Course - https://www.strava.com/segments/579474?filter=overall

10 mile loop with significant wind (15-20mph)  from the south. One small climb into a headwind before the start/finish stretch.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8704298129

Nutrition: Two bottles with 100g of carbs, grabbed two bottles during the race with god knows what in them. 75mg caffeine gel midway through the race.

Race Report: This year the Bariani RR course was changed and the overall length shortened from 100 to 80 miles due to bad weather and road closures. The new course was perfect for our truck squad, with significant crosswind sections to drop smaller riders and enough uphill to make it hard for larger riders. Going into the race we were one of the smaller squads, with significant turn-out from Mike’s Bikes (TMB), Terun, and Voler. Our plan was to try and stick on the right side of splits and mostly follow TMB, who had 7 riders in the race.

The race started fairly slowly, with the course heading straight into a headwind before turning into crosswind for a mile and then a 4-5 minute tailwind descent. I tried to navigate towards the front to prepare for the crosswind stretch coming up. Right as we hit the turn into the cross-wind the race opened up with multiple riders attacking and guttering the field. I followed wheels and found myself in a selection of around 10 riders. Annoyingly, this group did not want to work together and people kept attacking or letting wheels go. I wasn’t paying attention to my power and just focused on trying to ride smoothly. Later on I realized that we were in the middle of a really hard effort and had gapped the rest of the field by around 20 seconds and people were probably already at their limits. 

After about 10 minutes, a group of two slowly rolled off the front. Unfortunately I was boxed in on the line and couldn’t make a move to follow as three riders attacked to bridge up. As we hit the right hand turn into the climb/headwind the group crawled to a slow with multiple TMB riders appearing to try and block the group, perhaps to let their teammates come back. I attacked around them to try and bridge to the breakaway. After a hard effort I caught a few people in no-mans land and tried to organize a rotation. I didn’t realize that these guys were totally gassed and we were actually losing time to the break. This was where I made a big mistake. I should’ve taken my shot and tried to bridge the rest of the way but I saw that there were no TMB in the break and figured it didn’t have a chance with 7 guys chasing so I decided to go back to the main field.

The next two hours consisted of TMB trying and failing to bring back any time of the break. The gap went from around 30 seconds at the start to more than two minutes. It was somewhat comical to watch a team of the best riders in Norcal actually losing time to a group of what was eventually 3 break-away riders - two of them masters riders! When it was clear that TMB was running out of gas, Conor came to the front and started pacing the tailwind stretch. I told him to go full gas out of the corner and attempt to make a split in the field. 

When we hit the turn he lit it up and there were huge gaps behind us. I did almost 500 watts and that was in his draft! Unfortunately for us, the moto ref decided not to let us pass another group that was pedaling at a coffee ride pace. We actually had to stop pedaling for 30 seconds and let the whole group come back before the moto let us pass. We stepped on the gas again to pass the group and stretched the field back out. It was obvious people were at their limits but no gaps were opening in the top wheels.

When we hit the headwind stretch the group slowed to a crawl again. Fed-up with the pace and getting cold I decided to attack. At first no one came with me and I resigned myself to trying to bridge solo. Luckily after a few minutes alone I looked back and two groups were trying to bridge. Eventually we had a group of six riders and we locked into rotation. The pace was hard but I could tell I had some of the best legs in the group. When it became clear we were going to catch the break I started looking for opportunities to save energy and started to think about how to win.

Unfortunately that all came to a crashing halt when I slid out on the turn into the headwind section with 1.5 to go. After a quick systems check (body okay, bike okay) I tried to hop back on the bike but unfortunately my chain had dropped. I spent way too long (45s) trying to get it back on before a course martial helped me. I immediately put down the power to try and catch back on but quickly realized my break-mates were long gone. At this point I just tried to do the highest average power I could do for the last 30 minutes. All I wanted to do was avoid getting caught by anyone and catch anyone falling out of the break. I was successful on both fronts and managed to catch one person with a few minutes left in the race, moving me up to 6th.

Overall it was a great day for the team with Conor grabbing 9th and Austin 11th. This was my best finish in a P12 race and I know that if I’d kept it up in that corner I would’ve been racing for a podium position.

Race Report: Tucson Bicycle Classic 2023 - Men’s Cat 2/3

Race: Tucson Bicycle Classic - Men’s Cat 2/3

Date: 3/3/23 - 3/5/23

AVRT Racers: Cameron O’Reilly, Nathan Martin, Jon Wells, Grant Miller, Austin King, Andrea Cloarec, Jack Liu, Shane McGuire

Top Results: GC: Cameron (1/110), TT: Nathan (7/110), RR: Cameron (2/110), CR: Andrea (22/110)

Course: Rolling uphill TT. Rolling road race with a gradual climb/descent and plenty of wind. Narrow four-corner circuit race with a downhill into T4.

Nutrition: Scratch and maltodextrin, about 500ml water and 60g carbs per hour

Summary: This was the first time since at least 2019 that AVRT has sent both men’s and women’s teams out of state to compete in a national level race. I’m extremely happy with both the team results we achieved (1st in GC for Women 3 and Men 2/3 and 15th for Women P12) as well as how well everyone worked together off the bike. Thanks to everyone pitching in, the whole operation ran very smoothly and we arrived at every stage well fed, rested, and prepared to race. A huge thank you also to our financial sponsors Dave Keefe Real Estate/Action Properties, B5 Capital, Summit Bicycles, and Palo Alto Concrete and Construction whose support helps us cover some of the costs of attending races like this.

(Most of) the squad after our first ride in Tucson

Stage 1 Time Trial: Strava

The time trial was pretty straightforward: a 3.5 mile effort on a rolling uphill similar to Cull Canyon but shorter. We had a tailwind so I estimated it would be about a 9 minute effort. My pacing strategy was to stay a little over my FTP on any flat/uphill sections and let off the gas a little on the downhill portions since there wasn’t much to gain by spinning out. Overall I averaged about 355W for 8:51, right behind Nathan at 8:50 putting us 8th and 7th respectively on GC, about 15 seconds behind the leader. Andrea, Jon, and Grant all also put down very fast times at 9:09, 9:13, and 9:14, meaning we had 5 people within about 30 seconds off the leader! This was a great team result and gave us many cards to play in the RR on day 2.

Stage 2 Road Race: Strava, YouTube

The Road Race was AV’s best shot at establishing a GC lead. Our strategy was to have Andrea, Jon, and Grant initiating and covering earlier moves since they would all be GC threats if they got up the road, while Austin, Shane, and Jack would keep the pace fast and ensure earlier moves without AV didn’t go far, as well as help position Nathan and I for later moves that were more likely to stick. The ideal scenario was getting Nathan or I into a late race move with the minimum number of people ahead of us on GC.

This race was a really cool experience for me as one of the protected riders. With the rolling terrain I was consistently able to see the front of the pack, and at every opportunity noticed an AV jersey up near the front. I was able to relax and focus on conserving energy as well as staying safe amidst all the sketchy wheels and crashes. I fully trusted my teammates to cover anything threatening, and they delivered. 

On the second lap, Andrea and another rider who was not a GC threat went off the front. This was a great scenario for AV, since Andrea was high enough on GC to force Fort Lewis College and Fount Cycling, who had GC1 and G2, to chase. The wind and limited gradients meant the pack didn’t have a huge advantage over two strong riders rolling turns, and Andrea stayed away for about 40 minutes while other teams burned out all their domestiques chasing, which turned out to be critical for the later part of the race. I moved up toward the front of the pack as the gap began to close at the start of lap 3, anticipating a counter attack. When I got near the front I was ecstatic to see Jack “setting pace” on the front while other riders shouted “GO AROUND HIM, HIS TEAMMATE IS UP THE ROAD”. 

As the chase deteriorated into bridge attempts, I was fresh enough to cover these and neutralize many of them as riders realized they were not only bringing another AV rider up to the break, but also a higher placed GC rider. We caught Andrea’s break around the start of the downhill, at which point I drifted back in the pack since nobody would be able to create separation on the gradual downhill. Once we made the turn at the bottom with about 7 miles left, the pack predictably sprinted out of it then slowed due to the headwind (exactly like the SJBC practice crits for those of you that have raced these), allowing me to move up and find Austin. 

As Austin navigated me up closer to the front, an attack went with Grant covering (about 4:10 in Jon’s video). The break dangled a few seconds ahead, causing the pace to surge as the field narrowed from 10 wide to 5 wide. Austin kept me sheltered and moving forward; with less than 7 miles left and a tired field now was the chance for something to stick. As Grant’s break began to come back, Andrea pulled up alongside me and shouted to get on his wheel, which I did. He brought me steadily up to the front then when we were sitting about 15th wheel I told him to punch it, slingshotting me off the front left of the peloton just as two other riders countered from the right. Jack was on my wheel and he just let my wheel go; the rest of the AV riders gathered at the front blocking the whole field (very effective when we had 6 riders and the road was narrow) and watched as I broke away. The other two riders, Ben (solo) and Max (Project 74), were both behind me on GC and I still had Nathan in the field, so I knew immediately I had to fully commit to the break. We rolled smooth turns and communicated positioning to stay sheltered from the crosswind. When I looked back I could see the field of ~100 riders only a few seconds back. It was sort of like a scene from a movie where characters are fleeing a literal army behind them. Meanwhile in the pack, it was very clear the break would go away when the GC1 rider went to the front desperately trying to close the gap as no one was helping. 

As we approached the finish I could tell all three of us were exhausted. Had this been a one day race our 20 second gap would have incentivized more gamesmanship, but given we all had at least some GC ambition it wasn’t until the final 100m that anyone opened a sprint. Ben launched and I couldn’t follow, but still came 2nd to collect some bonus seconds and, more importantly, a 21 second gap on the rest of the field. This gave me the GC lead by 3 seconds over Ben, who moved up significantly with his bonus seconds, with a solid gap to the rest of the GC contenders. 

Happy team after a successful effort

Into the Leader’s Jersey!

Stage 3 Circuit Race: Strava, YouTube

The circuit race was very chaotic. The course itself was relatively flat, meaning there were few opportunities to drop riders or create separation for a breakaway. Since I had only a 3 second lead on GC, the goal was to position me well for the intermediate bonus seconds so I could try and secure my position before the field sprint that I was extremely unlikely to place in. Despite starting at the front of the pack, however, I was quickly shuffled back as riders began surging and attacking. In the first 10 minutes or so there were two large crashes, which took out both Shane and Grant as well as really spooked me for the rest of the race. While I have the fitness to tailgun a 2/3 field and chase back on around dropped riders, this isn’t a great strategy and I need to get more comfortable fighting for front positions in P12 races.

I spent most of the race latching onto teammates’ wheels so they could help me navigate up through the field. Since the course didn’t do much to tire people out, riders were always driving the pace at the front (whether because they wanted a result on the stage, for GC, or just wanted to ride hard for no reason) and we had only one lane for a 100+ person field, there weren’t the same opportunities to burn a match and move up 50 spots that there are on some local crit courses like San Rafael or Santa Cruz. Thankfully my teammates did a great job of keeping the field stitched up all race and preventing any splits or breaks that would have threatened my GC standing; Jon and Jack stayed glued to the wheels of GC2 and GC3 for the whole race, making sure they didn't take any bonus seconds. No breakaways stuck and we finished as a pack after a crash within 3k of the line (which unfortunately involved Nathan). None of the other top GC riders had taken any bonus seconds, so my slim lead from the road race held and I held onto the jersey for the overall GC win!

GC Podium

Successful defense of the GC lead!

Race Report: 2023 Tucson Bicycle Classic - Women’s P/1/2

Race: 2023 Tucson Bicycle Classic W P/1/2

Date: March 3-5, 2023

AVRT racers: Ari Pascarella, Robin Betz, Gina Yuan

Results:

Time Trial: Gina 20/55, Robin 40/55, Ari 44/55

Road Race: Gina 36/54, Ari 37/54, Robin 38/54

Circuit Race: Gina 24/47, Robin 43/47

Overall GC: Gina 15/43, Robin 38/43

Summary:

Tucson Bicycle Classic is a three day stage race in Tucson, Arizona. The first stage is a 3.4 mile time trial, the second stage is a 80 mile road race, and the third stage is 12 laps around a 4 mile circuit. The size and competition in the P/1/2 field was at a level we don't get to experience often in our local NCNCA races. We really took this weekend day-by-day, with the goals to LEARN A LOT (both from the pros and about each other) and to HAVE FUN!

Day 1 Time Trial (written by Ari)

Course: Uphill, 5.6k (3.5 miles)

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8654534243

Nutrition: 1 Gu prior (more ritual than necessity); No bottles 

My aim for the weekend was to come in with realistic expectations in a stacked WP/1/2 field, practice positive self-talk, appreciate the experience of traveling and racing with the team, and have fun! 

After lounging and relaxing at the cars with Gina and Robin and a comical number of bathroom breaks, it was time to warm up. A focused warm up served the purpose of priming my legs for gradually increasing my power, so I felt ready to go. While waiting in the staging area and staring at my competition going off at the buzzer one by one, I put my affirmations to work and focused on keeping my attitude and energy high. Thanks to some guidance from team mate Grant Miller as well as wisdom from TrainerRoad, I had a few process goals to focus on such as 1) pace at subthreshold from the start (read: even though you’ll feel good, don’t go all out from the gun), push the effort past threshold on the risers, try to stay tucked and aero, push it on the second half and go for a negative split, and then give it everything you have on the final “climb.” I focused on power with a goal of 205-215 avg watts and 11:30 finish time. After joking with the start clerks about not dropping me, I settled in to my target and kept my breathing steady. As anticipated, a woman from Miami Nights passed me. Not as anticipated, I passed a racer ahead of me. Feeling confident I dug deeper and tried to keep the gas on and remain steady. In the final effort, my lungs were on fire and the finish line offered a sweet relief. My result was better than I’d expected with 220 avg watts and 10:46 finish time.

Not the fastest out there (43 of 54), but I had fun and gave it the best I had on that day! The TT race overall was short, fast, and surprisingly enjoyable (minus the post-race cough). It was a great start to the weekend. Going in with a personal goal and realistic expectations kept my spirits high heading into the next stage. It also allowed me to be present for celebrating my teammates’ (Gina and Robin 20 and 39; As well as Nathan and Cam in competitive GC positions after the TT and Alana 1st in GC !) and I tried to soak in quality time with the team to help unwind. This served as a much needed respite from the nerves for the upcoming road race.

Day 2 Road Race (written by Robin)

Course: 82 miles: 4 laps of a 20.3 mile vaguely square loop with 700ft climbing per lap. A few rollers in the first 4 miles followed by a straight downhill section that still needed a bit of pedaling, then some flats and a slight uphill climb with a headwind

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8660794278

Nutrition: 3 bottles of Robin’s homemade drink mix (350 kcal cyclic dextrin + 120 kcal scratch guava flavor), 1.5 sleeves Clif blocks

My goal for this race was to stay with the group for as many laps as possible, with the dream of a pack finish, and help my teammates out as much as possible. Since you have to finish each stage of the race to proceed to the next one, I knew I would be finishing one way or another, but really did not want to do 60 miles solo which felt like a real possibility.

After a brief warmup we lined up on the start. I put a bottle in my jersey pocket since we weren’t sure if the men would finish in time to offer us a feed, and put a few sleeves of Clif blocks in my other pocket. I told my teammates to wear gloves since it’s a big race and you never know. I was more nervous about the possibility of a really long solo day than about any results, which took a lot of the pressure off that I usually feel. The field size in this race was 53 starters which is about five times the size of a good Norcal womens’ race, which I have had previous experience with but Ari and Gina hadn’t, so focusing on being a good teammate and mentor also helped distract me from what felt like an inevitable beatdown by the pros.

It started pretty reasonably and I found my groove in the large group. I ride a fair amount on the local group rides where I am similarly outmatched by strong riders, so have gotten pretty good at weenie-ing around to conserve energy whenever possible. I found myself pretty comfortable and hidden from the wind and able to get in the big race lizard brain of “gap? Move up. Gap? Move up.” for the next few hours. Gina and Ari were initially near the back but quickly got the hang of things and were similarly well positioned. Whenever I was nearby I made sure to pester them to eat and drink, and all of us finished the race with good nutrition and hydration.

I was most nervous about the slight climb to the finish, as I can’t hide from doing work on the uphills and that’s often where I get dropped. I made sure to be near the front and did lose a few spots the first time around, but was still well within the group and noted from my lap counter that it was about 10 minutes.

Lap two was pretty chill. Some of the other riders complained about it being coffee pace, which I always think is funny, because if you’re complaining, get to the front and make it interesting! Given that we were still over 20mph average, I was pretty happy to go “coffee pace”. An increasing headwind on the hill section meant I was doing z2 in the bunch, which was great! I changed my goal from “try to finish in the bunch” to “you can and will finish in the bunch.”

On the roller section at the beginning of lap three some attacks flew and it got a bit spicier. I found myself shredded off the back along with a few other riders. Not to worry, I knew the course by this point and knew I could get back on as at the bottom of each roller the group would bunch up and brake, and by taking a smooth pace and punching it there I could avoid big watt expenditures and make up time. I pick up Ari and Ilan (from Terun, gotta look out for my Norcal homies) and we make it back to the group without issue. This made me feel great as I am working on developing my domestique skills.

I was a bit nervous about attacks on the climb on lap three so wanted to be near the front on the corner before it, so I plan on moving up as much as possible on the flats. At the end of the prior downhill section I take a wide line on the corner and end up passing the entire field and going from the very back to on the front. I don’t really know what to do on the front so I just pedal z3ish until the group swarms around me and hides me again. The headwind intensified and we went pretty slow up the hill so it ultimately didn’t matter, but I’m trying to build my pack skills so was happy with the execution of moving up 50 spots for free.

In lap four, Jack and Shane areis at the feedzone, and I want to throw an empty bottle at Jackhim since it’s hard to put bottles in my pocket while riding in a group. No one lets me move over to the feed side which is kind of annoying, but all I have to do is throw the empty bottle hard enough to clear the group. I get Jack’s attention and give it a good throw, and it sails through the air, over the group, heading toward a random dude who is NOT paying attention whatsoever…. Well, it’s empty, so I hope it doesn’t hit him in the head, but it shouldn’t be that bad….. It loses altitude and misses his head, beaning him right in the balls instead. I yell “sorry!!!” and retreat to the anonymity of the bunch.

Lap four is chill until we get down the descent, and then everyone starts to think about position. I find myself in the back with Ari, and tell her “we gotta get to the front.” She gets on my wheel and I move up along the side and end up approaching the final corner on the back of the Miami Nights train with Ari and Gina right behind me, which is totally ideal. As small fry, I didn’t want to get in the way of actual leadout trains (it’s kind of rude and dangerous), but still wanted to be positioned as well as possible.

The course was narrow for the group size, with only a single lane available and a moto ref who was watching like a hawk for centerline violations, which would be an immediate disqualification as we approached the finish. No one wanted to go into a headwind, so we’re going about 17mph and I’m doing low z2 watts.

I’m at max focus since I am the LEADOUT MAN taking my teammates to VICTORY and everyone is jittery and nervous and packed like sardines, and right as I think “hmmm someone is definitely going to crash. I hope it’s not in front of me,” someone goes down about 2 riders in front of me and all three of us are caught in the pileup.

I land on top of another rider who completely cushions me. The palm of my hand hits the pavement but that’s it, and since I always wear full finger gloves to races I get a tiny bruise and that’s it. I pop up to my feet immediately and officials help untangle all the bikes and riders. Ari and Gina are fine and their bikes are extricated.

I yell “go go go!” and they get back on the road. I put my chain back on and catch up to them and get to fulfill my dream of blowing up giving a leadout. The “3k rule” is in effect for this race, meaning despite our mishap in the last 1k, we will be awarded the same finishing time as the group. This probably is better than the result I would have gotten otherwise, so I’ll take it!

The only real casualties were the guy at the feedzone and my rear wheel which had a pretty decent hop in it, and wouldn't clear the brake pads anymore (rim brake gang). Fortunately I was able to borrow a loaner for the circuit race, and since it’s aluminum I can just bend it back into shape and true it at home.

Day 3 Circuit Race (written by Gina)

Course: 12 laps of a 4.2 mile 127 ft circuit

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8666589966

Nutrition: sooo much pasta, peanut butter, and veggies at the airbnb

I was feeling more confident moving around a clogged road compared to yesterday, and had more of an idea what was going on at the front. But still not that much of an idea. Breaks were forming from the start and there was one with ~7 riders that was otf for a while. I was getting the hang of moving around the amoeba, while the large, organized teams reeled stuff back.

Then there was a crash behind me going into 4 laps to go and the lead car neutralized us to a stop halfway up the climb. I was quite worried because neither Robin nor Ari were there with me until Robin rolled up and told me she saw Ari on the ground. I was glad I was carrying my phone (I don't usually) and was able to text my teammates not in this race to check up on the situation.

The officials cleared the course and they released 2 riders off the front who had a 55s gap. Then they let the field go. I wouldn't have known any of this if not for the neutralization. I asked someone if she knew who was in the break and she was like idk but doesn't matter they're gonna get caught. Amazing intuition. Miami Nights organized a fast chase effort and I was right on their wheels. Then it slowed down and Primeau Velo in particular took over to start the leadouts. My goal was survival, and it takes more confidence and mental stamina than I had that weekend to stay in good position. I shuffled backwards to finish at the back of the field (which at this point had definitely reduced in size!), not before a rider flipped over a cone beside me, and well the field did catch the break.

Unlike the road race, the final lap was carnage-free and the field sprint was an amazing sight. The teamwork and pack skills at this level of racing was so crazy and exciting. I felt inspired every day by the toughness and encouragement from my teammates Ari and Robin. And by the stellar performances of our cat 3 women and cat 2 men. With 2 bunch finishes, I kept my GC standing from the TT (sans some riders who crashed out or otherwise withdrew). Expectations exceeded! I have what it takes to hang with the pros, and know where I want to improve.

Race Report: 2023 Bariani Road Race - Men’s Masters 3/4

Race: 2023 Bariani Road Race- Men’s Masters 3/4  

Date: March 12, 2023

AVRT racers: Nat Green, Shai Traister, Brian Shreeve

Top Result: Nat (9/45), Shai (12/45)

Course: Six clockwise laps of a 10-mile loop.  Original plan was 3 laps of a 20-mile loop, which is the normal Bariani course, but the course was changed a few days prior to the event because of mud blocking parts of the road.  The course is mostly flat or rollers, with a short, not-very-steep hill on the back stretch before a right hand turn onto a section with terrible pavement, and then a left hand turn shortly before the finish that pitches down and then right back up.  We had the late start time (11:30, but the race didn’t start until after noon), by which time the rain had picked up again and came down consistently until the last lap or so.  The wind was a major factor, blowing quite hard from the south, which gave us a strong tailwind for a two-mile section by the highway, and mostly hard cross-winds for the majority of the course, with a cross-tailwind on the northern part of the course, and a cross-headwind on the southern part. 

Strava: Bariani - masters 3/4 - 9th of 40 or so. | Ride | Strava

Nutrition:  I brought two bottles of Skratch mix and a bunch of gels.  With the mid-day start time, I wasn’t sure whether and how much to eat before the race, and in retrospect, probably should have just gone for a normal breakfast, but instead just had a few stinger waffles. I also dropped a few gels on the road during the race, probably because I was wearing thick gloves, so had nothing to eat for the last hour.  Luckily one of the other riders in our breakaway handed me a bag of sour patch kids, which, while delicious, were quite chewy and difficult to eat while cycling hard. 

Recap:  We had three riders in the race for AV, as did a few other teams (Dolce Vita, Velo Kings, and Rio Strada), along with a few teams with two riders (including SJBC).  They started the Masters 35+ and 50+ together with very similar race numbers, so it was difficult to tell who was who, and we all treated it like a single race (it ultimately didn’t matter, since only one of the 50+ riders ended up in the break, and he was dropped after a lap or so).  It was a large field, and with the center line rule in effect and a moto official policing the line, it made it very hard to move up.  With the crosswinds, we knew there was likely to be a split soon into the race, and that it would therefore be important to stay at the front.  Unfortunately this was easier said than done (for me, at least), and with a neutral rollout, I found myself swamped by other riders and near the back by the time racing started, and spent most of the first lap trying to move up whenever I could.  Luckily no one got off the front in the first lap, but on the second turn of lap two, I could see the group starting to string out and realized that I needed to do a max effort immediately or I would miss the split.  It took 2 minutes at 430 watts to reach the group at the front that was pulling away, and I was just able to latch on. 

There were about 12 others in the break, and while we quickly put quite a bit of distance into the group behind, we never settled into a great rhythm.  Part of this was a function of the crosswinds on most of the course, which didn’t allow for normal pace-lining and required echelons that the group was having difficulty organizing consistently.  Part of it was also that there were a number of riders who clearly just planned to sit in, which caused other riders to attack in frustration, further preventing any real organization.  The result was difficult and tiring riding, with minimal draft to recover and a lot of surging.  By lap 4, we had dropped three riders (including the only 50+ rider), and there were nine of us left, with one rider each from seven different teams, and two individual riders.  At this point, an SJBC rider went off the front.  We got a bit more serious about organizing at this point, but there was still a lot of gamesmanship and arguing, with some riders refusing to pull through and others attacking in frustration.  This resulted in the SJBC rider remaining about 15-20 seconds out through laps 4 and 5.  We finally got a good rotation going through the cross-tailwind on lap 5, and I could really feel the difference as we were going a lot faster with less effort.  As soon as we made the turn onto the next section, though, the attacks and gamesmanship resumed, and we hadn’t much, if any, progress catching the SJBC rider.

By lap 6, I was really feeling low on fuel.  I had already dropped a couple of gels and dropped another one at the beginning of the lap.  Another rider in the break took pity on me and gave me some sour patch kids.  That was a nice gesture, but unfortunately I was already getting bad cramping in my legs, and by about a third of the way through the lap, I could no longer pedal and realized my choice was between slowing for a minute to try to work through the cramps or getting off the bike completely.  I was able to work my way through the cramps by soft pedaling for a minute or so, but that coincided with another surge by the break, so I realized I had no hope of catching up, and just did a steady effort to the finish line, since I knew I had a comfortable distance to the group behind. The SJBC rider was able to stay ahead of the rest of the group through lap six, so an impressive effort by him to ride away solo in these conditions.  At the finish line, I met up with Brian, who unfortunately had flatted out (but conveniently did so right near the end of the circuit, so he had a minimal walk). 

According to Shai, who was in the main group, when he realized there was a gap and a group was pulling away he tried to bridge up, and made it to a group of riders ahead of him only to realize there was another group further ahead (the break). He tried bridging across to that group but was getting tired after a big effort in the headwind. He took a quick look behind and saw that he was pulling a group of ~10 riders strung behind him. Shai also saw that I had made it to the break, so he decided to shut it down and let other close the gap.  A couple of riders attacked trying to bridge across, but he saw the gap to the front group keeps increasing and we never saw them again. Shai was not sure if this was the best choice at the time – it was still early in the race (lap 2) and the break was fairly sizable – but it would have required a massive effort in the headwind, which Shai wasn’t sure he could do.  Shai’s group wasn’t well organized, but several riders took turns at the front. After realizing they were not going to catch the break, Shai pushed the pace on the uphill section and the chase went down to four riders, who took good rotations for two additional laps before dropping two more riders. After another lap, the rider Shai was with opened a small gap on the section with the potholes/water on the road, and Shai could not quite close the gap in the strong headwind, and Shai rode mostly solely on the final two laps to finish 12th.

Overall, the team was happy with the effort in difficult conditions, and I was pleased to have made the split and stayed with a strong group of riders until the last lap when I cramped.  Two clear areas to improve would be (1) nutrition – it might have been more effective to get more of my calories from my bottles, rather than gels, given the heavy gloves I was wearing in the cold and rain – and just generally I should have consumed more; and (2) staying near the front in a big field on narrow roads – I knew I had to, but was not nearly aggressive enough during the rollout to maintain my position, which ultimately resulted in my being forced to do a bigger effort than I should have had to do to make the split, which likely contributed to cramping later on (or at least burning matches that I could have used on the last lap had I not cramped).  The third area of improvement that I am less sure about is in terms of organizing the group better in the break to chase down the rider off the front.  I’m not quite sure what we could have done to convince non-working riders to help chase – it might just have been too big a group to organize successfully, with the difficulty exacerbated by the windy conditions that required different formations after every turn to work together effectively.  If anyone has good ideas, let me know.

Race Report: 2023 Land Park Crit - Men’s P12

Race: 2023 Land Crit - Men’s P12 

Date: March 11, 2023

AVRT racers: Jon Wells and Grant Miller

Top Result: Jon Wells, 15th of 49

Course: 1.1 mile loop at William Land Park in Sacramento, CA. The course is a pretty straightforward loop with a chicane on the backside and one real 90 degree corner into the finish. Course is nearly flat and had little to no wind on the day; however, it rained quite hard prior to our race so the course was very wet.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8699370655 

Nutrition: a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of caffeinated Flow Formulas.  Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.

Race Recap:

Game plan coming into the race was for Grant and I to be in any moves that had Mikes Bikes since they had by far the largest team in the field with 8 guys.  The next largest teams included Terun and Voler, each with 5 riders. 

Things got underway with all of the large teams only really marking each other and left a couple different breaks of mostly individual riders shuffling about.  I found myself near the front for a prime lap around 10 minutes in (which I won) and then kept attacking to start a move with 5 other guys that would last for maybe 2 laps total.  Upon being brought back, Grant attacked nicely over the top and got away with 2 others.  

This proved to be the move of the day as they would stay away for around 30 minutes as Grant swept up even more primes.  All the large teams missed the move; however, everyone in the pack looked to TMB to chase as the largest team.  They took to the front and set tempo, reeling in the break with 4 laps remaining.  

While this all happened, I sat in conserving energy for the sprint while trying to stay away from the fighting for the back of TMBs train. I was being a bit complacent and not paying super close attention and got caught by surprise when I saw the lap cards say 2 to go.  I ended up being too far back to really contest the sprint and ended up in P15.  Overall not too bad of a result considering how I felt like I did very little correctly coming into the end of the race.  Happy for us to take some primes and for everyone to stay upright in the wet conditions!

-Jon

Race Report: 2023 Bariani Road Race - Men’s Category 3

Race: 2023 Bariani Road Race - Men’s Category 3

Date: 8:05am start, March 12th, 2023

AVRT racers: Andrew Ernst, Matt Koenig, Matt Carvell, Flo Costa, Josh Worley, Daniel Fonyo, Fraser Bulbuc

Top Results: Andrew Ernst 1/30 and Matt Koenig 3/30

Course: A different, shorter loop with a shortened overall course was used due to “excessive mud and water” on the original course. The course was 6 laps around a 10-mile circuit with 300 ft of elevation gain per lap. There was a strong south/southwest wind of ~15 mph. The southbound stretch leading to the finish featured the biggest hill of the course. Most of the race was dry, though there were a few short periods of rainfall that kept roads damp and corners slick. The one mile section of road heading west, just before the before the finish, featured poor pavement, flooding, and hidden potholes. 

See course here: https://www.strava.com/activities/8704763991

Nutrition: Fueled with 3 Wiggle gels and 200 calories of Gu Roctane mix in one bottle. I carried a second bottle with just water and had a third bottle of water in the feedzone. I typically aim to consume 200-300 calories per hour and fell just short of that.

Gear: With rain falling all week and more rain forecasted throughout the race, I opted to ride my Specialized Diverge set up with 30mm tubeless GP5000s rather than my SL7. I felt that the gains that could be made in the way of stability and grip made up for the losses in weight in aerodynamics. I went without a saddle bag and rain jacket in attempt to compensate for the added weight and drag that came with riding the Diverge. 

Recap: The biggest competition was Dolce Vita with 6 riders, though a few other teams had ~3 guys. We decided that Matt K and Daniel would be our protected sprinters. Fraser was a third option for sprinter. Flo, Matt C, Josh, and myself were there to chase breaks and attack, keeping Dolce on their toes. 

Lap 1 started FAST. The first section was downhill with a tailwind, so it wasn’t really possible to just “sit in.” After turning NE, crosswinds strung everyone out. My highest 4 minute power during the race came during this section. A few decent riders were caught behind gaps and dropped. When we turned into the headwind, the pace fell and there was a chance to recover before the hill and rough pavement that came just before the start/finish line. We lost Daniel to a flat early on. 

Lap 2-3 were less intense. One solo breakaway rider was off the front for a short while and easily brough back by the group. A second solo rider put a more serious gap on the field, gaining ~45 seconds.  Dolce wouldn’t chase, so Josh, Flo, and I took turns taking small digs to keep the breakaway rider in sight and force other teams to keep the peloton stitched together. We eventually caught that solo rider. Fraser fell victim to a flat. 

Lap 4 saw a significant crash in the right hand turn at the NE section of the course. One of the front riders slid out and took a few guys with him, Matt C and Josh got caught up in the crash. Flo was ahead of it. Matt K and I were able to navigate through. This crash caused a major split in the field, leaving just 7 riders in the front group. AV made up 3/7 with Flo, Matt K, and myself. No other rider had a teammate. At this point I felt we had the race locked up. Flo and I could attack forcing others to chase. Matt K could sit in and save energy for a sprint against a small, exhausted field. I put in a little extra effort after the climb and nobody wanted to close the gap. Seeing that, I figured I might as well go for it. I did threshold for about a mile and settled in at sweet spot when I saw the gap around ~20-30 seconds. I ate a gel and tried to get a little more aero. I rode sweet spot for lap 5 and settled into tempo for lap 6 when I could no longer see the chase group. Matt K and Flo did a great job disrupting any organized chase attempts. 

Meanwhile, Matt C caught back onto the main chase group along with a few other riders from the crash (impressive). A Dolce rider got away late during lap 6 and took 2nd. Matt K won the field sprint for 3rd. 

Having such a big team with unique individual strengths was a huge benefit. Had I flatted or been caught in the crash, I have no doubt that another AV rider could have filled my role to get AV the win. Overall good communication and team tactics. I admit still have a lot to learn!

Race Report: 2023 Bariani Road Race– Women’s Cat 4/5 & Master 50+

Race: 2023 Bariani Road Race - Women 4/5 & Masters 50+

Date: March 12, 2023

AVRT racers: Steph Hart, Louise Thomas, Chris Davis

Top Result: Steph (2/14 W4/5), Louise (8/14 W4/5), Chris (3/4 Masters)

Course: 4 laps around a 10-mile circuit with 300 ft of elevation gain per lap. Key features were (a) ~2 miles of 1% grade and a headwind that leads into a ~0.5 mile 4% hill each lap (b) so-so pavement ~1 mile before finish line (leading to many flats in the field, including Chris) (c) on and off rain throughout the race (I’m starting to bandwagon on this “allergic to riding in the rain” business…)

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8705310222

Nutrition: 1 bottle of Gatorade

Recap: Teams were Eclipse (5 riders), Super Sprinkles (3 riders), and SJBC (2 riders). Going in, Chris predicted a race of attrition, so the plan was just to see where things were at, and if the pack was still together, attack on the hill at the end of the third lap. The first 2.5 laps were largely uneventful- both Louise and an Eclipse rider attacked but got pulled back by the field. Coming up the hill on the third lap one rider attacked gaining ~10 seconds on the field and Chris moved to the front of the peloton to bring her back and I followed, established a gap from the field and quickly passed the rider up the road. No one followed right away, and as a solo rider in the headwind I was feeling pretty out of luck but was joined after a couple eons minutes by 3 other riders (1 Eclipse, 2 Super Sprinkles) and we were able to get a 4-person rotation going.

At the start of the last lap one of the Super Sprinkles riders attacked from the break, and the Eclipse rider and I traded pulls with the other Super Sprinkles rider sitting in (smart move). I wasn’t too concerned about the solo rider as I assumed she’d get burned out in the headwind section, but just as she was getting a pretty solid gap, we were joined by a second Eclipse rider who bridged up. The two Eclipse riders appeared to be turning themselves inside out to bring back the Super Sprinkles rider up the road, while I was going full gas just to hang onto their wheels. Eventually the rider up the road is caught and the 5 of us are back together, but at this point I’m wondering who here has any matches left for the next half lap... At the base of the climb, one of the Eclipse riders went down after a touch of wheels on a rough section of road leaving 4 in the break. Shortly thereafter (2ish miles to the finish) the Super Sprinkles rider who spent ~15 minutes alone up the road at the start of the lap attacked. I looked around, realized that the Eclipse rider wasn’t going to chase, quietly cursed to myself, and then tried to chase down Super Sprinkles. Half a mile later it was pretty clear I wasn’t catching her, but I seemed to have second place locked up and so slowed down a bit, checking behind me every once in a while. I happened to turn around one last time with ~200m to go and saw the eclipse rider just a few seconds back. I panicked and then sprinted to the line managing to just hold her off (sprint is a strong word here but was definitely pedaling faster). Louise rolled through a couple minutes later after the main pack fell apart in the final lap. Chris flatted with 1k to go (second race in a row) but still managed to hang in for third place in the masters field.

Join the Friends of the Polo Fields

Hello! This is primarily targeted to those who ride in/near SF, but we wanted to advertise it more widely since improving conditions for cycling is a universal goal for Alto Velo. Many of AV's SF-based riders frequently train at the Golden Gate Park Polo Fields Cycling Track. The track is a 0.75-mile asphalt oval for bikes only; it is the only long stretch of asphalt in the city without stop signs or traffic lights, without cars, and without pedestrians. It’s a unique resource for training and a very important component of the SF cycling scene for riders of all abilities. However, it’s in need of some maintenance and access improvements.

A few AV members and others in the SF cycling community are starting a group to improve this training ground. The “Friends of the Polo Fields” group will work with SF Rec and Park to improve safety/hours/conditions of the polo fields cycling track. Please join us, and share the invite link along to anyone else who enjoys the cycling track and wants to help make it better! This will be a low-effort, low-emails group.

https://groups.google.com/g/fotpf

Note: some have had technical difficulties with this link. If so, please email me (jdbesmer@gmail.com) and I’ll happily add you to the group.

Race Report: 2023 Bariani Road Race– Men’s Cat 4

Race: 2023 Bariani Road Race - Men’s Cat 4

Date: 8:15am start, March 12th, 2023

AVRT racers: Logan Allen, Will Hakim

Top Result: Logan Allen 3/30

Course: A new course this year as the original course had “excessive mud and water.” The new course is 6 laps around a 10-mile circuit with 300 ft of elevation gain per lap. A strong south-south-west wind of 10-15 mph meant each leg had a considerable wind component. The leg leading to the finish featured the biggest hill of the course into the headwind. Light to medium intensity rain speckled the course for the entirety of the race leaving corners slick. Good pave quality for most of the race besides a half-mile section within a mile of the finish with flooding, which obscured deep potholes that contributed to many mechanicals. 

Course map with wind arrows (CW direction)

Nutrition: Fueled with Gu Roctane ultra endurance mix. 90g carbs in 1 bottle. 1 bottle water. 2 sleeves clif bloks. For the intensity of the race, it felt sufficient. Did not utilize neutral feed.  

Recap: Teams were Dolce Vita (6 riders), Don Chapin (2 riders), Super Sprinkles (4 riders), and AV. Lap 1 was uneventful. Very mild pace. A solo rider was off the front within sight for most of it, no one seemed interested in pushing to chase it back. At the start of lap 2, the break is brought back together and a pair of riders separate and slowly gain 20 seconds on the field. The downwind section is fast and after a chase group attempts to bridge and is brought back, I counter-attack and solo bridge to the pair. I pull through after reaching them and take a turn on the front. We all seem interested in working together. We take turns for the next lap and a half, aided by the field being temporarily neutralized by race officials as the master’s fields were passing. After that, the field does some work and begins closing the gap. There is some confusion among the officials and the break is neutralized and then caught before the end of lap 3. Lap 4 is uneventful. I try my best to shelter and conserve energy in the crosswind sections. Lap 5 there two more breakaway attempts, one by Don Chapin teammates and one by Will and Cole, a VeloKings rider. There is a crash on the hard right turn at the top right corner of the course taking out a Super Sprinkles and Dolce Vita rider before the break with Will is reeled back in. Near the top of the hill at the end of lap 5 an unattached rider attacks. Daniel from Super Sprinkles and I chase. The attack is more than I want to commit to following so I give up his wheel and settle in to work as a pair with Daniel. We take turns for the rest of lap 6, and watch as the lead rider’s gap grows, despite our efforts. Daniel makes a huge surge up a hill and I can’t hold his wheel. In no-mans-land, I push threshold for the remaining 2 miles and come in 3rd. Will contests the field sprint for 6th. 

Overall sentiment was that for a team of two, we rode a very dynamic race with a well-executed strategy.