Club News
Race Report: Regalado Road Race – Men’s 40+ 1/2/3
Race: 2023 Regalado Road Race – Men’s 40+ 1/2/3 (Masters District Championships)
Date: June 4, 2023
AVRT racers: Nat Green
Top Results: Nat (17/22)
Course: 4 laps of a flat/rolling, 17-mile loop. The course was run in the opposite direction (clockwise) of prior years. There was a mix of good and bad pavement, with the worst roads on Tim Bell Road, a mile or so of which required dodging deep potholes. The finish was a couple tenth of a mile before the start at the end of the lap on a mostly-flat section. There was a decent tailwind on Warnerville Road, at the top of the loop, and a headwind coming the other way at the bottom of the loop on Claribel. The weather was warm to start and downright hot by the end.
Strava: Regalado - 40+ 1/2/3 | Ride | Strava
Nutrition: I brought three bottles of Skratch mix and a bunch of gels. I was debating bringing a fourth bottle, but thought it would be too annoying to have two bottles in my skinsuit pockets, and figured that I could just grab bottles from neutral feed as needed. That turned out to be a mistake because neutral feed consisted of two or three people who were unable to get bottles to more than 2-3 people each lap, so it was basically winning the lottery to get a bottle. The group shared bottles a bit, which was nice, but far from ideal from a hydration standpoint. So I was extremely thirsty by the last lap in which the weather was 90+ degrees.
Recap: This was the masters district road championships, so theoretically the races were in five-year increments (I was in 40-44, since I am racing age 40 (but still 39 for now)). However, all the 40s started together and there was no way to know who was in each age group, since about half the group registered day-of. I asked the guy at registration whether the low numbers were for the younger 40s, and he scoffed and said “No – you need to chase everyone” (in a good-humored way). The field was stacked with a ton of strong riders, including five ThirstyBears who all registered day-of, including Blaine Ashley, Ariel Herrmann, and Rob Whittier. Velo Kings had several strong riders, including Mark Tucker. Work Health Solutions also had a few guys, including Adam White, who has won 9 of the 16 races he has entered. There was also Creative Blue Monster Racing, with “SuperDave” Koesel, among others. Local strongmen Jeromy Cottell and Brian Kellison were also there. Also Josh Carling, who won the race last year and has 25 wins. In any case, I had no teammates, so knew that I would have to be judicious in covering moves and burning matches. I decided to observe how the strong riders that I knew to be in my age group were reacting to moves (like Josh), and hope to get in the right break. I also knew it would take a great deal of luck to get a result in this field.
From the gun, there were attacks. Brian Kellison went right away and was brought back. He then went again a few miles later and got a gap with a VeloKings guy (not Tucker) and Jeromy. I was pretty sure none of those guys were in 40-44 age group, so I was not too worried. There were then a large number of attacks by all different riders for approximately the next two laps, with only the headwind section on Claribel being relatively calm. The group chased everyone of these attacks back within 20-30 seconds, so there was basically constant surging. The ThirstyBears, though, seemed to be biding their team and waiting for Work Health Solutions to attack, which finally happened at the end of lap 2, with Adam White and a couple of ThirstyBears going off the front with a big effort. There was a surge among some of the riders in the pack who realized this move was particularly dangerous, and I followed Josh Carling’s wheel to try to track down the three riders who had gotten away (Adam White, Blaine Ashley, and Derick Daniels). We did not quite get there, unfortunately. They dangled in front for a quarter lap or so, but were getting farther away.
That was basically the end of the race, and the pack shut it down completely for almost a full lap after that, so any hope of chasing down the break was gone by the end of lap 3. The pace in the pack picked up on lap 4. I found myself at the front coming into the few miles. I figured I would just take a turn and pull through, but that didn’t happen. When I tried to pull off, the entire group just followed me across the road and back again. I probably should have taken it down to 100 watts or stopped riding completely, but instead just continued riding. With about 2 km to go, Mark Tucker can flying by with most of the pack on his wheel. I reacted as fast as I could and caught on to the back of the pack, but riders started to drop off, so the wheel I was following was soon off the back, and I just rode in. I guess I didn’t realize that there would be a big sprint for 7th, but that last surge was the difference between 7th (Mark) and 17th (me). Does that really matter? I don’t know – kind of? I was also 10/10 of the 40-44 riders, which kind of sucked.
Up in the break, I’m told that Jeromy Cottell crashed, caught back on, then stopped to fix his bike, and chased back on again, and then won the race. Adam White won the 40-44 age group (and was third overall).
Despite the race being pretty frustrating, it was a good learning experience. This was my first 1/2/3 race, and the strength and depth of the field was significantly higher than the 3s, 4s, and 3/4 fields I have raced in (the fact that it was district championships also probably contributed to this). It was also eye-opening how quickly the race was effectively over after the second break got away – I’m not sure I could have done any better because I was spent after the initial chase, but maybe I should have tried to regroup and just given everything to try to bridge after realizing the pack was not going to catch them and were letting them go. As a solo rider, though, it was just really, really hard to determine which attacks to take seriously and which to trust that the group would bring back, complicated further by the fact no one knew who was in which age group. I would love to do it again with a few teammates, where not only would we have a better chance of responding effectively to attacks, but we could also deploy our own strategy instead of just reacting to the group.
Nat
Race Report: Regalado Road Race - Womens Masters Districts Championships
Written by Lora Maes
Race Report: Regalado Road Race (Masters District Champs)
Date: Sunday, 6/4/23
Teammates: Lora Maes 50-55 1st, 4th overall masters, Robin Kutner and Emily Schell in the Cat 4 / 5 race (started separately)
Course: 54 mile race that is 3 laps of a 17 mile loop in Oakdale on central valley roads through farmland. There is a rolling 4 mile promenade to the start. It is mostly flat with some rollers on part of the course that are a bit punchy, it is deceivingly not a totally flat course. There is also a rough section that has gravel and potholes to navigate through. In prior years, the race was counter clockwise, this year they changed the direction to clockwise. Now the rollers were not before the finish, it is a fairly flat finish after the last turn for 2 miles with a very slight upgrade with the change in direction.
Conditions: Head wind 13 mph on the backside of the course with a tailwind coming into the finish. Temps in the upper 70’s at the start, increasing into the 80’s by finish.
Race Plan: The plan was going to be different depending on whether we could get the agreement to have the Cat 4 /5 field start with the masters. Knowing who was entered in the masters field, I was doubtful we would get any agreement which turned out to be the case. So it was me racing solo. We started with a total of 13 in the masters categories racing together but picked separately. I only had one other in my age category, she was not a factor so my plan was to just race the field and do as little work as possible. There was no real team representation other than SJBC. I thought SJBC may try to control the race but they did not execute any team tactics.
From the start Gwen (Revolution) and Shannon (Cycle Sport) were on the front pushing the pace. I stayed 3rd or 4th wheel for the first lap just sitting in and letting others do the work finding some good wheels to follow. The first time through the rough section with potholes and gravel required some navigation for good lines, I got on Yvonne’s (PV) wheel since I knew she is an experienced gravel rider (wow, I have to do that two more times). I thought this was a good place to attack and made note to watch others through this section on the next two laps (unfortunately I was not in the position on future laps to attack and get away here). Once we got through and made the right turn on the back stretch we hit the headwind. Pace was still fairly fast. I was glad that Gwen and Shannon were pushing the pace off the front to hopefully drop some others and thin out the field. We were now down to a field of 6 for laps 2 and 3. I am not sure at which point we dropped the rest of the field but I think it was on the rollers on the back stretch.
Lap 2, the pace continued to fast averaging around 20 mph. It would slow as whoever was stuck on the front would want to come off. When I did find myself on the front, Shannon would throw in an attack, she did this three times but I was glad to be rotated off the front. Some other half hearted attacks went but nothing sticking to break up the pack of 6, I tried to let others bring them back and not do too much work. Lap 3 was about the same, on the rollers on the back side of the loop Karen (Chico Racing) made a strong move up one of the bumps and I immediately got on her wheel thinking we could get a two woman break but she let off the gas. Coming up to 1K to go, men start passing us gunning for the finish. There was a lull in the pace and I decided to go early hoping Shannon was tired from all the attacking and I could drop everyone. It was chaotic with the men sprinting through us and trying to find a line to the finish. Unfortunately my strategy did not work, I ran out of steam and got caught with about 150 meters to go. Shannon ended up winning (she was clearly not tired), and I placed 4th overall for the masters and secured the win for 50-55.
Nutrition: Gel at the start, two bottles of Fluid Hydration Mix mixed with Maltodextrin (this is my new go to!), one gel during.
Race Report: Snelling Road Race – Men’s Cat 3
Race: Snelling Road Race – Men’s Cat 3
Date: Saturday Feb. 25, 2023
AVRT Racers: Josh Worley, Daniel Fonyo, Matt Koenig, Peter Ambiel, Nico Sandi
Top Results: Josh Worley 4th, Matt Koenig 10th
Course: A 23.7 mile loop of country roads with a 2 minute stair step climb at the start of each lap and a long uphill drag at the finish line. Throughout the course were bad potholes and on one stretch there were inches of standing water across the road the make a rainy day even worse.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8621841958
Nutrition: I had 3 bottles with 40g of Gatorade mix and 40g of maltodextrin (thanks Hoss for running the feedzone!) and 3 caffeinated SIS gels with 23g of carbs each to last me the 3 hours. Ended up not drinking enough and only needing two bottles.
Recap: The conditions were cold and raining off and on, but heavy rain the night before meant there were multiple points on the course where standing water stretched across the entire road. The plan was to attack early with Peter, Nico, and Matt while Daniel and I sat in for a sprint if it came to that. Daniel ended up crashing out the first lap and Peter dropped on lap 2 leaving Matt, Nico and I. Nico got himself in a 3 man break with a Dolce rider and since they we’re the only team with numbers the gap stayed at about 2 minutes for over a lap. Unfortunately, Nico hunger flatted, so Matt and I took up the front trading pulls to bring back the remaining two in the break. After we caught them with a lap to go things stayed together as we waited for a field sprint. Matt led me out through the two corners leading into the final uphill sprint. I lead the sprint and had a wicked double cramp in my quads and 3 riders came around me at the top and I ended up fourth. It was a tough day out and everyone gave it their all.
AV Wednesday Intervals 06/07, by AC Coaching
Hi guys, Over Unders for this 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
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 7th June, 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 Hwy17 Omnium - Men’s P12
Race: 2023 Hwy 17 Omnium (Cat’s Hill & Santa Cruz Classic crits) - Men’s P12
Date: Mar 25&26, 2023
AVRT racers: Andrea Cloarec, Cameron O’Reilly, Conor Austin, Grant Miller, Nathan Martin, Jon Wells, Jack Liu
Top Result:
Cat’s Hill: Jack 5/55, Jon 11/55
Santa Cruz: Jack 11/53
Omnium: Jack 6th overall
Written by: Jack
Course:
Cat’s Hill: 0.9 mile L-shape course featuring a 23% hill and a fast downhill into the final corner
Santa Cruz: 0.8 mile triangular course featuring a hairpin turn and an uphill kick to the finish. Usually headwinds on the start/finish hill.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8777257296/overview, https://www.strava.com/activities/8783810121/overview
Nutrition: one bottle of skratch + maltodextrin.
Race Recap:
Cat’s Hill Crit
After being close to victory in the cat 3 field last year, Cat’s hill became one of my target races this year. It’s easy to win this race -- you just need to survive doing 30-sec hill repeats every 2 min for an hour, then still have the legs (and guts) to attack in the downhill and make it through the final corner at 40+mph. Easy. I think I can handle the cornering part, so my training starting 2-month prior to the event was simply 30-sec hill repeats, over and over again. I also watched last year’s race winning video for at least 10 times (perfect trainer motivation), trying to get a sense of the best timing to attack. In addition, I got my hands on a pair of super lightweight climbing wheels just for this race. I was pretty happy with my training both physically and mentally: I knew I could survive the hill repeats for an hour, and I just needed to follow or make the right move.
Being at downtown Los Gatos and the “home race” of Team Mike’s Bikes (TMB), lots of big hitters showed up, including pro cyclocross rider Tobin Ortenblad, pro riders from Legion, Austin Aviators and Aevolo, and a full squad of 7 TMB riders. I was shitting my bibs on the start line, but I told myself I’ve done the training and there’s nothing else I could do, plus I got 6 super strong teammates on my back.
Tobin attacked in the first lap and was gone immediately. No one wanted to chase. It’s too hard to stay away in this course; unless you’re a pro I guess. The best strategy is to be conservative every time going up the hill: the difference for me doing 600w and 700w up the hill is less than 2 sec, but that 100w difference every lap will haunt you at the end of the race. Therefore, I tried to do a consistent and sustainable pace up the hill each time, losing some positions, but took them back in the downhill and flat sections. Don’t spike over 700w and keep the power smooth. Then do it all again. Fun! Just like Egan!
AV riders: Cam, me, Grant, and Andrea
Tobin was still out there after 30 min. We could see him not too far ahead but the gap was just not coming down. Cam wanted to join the solo party and attacked, but he forgot the solo party was only for 1 person so he got brought back after a couple laps. Andrea dropped his chain twice, caught back on, but then decided it was not his day and dropped out. With 10-lap to go and Tobin in striking distance, Quinn Felton (Aevolo) made his move and I jumped on. It wasn’t successful and we were all back together watching each other; meanwhile the gap to Tobin continued to grow. TMB started to chase really hard in the last 3 laps, but Tobin was just too strong and the gap was still 10~15 sec going into the final lap.
I knew it’s gonna to be super fast in the last lap and your position on top of the hill would pretty much be the same as the finishing order, so I started fighting for positions before the climb started (picked the pocket of Zac from Terun when he’s busy fighting position with Quinn). I made my way to the top 6 wheel with Jon just a couple wheels behind me. Eamon (Austin Aviator) made a monster attack the final time up the hill and I was just trying to hang on. We went up the hill so fast that we finally caught Tobin on top of the hill with half a lap to go!
Two things happened at that moment: at the front, Ryan (TMB) attacked into the downhill with his massive 55t chainring; and right behind me, a Terun rider clipped his pedal and caused another rider to crash (Jon’s video). A small gap opened up behind me and I knew I just needed to hang in with the front group of 5. It was FULL GAS down the hill. I managed to pass one person (turned out to be Tobin) in the descent and finished 5th. Jon unfortunately was caught behind that crash but still managed to finish 11th.
This year’s Cat’s Hill was exciting, chaotic and nail-baiting as the course always promised (check out some of the video links below!). I’d like to thank all the B-ride riders who made their way to cheer for us, and our sponsors for providing pastries, pizza, merchandise and other support at the tent that turned this race into a fun party!
Thanks every who came out to cheer!
Video:
Jon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg9J95f44XI
Zac from Terun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRGd3yeqOQw
Norcal cycling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neI3oINS7lQ
———————-———————-———————-———————-———————-———————-———————-———————-———————-————
Santa Cruz Classic Crit
Santa Cruz crit is the second day of the Highway17 omnium series. The course is similar to Cat’s Hill with a significant hill in the middle: not so steep this time at ~8% but with the headwind and a long drag to the finish, it felt much harder. We were facing the same big hitters as yesterday, but I was more confident and didn’t shit my bibs on the start.
For the first 20-min, local boy Quinn Felton attacked multiple times trying to impress his hometown folks. Andrea and Grant covered a lot of the moves. Andrea was always at the front every time I saw him! Then when everyone was kinda tired and nothing stuck, Cam attacked ferociously up the hill into the headwind. This time, he was able to enjoy his solo party out there. Initially, the break looked promising as the gap started to grow, but TMB started chasing him down (picture below) and he was brought back after a couple laps.
Chasing Cam burned down some of TMB’s royal domestiques, so when it came down to the final laps, they weren’t able to fully control the race at the front. Every strong solo rider would try to attack because no one wants to sprint against Ryan. The pace was surgy and one could easily get swamped if not constantly fighting. Going into the bell lap, I was lucky that I was on the right side of the road where the remaining 2 TMB riders started the leadout (Norcal cycling). Jon and Andrea were unfortunately at the wrong side and got boxed in. I was top 10 into the final corner, but all the guys in front of me were some of the best sprinters in California and I just couldn’t pass anyone and finished 11th.
Overall, I was 6th in the Hwy17 omnium standing, being behind 3 pro riders and the 1st cat 2 rider was a result that far exceeded my expectation. I’m glad all the hard training paid off, and also grateful that luck was on my side at the end of both races. These two races are some of my favorite on the calendar — whether it’s the fast and furious downhill corners, glorious and epic uphill battle, or the adrenaline rush when fighting positions elbow-to-elbow at the end of a race. I’ll certainly come back next year and I hope to see more of you at Cat’s Hill!
Video:
Jon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNfkZzX9YYo
Zac from Terun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5B4GXRsgx8
Norcal cycling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3omziEFok0&t=4s
Race Report: Winchester Circuit Race - Men’s 2/3 and P/1/2
Race: Winchester Circuit Race - Men’s 2/3 and P/1/2
Date: May 13th, 2023
AVRT racers: Cameron O’Reilly, Grant Miller, Jay Evans (2/3 only), Jeremy Besmer (2/3 only)
Top Results: Cameron 1/18 (2/3), Cameron 5/26 (P/1/2)
Course: 5 laps of a 4.5 mile rolling circuit. One long, fast descent. One longer climb that leads to the finish that is split into two pitches with sections over 15%.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9065740989 (2/3) https://www.strava.com/activities/9066421076 (P/1/2)
Nutrition: Two bottles of 20g Skratch/60g Malto, one during warmup and one during the race for each event.
2/3 Recap:
Winchester is a course with a lot of elevation change, but only one sustained climb (and even that is broken up). With four AVRT riders in the field, our strategy was to control the race, making it too hard for the sprinters to hang on and keeping me in good position to contest the uphill finish. We executed this flawlessly.
Through the early laps Jeremy did the bulk of the work pacing the climb, setting a hard tempo over 6w/kg for the 3 minute climb. I was able to sit 2nd wheel the whole time, benefitting from the draft and consistent pace and was able to latch onto any riders who tried to attack over the top of the climb. Through the rollers on the back stretch, Jay and Grant stayed near the front to keep me sheltered and pull back threatening moves from riders who tried to get away by punching over the rollers.
As we crested the climb with one lap to go, a group of riders attacked over the top. Jeremy had kept me in good position through the climb so I could easily follow, and Grant was well positioned among the other riders to go with the small group. The final selection had two AVRT, two Dolce Vita, and four other strong solo riders. I had been able to conserve some energy up to this point, but the race hadn’t been particularly surge-y and at least a few of the other riders had stayed patient waiting for the final sprint. A few halfhearted attacks went on the back stretch, but as we approached the descent it seemed like the field was gearing up for an uphill sprint to the line.
Just as I was thinking that in hindsight we should have done more to make strong riders from other teams work on the flat sections, Grant rocketed past the group. His timing was perfect. The rest of the riders scrambled to start chasing, but immediately spun out on the descent and couldn’t effectively position around each other to chase at 50mph. One of the Dolce Vita riders took the front and was clearly working for his teammate, but the momentum of the group over the rollers before the final climb made it difficult for people to roll turns in a chase. Meanwhile I was coasting at the back for a full minute, letting my heart rate come down before I’d need to sprint.
As we approached the finishing climb, it was clear we would catch Grant but it didn’t seem like anyone had the energy for a counterattack. I moved up to 2nd wheel, behind the chasing Dolce Vita rider, preferring to be farther forward given how steep the sprint was. We caught Grant just before the midpoint of the climb where it leveled out, and between one last pull from the Dolce rider and Grant somehow managing another pull after his attack, I was on the front with about 300m to go. I ramped up my effort steadily so as to dissuade an early flier, and took the right side of the road for the inside and steepest line on the turn into the finish. With about 200m to go I kicked. My usually pathetic 900W sprint was worth a lot more than normal on a 17% grade, gapping off the riders behind me. The small headstart I had from leading the group was too much distance for anyone else to make up and I crossed the line holding a bike length gap to the next rider back.
I’m really happy with both the win and how well the team came together on the day. 2/3 fields are a rare occurrence and few of us had ever raced together before, but we were able to apply the learnings we’ve had in other races to communicate clearly and take initiative when opportunities arise. While a less ambitious team might have just raced for podium spots in the final lap, Grant went all-in on his attack and sacrificed his race to get me the win.
P/1/2 Recap:
After a chance to shower and cool off at the AirBnB between races we were ready to go again. The P12 field was half Cat 2 riders who were cooked from the morning race and half Cat 1 riders with fresh legs. Grant and I agreed that while a break might stay away on this course given everyone’s fatigue levels due to our limited numbers and our own fatigue we should only go with moves that had at least three riders in them. If nothing went then I would work for Grant, pacing the climbs and patrolling the front so he could hit the last lap hard.
The first few laps were uneventful as some riders tested their legs but nobody seemed keen on working hard in the 90+ degree heat. The third time up the climb the group fractured a bit and three riders went off the front, but given we still had most of the peloton and half the race left to go I figured we would have no trouble bringing them back. But as we hit the flats after the climb it became apparent that almost nobody in the pack planned on doing any work and was content to let the break roll away. Zack (Terun) and I were left to do all of the work. Grant was able to sit in, but this meant we were essentially in a 2-vs-3 battle against the break. Not good.
After about lap of chasing Zack and I caught two riders from the break, Max (P74) and a Dolce Vita rider. Miles (P74) the last man in the break had rolled away solo. As we came through the finish line with two to go someone shouted that he had 30 seconds. While another Dolce Vita rider who had been sitting in now rolled a few turns he was pretty cooked from racing in the morning and so the chase quickly returned to me and Zack.
As we hit the climb with one to go Miles had grown his gap to over 90 seconds. I still wanted to pace the climb hard to prevent riders from sending attacks, but as we reached the top I couldn’t find Grant and realized he had been dropped. With no teammate to pull for I sat in most of the lap and hoped Grant would catch back on, but now there were enough attacks flying to sustain a pace that neither Grant nor any of the other dropped riders could catch.
The last time up the climb I stayed near the front and then jumped when a Dolce Vita rider sent an early flier. I managed to come around a few more riders up the finishing climb to secure 5th overall. I was glad to see that of the people who finished ahead of me only one had been a passenger in the chase group; Zack worked hard to chase and Max had Miles up the road and shouldn’t have been working. Not the result we had hoped for, but Miles was on another level and we didn’t anticipate a solo rider going so long on such a hard course in the heat.
These two races earned me my last upgrade points for my Cat 1. This has been a goal of mine for a while and I’m really happy to achieve it this season. I’m looking forward to returning the favor and getting more of our team their upgrades soon!
Race Report: Winchester Circuit Race - Men’s 3/4
Race: Winchester Circuit Race - Men’s 3/4
Date: May 13th, 2023
AVRT racers: Jeremy Besmer, Ian Twamley, Drew Mathews, Daniel Fonyo, George Wehner, Peter Ambiel
Top Results: Jeremy 2nd, Ian 6th (of 29 starters)
Course: 5 laps of a 4.5 mile rolling circuit. One long, fast descent. One longer climb that leads to the finish that is split into two pitches with sections over 15%.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9066625453
Nutrition: Two bottles of Skratch, each with 20g carbs.
Recap:
This race started mid-afternoon and was brutally hot (>90 degrees), and for several of us it was our second race of the day. With many AVRT riders in the field, our general plan was to push the pace on the climbs and try to whittle the field with attacks in the middle laps. This would set up our best climbers in a reduced field for the final climb.
Daniel attacked hard from the start and managed to get a gap that he held for the first half of the lap. This successfully worked to get riders from other teams to pull during what would otherwise be a slow and strategic start of the race. When Daniel was ultimately caught, there were some counterattacks by other racers that we successfully covered to keep the field together going into the main climb at the end of lap 1. The first time up the main climb, some riders from other teams worked to keep the pace up, so we were happy to just follow.
Near the start of lap 2, someone from another team attacked hard. I knew this was a spot where everyone would be tired and a race-winning breakaway could be formed, so I followed. When I caught that rider he didn’t seem to want to do any work so I sat up and we were caught by the field. The rest of this lap was pretty uneventful until the main climb. As we entered the first pitch of that climb, there was some arguing in the back of the field about someone going over the centerline. I was annoyed and wanted to get away from the commotion, so I moved to the front of the field and set a hard pace at ~6 W/kg up the rest of the climb.
At the start of lap 3, we took some time to assess what remained of the field. The first two laps had reduced the field to ~15 people, with 3 AVRT riders remaining (me, Ian, Drew). The third lap played out almost the same as the second, except after the main climb some other riders moved to the front to keep the pace up among the ~8-10 riders in the front group. This was exactly what I was hoping would happen, so I positioned myself third wheel to maximize draft while minimizing the risk of getting gapped off. Just at that moment I shifted to my big chainring, but ended up dropping my chain! I yelled out and stuck my hand up while I carefully moved out of the paceline toward the side of the road. While rolling I stuck my hand down, grabbed my chain, and maneuvered it back in place on the chainring. It worked! Just in time, as the end of the paceline was just passing me, so I managed to catch back on with just 10-15 seconds of hard effort.
Lap 4 was pretty relaxed, which gave me time to recover from my effort of catching back on. This also allowed a few other dropped riders to catch on, but we weren’t worried about them since they were likely to get dropped again. We went into the climb with ~15 riders including Ian, Drew, and myself, for what I expected to be the hardest climb of the race. I moved to the front on the steep pitches and pushed hard at 6.5-7 W/kg. Once again, someone came around at the top of the last steep pitch to push the pace on the false flat after the climb. This time I managed to shift properly.
The hard effort up the climb and on the false flat that followed left us with a group of six riders (including me and Ian) in the lead, with a small gap to a chase pack. We worked together in a rotation for a few minutes to consolidate the gap that had formed until people started skipping turns. It seems everyone was comfortable with our gap and they wanted to recover and get in good position for the final climb to the finish.
At this point of the last lap, Ian and I sat at the back and cooked up a brilliant strategy. Just kidding. Instead, my brain was fried from the heat and hard efforts, so my brilliant strategy amounted to: “leadout, follow Benedikt”. Notably, in this discussion we didn’t even define who was going to be the designated sprinter. This is why it’s important to discuss finish strategy before the race—it’s really hard to figure out on the fly when you’re tired!
As we started the final climb, the group was all together. At some point on the first steep pitch, Ian ended up in the front of the group with a gap, while I was at the back of the group. I yelled at Ian to go, thinking he could either hold the gap to the finish to win or force the other teams to chase, which would put me in perfect position for the finishing sprint. However, he looked back and didn’t go…it turns out he had heard me, but thought it was someone else yelling at him to trick him into leading out the field. Next time I’ll be more specific and/or maybe we’ll make a finish plan before the race.
The field ended up catching Ian on the flatter section in the middle of the climb, and then rode spread across the full lane at a slow pace heading into the final pitch to the finish. I had lost sight of Ian, but I was sitting third wheel on the left side of the road as we came around the right-hand bend ~200 meters from the finish. At this point the rider ahead of me (Benedikt) started to sprint around the lead rider, and I followed him. Thinking it was perfect timing for me, I sat on his wheel until ~100 meters to go and then started to come around. Meanwhile, on the right side of the road (which is a line with a shorter distance to the finish), a TMB rider was winding up a 1300 W sprint that my 950 W sprint can’t compete with—he rocketed up the right side of the road and took the win by several bike lengths. After a few more pedal strokes and a bike throw at the line, I ended up beating Benedikt by a few inches for second place. In hindsight, I think Ian or I could have won the race with better communication and strategy on the finish climb, but I’m still happy with the outcome!
Race finish can be seen in this race recap video at 11:33 and 12:16.
Race Report: 2023 Berkeley Streets Criterium - Men’s Cat 3 / Collegiate A
Race: 2023 Berkeley Streets Criterium - Men’s Cat 3 / Collegiate A
Date: 2023/04/30
AVRT Racers: Daniel Fonyo, Fraser Bulbuc, George Wehner, Josh Worley
Top Result: Fraser 5th overall / 3rd in Cat 3, George 11th
Report By: Fraser
Course: A technical 0.5 mile circuit with five turns (https://www.strava.com/segments/31580177). The asphalt at the roundabout is bad with only one decent line through it. The course is downhill into turn 3 and uphill out of turn 4.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8986842868
Nutrition: 30g carbs taken ~15 mins before race start.
Recap: The crit was the day after the Berkeley Hills Road Race and the second of two races in the Berkeley Omnium. I was leading the omnium classification after the road race, so our plan was to make sure we were represented in every move and ideally lead me out for the sprint if things stayed together. I wanted to stay near the front so that I could take choice lines and be in position to follow threatening moves.
The race ended up being relatively uneventful. Riders at the front were content with keeping a smooth yet fast pace and attacks were few and far between. Daniel, George, Josh, and I were quick to cover moves, and nothing stayed away for longer than a lap.
Many riders were pulled as things became strung out through the technical section at the roundabout and the downhill into T3. Jack from AV, who was racing the Collegiate A field for Stanford on the day, recognized that riders were fatigued and splits were happening off the back so he increased the pace on the front for a number of laps and reduced the field even more.
Things ended up staying together and the race was decided by a sprint. I was happy with my position starting the final lap as I was fifth wheel exiting the roundabout and planned to move up on the straight between turns 3 and 4. Throughout the race I noticed that I was able to carry more speed through turn 3 than many others, often gapping the rider behind me by a few bike lengths. I tried to use that to my advantage on the last lap by taking an outside line and moving up on the exit, but the rider in front of me, wisely, took a wide exit to prevent that. I had more speed but nowhere to go and was forced to brake. I hit the curb, just barely keeping things upright, and lost two or three positions. I sprinted to close the gap that opened up in front of me, but I was too far back to contest the sprint and rolled across the line in fifth. Fortunately, that was enough for the omnium win.
Race Report: 2023 Berkeley Hills Road Race - Men’s Cat 3
Race: 2023 Berkeley Hills Road Race - Men’s Cat 3
Date: 2023/04/29
AVRT Racers: Daniel Fonyo, Flo Costa, Fraser Bulbuc, Matt Carvell, George Wehner
Top Result: Fraser 1st, Flo 11th, George 12th, Matt 17th
Report By: Fraser
Course: Roughly four laps of an 18.7 mi loop with 1,650 ft of elevation gain each lap for a total of ~74 miles and ~6200 feet including the neutral rollout. The main feature of the course is the “Three Bears,” which is a sequence of short climbs in the second half of the loop. “Mama Bear” is the first and takes about 2-3 minutes to climb; “Papa Bear” is the second and takes about 3-4 minutes to climb; and “Baby Bear” is the third and takes less than a minute to climb. There’s a short descent between Mama and Papa and a longer descent between Papa and Baby. The rest of the course is mostly flat with some rolling hills.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8980004293
Nutrition: 90g carbs per hour courtesy of Andrew in the feed zone + some gels.
Recap: The race officially started at the corner of Bear Creek and San Pablo Dam roads following a neutral rollout from the Orinda Bart station. It was only four minutes after the neutral rollout ended when a solo rider attacked at the bottom of a small roller. They established a gap, and no one responded until about a minute later, just as we were about to crest the roller, when three riders decided to bridge across. I was around third position at the time, so I got on the third rider’s wheel and followed the move.
We quickly caught the solo rider and the five of us, all from separate teams, began working together. I wasn’t sure about the ambitions of the others, but my only intention in joining a break so early on was to warm up my legs more thoroughly than the five-minute parking lot spin I did prior to race start. I knew my AV teammates would let us go up the road, but I didn’t expect that we’d stay away for long.
The five of us increased our gap on the descent down San Pablo Dam road and were able to get out of sight. Shortly after the right hander at the bottom of the descent, we caught and passed the P1/2 field. Though we knew the P1/2 field would pass us later on, this was a good chance to grow our gap since we didn’t expect the E3 field to be able to pass the P1/2 field given the narrow roads, even if they were riding fast enough.
We worked together well until the first ascent of Papa Bear when two riders started skipping pulls and were dropped. That left three of us in the break. We continued at a steady pace only slightly increasing our effort on the climbs.
Back in the main group, attacks were happening on Mama and Papa Bear each lap and Daniel, Flo, Matt, and George were following them as well as disrupting the chase. In hindsight, I think this was a big advantage of being in the break; we rode the climbs at around threshold, which was more sustainable than the surging, supra-threshold efforts that the main group did.
About a lap after we initially passed them, the P1/2 field caught and passed us. In passing Cam shouted a reminder not to do more work than my breakmates, but truthfully, I still expected that we’d be caught so I had been doing the minimum amount of work that would satisfy the other riders since I joined the break.
The three of us continued working together until the third ascent of Mama Bear when another rider was suffering and was dropped. That left two of us with about a lap and a half remaining.
Despite asking multiple times, the moto refs weren’t giving us time checks, so we’d been relying on line of sight to estimate our gap. We knew we had at least two minutes as we crested Mama Bear for the third time since the field was nowhere to be seen. This was the first moment at which I thought that we might actually be able to stay away, and we picked up the pace slightly in an attempt to stay out of sight going into the final lap; we didn’t want to give the field any extra motivation to chase.
The fourth and final lap was much the same as the others. The two of us shared the work, and we never ended up seeing the chase group. The finish ended up being pretty anticlimactic as the other rider was clearly on their limit for most of the final lap, so I was able to drop them on Papa Bear without ever really attacking.
Many thanks to Andrew for the feed, and Daniel, Flo, George, and Matt for disrupting the chase. There’s no way I would’ve stayed away without their efforts to control the race behind me.
Sea Otter Road Race-Masters B
Race: Sea Otter Road Race - Men’s B master 40+
Date: Friday, April 21st
AVRT racers: Hoss Hayati
Top Result: Hoss Hayati (10/15)
Course: 40 miles (4,000 ft elevation gain) including 5 x 7 mile loop with a steep 3-4min minute climb at the start of every lap, finishing on a 1.5 mile (9 minute) climb.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8933530415
Nutrition: Two bottles with mix of Nuun and 30 gr carb per bottle + 2 block shots
Race Report: I had crashed in the first race of this season (Pine Flat RR) and took me about two months to recover from physical and mental injuries. Decided to do this race only a few days before the race as I always love a challenging climbing race! My goal was to overcome the trauma from the last crash in the first race and hopefully finish with the pack.
The race started with a very fast pace on the first climb, out of the gate found myself doing deep VO2max/anaerobic on this 4 min steep climb. It was helpful to try to move from the back to front as it helped to feel more confident and in control. Once done with the first climb, the rest of the lap includes false flats, rollers, shorter punchy climbs and descents. The pack stayed together for the remainder of this lap. Still traumatized from all the gravel on roads during long winter season (caused my crash), I was very timid taking three sharp turns in the 2nd half of the lap. I noticed I was losing time and each time I found myself filling a gap to attach to the pack.
The second lap also started with an anaerobic effort on the first climb, it was even faster than the first lap. Barely managed to hang in but had to burn all remaining matches. The rest of this lap was painful and I finally got dropped on the last short bump before the descent. The rest of the race was uneventful for me as I tried my best for a decent TT effort, doing three laps solo to finish the race. Of significance was a junior racer (in a break) who decided to sit on my wheel. I told him multiple times that's probably illegal but he yelled to chill out as this is not a USAC event. I ignored him after a while but could not stop him from drafting.
This race felt hard, expectedly, it attracts some of the strongest riders in California and out of state including the notable climber Todd Markelz. The silver lining was I managed to finish my first race of this season without a crash. In addition, it was a beautiful day in Monterey hills, definitely worth a trip to Sea Otter!
Winchester Circuit Race – Masters 35+ 4/5 and Masters 35+ 3/4
Race: Winchester Circuit Race – Masters 35+ 4/5 and Masters 35+ 3/4
Date: Saturday May 13, 2023
AVRT racers: Shai Traister (35+ 4/5, 35+ 3/4) , Colin Karpfinger (35+ 4/5), Hoss Hayati (35+ 3/4)
Top Results:
35+ 4/5: Shai 2nd, Colin 3rd
35+ 3/4: Shai 4th, Hoss 5th
Course: The course is a ~4.5 mile road loop with an excellent pavement. There were only two 90° turns, and it’s a series of rolling hills. No hill is longer than a couple minutes, and they are all followed by fast, safe descents, so you can (and should) carry your momentum to the next climb. There was almost no flat moment on the course. The biggest descent (segment title “Tuck and Lol”) is a bit over 1 minute and super fast! A series of undulating climbs (~350ft gain total) takes you to the finish, which is before the top of the climb after a fairly steep section.
Pre-race: First wave of races started at ~8am, and this was at least 3 hours away from the bay, so Jeremy rented an AirBNB just 3 miles from the race. Highly recommended.
Nutrition: Not much nutrition needed for a one-hour race. Pre-race breakfast at 6am (coffee + oats) and one bottle of Skratch. I had one hour between the races during which I had more coffee + one banana. I didn’t want to over eat and feel sluggish, but I feel that this probably wasn’t ideal either (read more below)
Recap
The race starts with a neutral (yet fast) roll up the steep hill from the parking lot – so be sure to have a good warmup - and then the actual racing starts.
The first race was for 4 laps and we mostly stayed as a group. A couple of racers attacked on one of the hills after the right 90 degrees turn, but they got brought back on the descend. Colin and I did our best to stay close to the front, just in case gaps open up. A couple of unaffiliated racers went to the front and started pushing the pace, but for the most part we stayed as a group.
On the last lap I had a quick chat with Colin, and we decided that one of us should attack and try to get away while the other will stay and follow. Colin wanted to attack, and he did over the top of the 2nd to last climb. He got a separation, and I stayed behind. We passed him on the climb just before the short downhill section. Final push to the line, and I came in 2nd. Colin finished 3rd. Great teamwork on a fun race!
Some chitchat at the finish, and back to the car to prepare for the next race.
Even with the 1st race being less than an hour, I was feeling some fatigue in the legs. I regretted not paying more attention to recovery nutrition between the races. Lined up to the next race which was a combined field with the Elite 4/5s (and more AV racers – yay!). To my total surprise, only then I learnt that the Elite 4/5 was doing 4 laps while we were doing 5 (I wasn’t the only one who only realized that on the line). Aren’t races chaotic enough? I started thinking about how that changes my race strategy and wished we had discussed this before.
Race starts and the pace is definitely harder than the first race, with a larger combined field. My legs feel heavy which annoys me. I decide to do my best and keep my position near the front of the race. Big surge on the main climb on the 3rd lap. Gaps opening, but I manage to stay with the front group with 3 other riders from my field (inc. Greg who won my first race). Another one bridges up on the descent. Drew attacks with another rider and gets a good gap. The pack continues rolling behind, and as we near the final climb Ian attacks and rolls away dancing on the pedals. I knew there would be attacks on the final lap for the Elite field, but I hesitated too much on whether to follow Ian (and then it was too late anyway). It was probably for the better anyway, because Ian kept pushing strong to win his field! It was beautiful to watch.
I continued rolling with the 5 at the front of the masters field. I briefly saw that Hoss bridged back to us, but then he disappeared again. Final climb. We go hard on the first section, then I hear from behind me “oh s$?#t”. It was Greg. I guessed that he started cramping, so I thought “great. one less. now I only have to beat 3 others”. Downhill section and the final climb to the line – after the change of cadence after the downhill I can’t produce high power and I open a gap to the other 3. Greg passes me from behind and ends up winning the race. I finished 5th, that later became 4th after one guy got DNP’ed. Hoss rolled behind me to 6th / 5th.
Overall, super fun course and a great format that allows multiple races in the same day. Definitely worth the drive!
AV Wednesday Intervals 05/31, by AC Coaching
Hi guys, a classic 2s training! Vo2 and anaerobic work to finish the month!
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 31st May, 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: Sea Otter Road Race - Men’s B
Race: Sea Otter Road Race - Men’s B
Date: Friday, April 21st
AVRT racers: Maxime Cauchois, Florian Costa, Andrew Ernst
Top Result: Maxime Cauchois (4/27), Andrew Ernst (5/27), Florian Costa (7/27)
Course: 7 mile loop with a steep 3ish minute climb at the start of every lap. After lap 9 the course turns to the final 8ish minute climb.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8933521151
Nutrition: Two bottles with mix of Skratch and cyclic dextrin (~80g carbs per bottle) during the race
Race Report: Before the race, I was glad to finally be racing in jersey and short temperatures, as our race was scheduled to start at 4:30pm with spring weather on the forecast. Unlike last year, it meant we wouldn’t start the race entirely frozen after the neutralized descent.
It was certainly for the best as the pack hit it hard from the gun, climbing at VO2 pace from the start. Andrew, Flo and I were in the first positions throughout the first lap, with Andrew setting the pace on some occasions. A few riders tried to pick up the pace on the rollers, but every attempt was short lived.
After cresting the second lap’s climb, a couple of riders crashed right next to me in the descent, which not only shook me off a bit, but also somewhat neutralized our race for the next lap or so, as we had to slow down in every descent and no one had any interest in trying to break away during the climb only to be brought back moments later.
The third to fifth lap saw a similar pattern: the pace on each climb was hard, with Andrew, Flo and I making sure to stay at the front and avoid any unnecessary effort, but the course was quite windy and was making it harder to establish any breakaway. At some point, Andrew and I found ourselves at the front with a couple other riders, but we were soon brought back, and it quickly became clear that everyone was waiting for the final climb to make the decision.
In the last kicker before rolling to the final climb, a solo rider attacked and took a 10s gap on the field, but a severe headwind from the bottom of the final climb meant he had little chance of success. Indeed, he was caught soon a couple minutes into that climb. At that point, there were about 20 riders left in the main group, and no one was daring to attack because of the headwind. The pace was surprisingly mellow— I was doing about threshold watts. With less than 1km, it became clear that it would come down to a hill sprint, and Andrew, Flo and I were still in the first 10 positions. Finally, with 200m, three riders launched it, and I found myself boxed in on the other side of the pack. When I could finally break free and launch, they were already a few bike lengths ahead, with Andrew and Flo chasing them in 4th and 5th position. I passed them with about 100m to go and tried to give it all as I was also getting closer to the third guy, but couldn’t pass him before the line and had to settle for 4th. It was overall satisfying, even though I think better strategy and positioning on my end could have yielded a better result. In particular, I probably should have trusted myself a little bit more and launched it earlier on.
Race Report: Santa Cruz Crit - Men's E3
Race: Santa Cruz Crit - Men’s Cat 3
Date: 3/26/2023
Written By: Flo Costa
AVRT racers: Flo Costa, Daniel Fonyo, Matt Koenig, George Wehner
Top Results: Matt 10/32, Flo 13/32
Course: 1.2 km lap in Santa Cruz featuring a 400m climb. Sharp hairpin on top of the climb kicking into a wide fast downhill. Less than 2 min per lap for 45 min.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8789338344
Nutrition: 1 bottle of rocket fuel (malto + gatorade)
Race Recap:
This race was the day after Cat’s Hill and was the second crit in the Hwy 17 omnium. Santa Cruz Crit is another super fun crit course with a small climb and tight hairpin every lap. Unlike Cat’s Hill, this hill is draftable so the smart move would be to conserve energy in the first half of the race. Our team for this race was me (Flo), Daniel, Matt, and George. Our plan was basically to stay in good position, follow threatening moves, and empty the tank for a result in the final laps.
The race started out pretty chill for the first lap as everyone got a feel for the course. On the second lap a strong PenVelo rider launched a big attack up the climb which I dumbly followed, only to be brought back in the descent.
A few laps later a strong Cal Poly rider attacked and quickly got a nice gap on the field. No one really wanted to chase given it was still early in the race. Not wanting this rider to get away too easily, I attacked and tried to bridge up to him. The peloton wasn’t too happy with this so I got brought back within a couple laps. At least now the chase to the breakaway was on. With some help from Matt, Daniel, and George we eventually reeled him in.
After this there were a few more attacks from riders including Matt, Daniel, and George, but nothing stuck and the main group stayed together. With about 3 laps to go a solo rider rolled off the front and got a gap on the field, with this time no one wanting to chase. With 2 laps to go still no one wanted to pull. Was this how the race would end?
My answer was no. With 1.5 laps to go I slingshotted to the front and set a fast pace up the climb hoping to bridge the gap and shell some riders, knowing I still had strong teammates behind. At the top of the climb the pack was strung out but we still hadn’t caught the solo rider. I slotted into second wheel to recover in the descent before the final sprint up the hill. I held this position until 500m to go where I got swarmed by the group just before the final corner. We caught the rider off the front in the final 200m as Matt and I sprinted to the line finishing 10th and 13th respectively.
Not the results we had hoped for, but not the best decision making on my part. Still had a great day playing bikes in Santa Cruz. Two important takeaways for me: 1 - even if you feel good, save energy and 2 - the race to the final corner is just as important as the race to the finish line.
Race Report: Grinduro 2023
Race Report: 2023 Grinduro
Date: 5/20/23
AVRT Racers: Matt Carvell, Will Hakim, Cam O’Reilly, Alex Rusoff, Janene Ostrow, Niky Taylor
Report by: Niky
Course: It’s about 62 miles and a whole bunch of climbing (7k?) and it’s mostly gravel and singletrack (and a bit of road) and it’s great. The race segments were 1) gravel descent, 2) road TT, 3) gravel climb, 4) singletrack mostly descent.
Recap: The meme page challenged me to write a 12-15 page race report so here we are. Just kidding, it’s not quite that long. ChatGPT wrote this race report. Then I re-wrote each paragraph to match what actually happened.
ChatGPT Input: Write a race report about Alex, Matt, Will, Janene, Cam, and Niky racing Grinduro in Mt. Shasta in 2023.
Introduction
On a crisp morning in 2023, six adventurous friends—Alex, Matt, Will, Janene, Cam, and Niky—embarked on a thrilling journey to participate in the renowned Grinduro bike race in Mt. Shasta. Their spirits were high as they anticipated the challenges and excitement that awaited them on the picturesque trails. Little did they know that this event would not only test their physical endurance but also create lasting memories of camaraderie and joy.
Niky: On a pretty warm morning in 2023, we six adventurous friends embarked on a thrilling journey to participate in the renowned Grinduro bike race in Mt. Shasta. Our spirits were high as we anticipated the challenges of layering, should I wear this vest or not???
The Start Line:
The atmosphere at the start line was electrifying. Cyclists from all over gathered, clad in colorful jerseys and determined expressions. The friends joined the sea of eager participants, their bikes gleaming under the morning sun. With a wave of the flag, the race began, setting the stage for an unforgettable day.
Niky: We actually weren’t really on the start line and it was pretty casual because the way Grinduro works you can kinda just roll out slow with the group. Matt was blasting music from a bluetooth speaker. My bike is matte finish so it doesn’t gleam but Will’s is pretty gleamy.
The Climb:
The race route took them through a scenic ascent, winding along challenging mountain trails. The group pushed their limits, conquering steep inclines and rocky terrains with grit and determination. The breathtaking views of Mt. Shasta provided a constant reminder of the awe-inspiring natural beauty that surrounded them.
Niky: The Grinduro race route did take us up a nice climb. Janene skipped it since she was doing Grindurito. I don’t think anyone pushed their limits because it wasn’t a race section. We spread out. Cam got made fun of for wearing a skinsuit. I got made fun of for Cam wearing a skinsuit. Matt did not get made fun of for wearing a skinsuit because the bluetooth speaker was cool enough to balance it out. The breathtaking views were not of Mt. Shasta but it was very pretty 10/10 would recommend.
Friendly Competition:
Although the race was competitive, the spirit of friendship prevailed. Alex and Matt, known for their friendly rivalry, spurred each other on, exchanging encouraging words and pushing the pace. Will, with his unwavering focus, showcased his technical skills, effortlessly maneuvering through the tricky sections. Janene, the powerhouse of the group, showcased her strength and resilience, inspiring everyone around her.
Niky: The race was only competitive at 4 timed segments. Most of it was not. Alex and Matt did ride together most of the time and did the segments together and took a nice couple photo in front of Shasta. Will, with his unwavering focus, showcased his technical skills and effortlessly crashed on a tricky section of the first descent/segment 1. He pulled out of the race but is ok. Janene was a powerhouse and also managed to stay remarkably clean which was maybe the most impressive thing any of us did all day.
The Joy of Downhill:
After a grueling climb, the reward awaited—the exhilarating descent. With adrenaline pumping through their veins, the friends descended like a whirlwind, navigating the winding trails with sheer joy. Cam, the daredevil of the group, showcased his agility and fearlessness, leaving everyone in awe. Niky, with her infectious laughter, added a touch of merriment to the downhill rush.
Niky: After the climb, the reward was the first race segment down a gravel descent. Cam, the “daredevil of the group” showcased his agility and fearlessness and dropper post to make it down alive 2 minutes slower than the rest of us (except for Will who, as I mentioned, crashed. RIP). I was mostly concerned with racing Caroline Dessendorf and not crashing on segment 1. Segment 1 was pretty sketchy. Segment 4 was flowy downhill singletrack and THAT was an outright blast. Thanks chatGPT, I’d like to think I add “a touch of merriment” lol.
Pit Stops and Bonding:
Throughout the race, the friends made pit stops to refuel and hydrate. These breaks became precious moments of bonding, as they shared stories, laughter, and snacks. Supportive cheers echoed among them, reinforcing the spirit of camaraderie that carried them through each challenging stage.
Niky: There were a lot of aid stations. We stopped at them. But not together. Cam does not believe in stopping during rides. So he would stop for like 2 seconds and then take off again. Even at this photo stop he looks like he just wants to hurry up and keep riding.
The Finish Line:
As the finish line approached, a mix of exhaustion and elation filled the air. The cheers of the crowd fueled their final surge of energy. Crossing the finish line, the friends embraced each other, their faces beaming with accomplishment and pride. They had conquered Grinduro, not only as individuals but also as a unified team.
Niky: As the finish line approached, idk someone told me to sprint and I was like nah that’s ok. Then I wandered around and found Cam and Janene and got my picture taken.
Celebration and Reflection:
The post-race celebration was filled with laughter, high-fives, and a sense of shared achievement. Over a hearty meal, they reminisced about the race's highlights, recounting tales of triumph and the occasional tumble. They celebrated not only their personal victories but also the bond that grew stronger with every pedal stroke.
Niky: The post-race celebration was fun. First we took a group picture without Will. Then we found Will back at the Airbnb and wrapped him in plastic (Tegaderm). Alex went to jam to music at the event, the rest of us got pizza and then joined him. As we bid farewell to Grinduro, Will used ChatGPT to figure out if Alto Velo is a cult and that inspired this race report format.
The most important thing is that overall I beat Cam by 4 seconds. Alex probably beat both of us by like 10 minutes or something. He was ripping it and would have gotten second in his age group, but sadly he and Matt both DNF’d because their timing chips didn’t scan correctly on the stage 2 road TT. Janene crushed Grindurito and next time should maybe do the whole Grinduro and also should maybe run 2 bottle cages in 90 degree weather. Matt wins the award for “Most Dad” for riding the whole thing with classic rock blasting from a bluetooth speaker and also determinedly wearing a base layer under his skin suit even though it was very hot. WILL CRASHED on the course but not in our hearts.
This was a super fun weekend and I highly recommend Grinduro to anyone interested in riding/racing gravel. It’s a super inclusive and great format for a race. I tried to approach this weekend as just riding for fun, but still got to tear it up a bit and learn more about gravel racing. Also I beat Cam. Not sure if I mentioned that.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9109157415
Nutrition: I ate a lot of watermelon and bananas and I made my own applesauce+maple syrup gel and it was a lot of sugar
AV Wednesday Intervals 05/24, by AC Coaching
Hi guys, new week of intervals, broken 1’ 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.
The meet up is at 7.15am
Back down around 8.15am.
Session: Broken 1’ VO2 max - 3* (4* 1’ @120%)
3 sets of 4 times 1' @120%, 1' rest.
5' rest between sets
Long rest between sets allows you to really push yourself on the 1 minute effort, and keep good quality effort through the 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 24th May, 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 Slug Circuit Race - Men's P/1/2
Posted by Nathan Martin
Race: Slug Circuit Race - Men's Cat P/1/2
Date: April 9th, 2023
AVRT racers: Austin King, Cameron O'Reilly, Nathan Martin
Top Result: Nathan Martin (2/9)
Course: 18 laps of a 2.7 mile loop, with a 1.4 mile descent and a 1.3 mile 350 ft climb each lap. There was a slight headwind on the climb, especially felt at the bottom where there are no trees or protection. The climb is mostly consistent, but there is a steep kicker at the finish and some flatter spots near the feed zone and start/finish line.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8862706230/
Nutrition: I brought with me 2 lara bars and 2 gels, but ended up only eating one of each. I also had 2 bottles on my bike, one plain water, and one electrolyte mix. Got bottles from the feed zone from Austin, Gina, and Niky as it started to heat up.
Recap:
It was a relatively small group, only 9 of us, though some strong opponents in the mix like Tobin Ortenblad and Chris Reikert. Plan going in was to set me up as best we could since I was fresh from not doing Copperopolis the day before.
First lap Cam got a puncture, so the group rolled slowly for a lap and he got back in after plugging and getting some air in the tire. We then mostly stayed together until Cam put in a big attack on lap 4.
While Cam was off the front, Tobin, Chris, and Michael from Don Chapin took turns on the front to try and catch him. Obviously not doing any work to chase my teammate, my plan was to attack once he got caught.
After 2 laps off the front, Cam got brought back and I went for my attack. It was right at the bottom of the climb so there was a bit of a headwind, but I managed to get some separation. I then held a gap for about 3 laps before a reduced group of Chris, Tobin, and Michael caught me.
We then just kinda rolled together, a few attacks here and there but nothing too serious, until with 5 laps to go Tobin put in a huge dig which I was able to follow, and then it was just us two. He didn’t want to work much in the break, and we weren’t talking much since I at least was pretty gassed, but I wasn’t sure how close Chris and Michael were so I did probably more than my share of the work just to try and make sure we weren’t caught. I did the work on the climbs, and he pulled, or at least ate wind for me, on the descent.
I was starting to hurt pretty bad with 2 laps to go, and we were caught by Michael. He put in a bit of a counterattack for himself when he caught us and it was pretty hard for me to stay on, but the three of us ended up staying together.
Coming into the bottom of the last time up the hill, Michael put in another dig and I was a few seconds off the back until about the feed zone. From the feed zone, it’s about 300 meters to the finish, and there’s a little kicker but then it flattens out a great deal at the line. I knew Tobin would have the absolute power advantage over me and there was no way I could beat him in a flat sprint, so I tried to go from about 250 meters, taking advantage of the last little bit of hill. I got a little separation from Michael but could not hold my power much longer and Tobin was able to blow past me for first.
Overall happy with the result, wish I maybe waited a bit longer for the sprint but was still glad I managed that after doing a lot of work. Love the course and will be excited to do it again in the fall!
Race Report: 2023 Berkeley Hills Road Race - Men's Cat 4
Race: Berkeley Hills Road Race - Men's Cat 4
Date: April 29th, 2023
AVRT racers: Jeremy Besmer, Ian Twamley, Riley Chapman, Drew Mathews, Maxime Cauchois, Logan Allen
Top Results: Jeremy Besmer 2nd, Ian Twamley 11th (of 70 starters)
Course: Roughly 3 laps of an 18.7 mile loop with 1,650 ft of elevation gain, which totaled about 55 miles and 5000 feet of climbing. The primary feature is the “three bears”, a series of 1-3 minute climbs in the second half of the loop leading to the finish. “Mama bear” is the first 2-3 minute climb followed by two rollers, before descending to the start of “Papa bear”. Papa is a bit longer than Mama, being closer to 3-4 minutes long, and is followed by another roller before the longest and steepest descent of the course. After that descent comes “Baby bear”, the shortest but also steepest climb, generally lasting less than a minute.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8980325034
Nutrition: Two bottles of Skratch with 40g carbs each and two sleeves of caffeinated shot blocks (50g carbs), plus one bottle of water from neutral feed.
Recap (written by Jeremy Besmer):
I went into this race nervous and frankly anxious to just get it over with—my previous race two months earlier ended with me in an ambulance fearing I had broken my neck after a very hard crash. I somehow came away from that without any broken bones or other major injuries, but that experience left me feeling pretty uncomfortable with the idea of racing in a large field (70 starters!). As a result, I resolved to prioritize safety over outcome, so I went in a bit ambivalent about my personal goals for the race.
This was a huge field, but knowing that we had one of the largest teams with several people capable of winning, we planned to take an aggressive approach. We wanted to keep the pace high throughout, with Drew, Riley, and Logan pushing the pace on the flats and watching for attacks. Meanwhile, Ian, Max, and I planned to push the pace on the climbs to reduce the field through attrition.
Things went according to plan for the first lap, where our team did a great job of completely controlling the field for the flat and downhill sections of the course leading into the hills. As we started the first climb of the day up Mama Bear, Ian set a very hard pace (>6.5 W/kg) at the front while Max and I followed a few wheels behind. This stretched out the field along the climb, but it came back together on the descent into Papa Bear. Ian again set a hard pace up this climb through the rollers and brought us into the fast descent with most of our teammates near the front of the group. After the descent we started the second lap having successfully whittled the field down from 70 to ~40.
As we started the second lap, my rear derailleur suddenly started shifting poorly, so I took some time on the uphill rollers to glance down at my bike and figure out what was going on. My thru axle handle seemed to be at an odd angle, and it had moved again when I looked a few minutes later. My thru axle was coming unscrewed?! I moved up through the peloton to the front where Ian and Drew were controlling things, and sprinted by them while yelling that I needed to fix something. I found a spot where I could safely stop on the side of the course, hopped off my bike, tightened the thru axle, and jumped back on. I rode at a hard pace for a few minutes and finally caught back onto the field just in time as they were heading into a fast descent, which then gave me a few minutes to recover. Disaster averted.
Unfortunately, this meant I was in the very back of the ~40-person peloton heading into the narrow second half of the loop where it’s difficult to move up. I had teammates at the front of the race who I trusted to keep any moves in check, but we were down a couple climbers (Maxime flatted, Logan was feeling sick) so I needed to get to the front before we reached Mama Bear. I tried to not panic, and waited for opportunities to move up without spending too much energy. I had no idea at the time, but I later learned that there were a series of attacks at the front, which were well covered by Ian, Drew, and Riley. I managed to reach the front just before Mama Bear, where Ian again led the charge at an even harder pace up the climb. Just before the top, he attacked and got a few seconds’ gap that he held until the base of Papa Bear. While this attack didn’t lead to reactions from others in the field, it did keep the pace high through the rollers in this section, which successfully shattered the field. The lead group pushed hard again up Papa Bear and into the big descent. During the descent I surveyed what was left of the field: the attacks and hard climbs had further whittled the field down to ~20 riders with one lap remaining.
As we started the final lap, the pace was pretty mellow as people were looking to save energy for the final climbs. We still had three AV riders (me, Ian, and Riley) among the lead group but there were several other teams with 3-4 people, so we discussed how we were feeling and what the best strategy would be. Ian and Riley said they were tired and cramping, so we should try to set it up for me to win. A few miles out from Mama Bear, the field was moving slowly, so Riley attacked on a kicker in the flat section. He managed to get a 5-10 second gap that held for a few minutes, which successfully forced some of the other teams to work to bring him back. This led us into Mama Bear, where everyone pushed hard up it through the rollers that followed. We were fighting for position leading into the descent and spread across the full lane. During this shuffle, I ended up stuck in the very back of the field and had lost contact with Ian, so I spent the 2-minute descent frantically looking for opportunities to move up heading into the finishing climb up Papa Bear. It turned out everyone else was trying to do the same thing, and I wasn’t willing to shoot through narrow gaps at 40 mph, so I was still boxed in at the bottom of Papa Bear. I watched as a lead group of ~5 broke off the front of the group at the bottom of the climb. I almost gave up at that moment, frustrated with myself for being out of position to follow this likely winning move. A few moments later, I thought to myself: people go too early on this climb, so I’ll ride as hard as I can and hopefully make up a few places to get some upgrade points (I needed to finish 5th place or better to get enough points to upgrade to Cat 3).
I found a gap on the right side of the road and pushed as hard as I could up the climb (while setting a new 3-minute power record of 420w / 7.2 W/kg) and found myself passing gassed people left and right while going up. About 200m from the line I saw two people from my field. I sat on their wheels for a few seconds waiting for the right spot and then sprinted around them leading into the finish line. At this point I had no idea how many people I had passed until the person just ahead of me put his hands up to celebrate as he crossed the line and I rolled in behind him for second place. I didn’t give up when I found myself out of position, which made for a great lesson in always going hard through the line because you never know what will happen!
I was relieved to feel safe throughout AND do well in this race. This was largely thanks to my teammates working well together to execute a plan that shredded the field and gave us the best chance to win. Staying at the front of the race surrounded by teammates helped me settle into feeling comfortable racing, and I even started having fun toward the end! I’m now excited to upgrade to Cat 3 and keep racing!
Race Report: 2023 Golden State Race Series - Women Cat 3, 4, Masters
Race: Golden State Race Series
Date: May 5-7, 2023
AVRT racers: Cat 4: Louise Thomas, Emily Schell, Steph Hart; Masters: Chris Davis, Sue Lin Holt; Cat 3: Lindsey Raven
Course: 3 days of racing with an overall omnium. Day 1 is a flat 6 mile Merckx Style TT, Day 2 is a flat 5 turn 0.9 mile criterium course, Day 3 is a flat 8 turn 2.3 mile circuit race.
Results Summary:
Time Trial: Steph (1/9 cat 4); Louise (3/9 cat 4); Emily (5/9 cat 4)
Criterium: Steph (1/14 cat 4); Louise (2/14 cat 4); Emily (mechanical); Sue Lin (3/9 Masters); Chris (6/9 Masters); Lindsey (2/2 cat 3)
Circuit Race: Louise (1/13 cat 4); Steph (3/13 cat 4); Emily (5/13 cat 4); Chris Davis (4/6 Masters); Lindsey (4/4 cat 3)
Overall (required racing all three days): Louise (1st cat 4); Steph (2nd cat 4); Emily (8th cat 4)
Sprint Competition: Lindsey (1st place overall); Emily (2nd place cat 4)
Day 1 Time Trial (Written by Steph)
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9017141751
The course was flat and quite straight, ~8 mph tail wind on the way out, head wind on the way back (included a pretty tight turn around point). My plan was to try to pace it conservatively on the way out and save a little more for the way back with the head wind. Splits were 7:28 for the way out at 244W and 7:42 at 262W on the way back. Overall I felt like the pacing strategy wasn’t terrible, but I could have gone out a bit harder as I still felt pretty in control at the end of the race. Louise came in 3rd at +36 seconds and Emily came 5th at +1:22, leaving us in a good spot for the omnium going into the weekend races.
Day 2 Criterium (Written by Steph)
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9023267461
Cat 4, Cat 3, and Masters women all raced together (26 women total). With Louise and Emily and I trying for the cat 4 omnium, Chris, Lindsey and Sue Lin went in with the plan to help us out. Plan A was following any cat 4 breaks (as Louise and I are very not sprinty), plan B was a lead out at the end. I’m not a very crit-savvy rider and I spent most of the race preoccupied with making it to the final lap in a decent position, but I think the following is more or less what happened: Lindsey started the race out at a strong pace, with some of the other masters and cat 3 riders trading efforts on the front. A few riders tried to break from the field (including Lindsey and Chris), but nothing seemed to stick. Chris, Lindsey and Sue Lin did a great job shutting down anything from other teams in the interim. Additionally, Lindsey and Shannon Gaffney racked up sprint points, resulting in the field slowing after each of the primes. During all of this, Louise, Emily, and I were basically sitting on wheels trying not to do any work (although Emily had a mechanical and DNPed with 3 laps to go). At the start of the bell lap I was 5th or 6th wheel behind Lindsey and Sue Lin. The pace picked up at the start of the lap and I spent 45 seconds hanging onto their wheels. Halfway through the lap the paced slowed for a second, and then Shannon attacked and I came around Lindsey and Sue Lin and went with her along with one other E-voke rider into the final two turns. Louise and Haley (placed 2 in the omnium at the time) were a couple bike lengths back so I just sat on the wheel of the E-voke rider and came around her at the end, but got out sprinted by Shannon (so 2nd overall, 1st in the cat 4 field). Louise came in second in the cat 4 field placing us 1st and 2nd in the omnium after day 2. Sue Lin and Chris came in 3rd and 6th in the masters field and Lindsey came in 2nd in the cat 3 field. Overall, this race was pretty hard and fast thanks to the cat 3 and Masters riders, but it was awesome to have teammates in the field covering attacks and basically delivering Louise and I to the finish line in good position.
Day 3 Circuit Race (Written by Louise)
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9029864708
Going into the final day of the omnium we were sitting in a good position with Steph comfortably in first place after winning both of the previous races and me in second place. Our main threat was Haley from Super Sprinkles, who had come second in the time trial, third in the crit, and was just one point behind me overall. There was a pretty big gap between the three of us and the rest of the field so we more-or-less went in with a singular aim to beat Haley.
After working so hard on the front for most of the race yesterday, Lindsey (real MVP of the weekend) was also leading the sprint competition, where points were awarded for winning prime laps. Originally we thought each category had their own sprint competition and were planning to have Emily attack for some Cat 4 sprint points, but at the start line they announced it would be only one jersey for the combined Cat 3/4/masters group. This put the pressure on Lindsey to stay at the front and defend her title.
My plan to beat Haley was to just sit on her wheel the entire race and outsprint her at the line. I’m not usually that confident in my sprint so it felt a bit strange to bet the race on it, but I’d beaten her in a sprint finish a couple of times before and was mostly worried about her getting in a break without me, so it seemed like the most sensible strategy. This also freed up Steph to go with any other breaks that formed during the race.
This was probably the most lazy I’ve ever been in a race; I’m very grateful to Lindsey, Chris and Emily for doing all the work and allowing me and Steph to sit in and conserve energy. All I did all race stay on Haley’s wheel and trust that the rest of the team would control the race at the front. Going into the final few corners Steph, with Haley on her wheel and me on Haley’s wheel, started moving up to the front to get into position. In the final sprint Haley came around the side of Steph, but then I came around her side to finish 1st with Haley 2nd and Steph 3rd (at least in the Cat 4’s, there were a few Cat 3 and masters riders ahead). In the end me and Steph finished equal first for the omnium on points, but the final race was used as a tiebreaker meaning I won overall. It was definitely a team effort, so hopefully I can return the favor for the next one.
Race Report: 2023 Winchester Circuit Race - Women’s 2/3/4/5
Race: Winchester Circuit Race - Women’s Cat 2/3, 4/5, and 50+
Date: Saturday May 13, 2023
AVRT racers: Kristin Hepworth, Robin Kutner, Lora Maes, Lindsey Raven
Top Results:
Cat 3: Lora 2nd, Lindsey 3rd
Cat 4: Robin 1st, Kristin 2nd
Course: The course is a ~4.5 mile road loop and we did 4 laps (17.8mi/3000ft climbing). The pavement was incredibly smooth (a few little metal utility cover thingies but not a single real obstacle), there were only two 90° turns, and it’s a series of rolling hills. No hill is longer than a couple minutes, and they are all followed by fast, safe descents. There was almost no flat moment on the course. The biggest descent (segment title “Tuck and Lol”) is a bit over 1 minute and fast (I hit 46mph, which is a big deal for me). The finishing climb undulates, is a little over 3 minutes, and ends fairly steep.
Nutrition: Not much nutrition needed for a short race which started at 8:06am. I ate breakfast at 6am (coffee + steel-cut oats with maple syrup and peanut butter) and drank one bottle of Skratch with 40g of carbs (which I started sipping 30min pre-race and finished during the race).
Recap (written by Robin Kutner):
This was my third bike race ever and my first with the team! I slept a lot better the night before this compared to the previous two, I think because I’d be wearing the spiffy blue and orange jersey. The race only had six pre-registered, four of whom were AV. We decided that if the other two were non-factors, we’d turn the event into team practice and race each other (Lora+Robin vs Lindsey+Kristin). But a couple more registered day-of, so we agreed to figure out after one lap if we had any real threats.
After the neutral promenade up the steep hill from the parking lot, the whistle blew. Lindsey immediately popped off the front and I did not see her for another hour! After a moderate-effort first loop of the course, our pack (me, Lora, Kristin) had shaken off all but one non-AV racer and a second was dangling maybe 10 seconds back. The one in our pack had a grey braid coming out of her helmet, but age wouldn’t slow her at all. (Turns out she is a two-time national champion!). At the start of lap 2, I wanted to try harder to shake Grey Braid and totally lose the dangler, so – imagining that Lora and I were silently communicating by bat signal and that she would have endorsed my idea – I picked up the effort on the kicker after the loop’s one right turn. We strung out into a line after a few rollers, having dropped the dangler, but Grey Braid was still with us.
At the end of lap 2, Lora and Grey Braid (both Cat 3s) surged on the finish line hill. As Lora passed by me and Kristin, she advised us to work together and practice trading pulls, since we had top 2 for Cat 4s in hand. A moment went by and I – still figuring out bike racing, its split-second decision-making, and how hard I can push for how long – wondered if I should have challenged myself to hang with them, categories be damned. But, as Strava data confirmed, they kept pushing very hard and, no, I probably couldn’t have hung. (Yet.)
Kristin and I rode lap 3 together, trading pulls as much as two people can on a rolling course, and it was fun! I enjoyed the punchy climbs and lost Kristin on one of them near the end of lap 3. Throughout the final lap I challenged myself to continue pushing the descents (my weakness) even though I was now solo. As I “Tuck and Lol”-ed for the last time and spotted the “1k to go” sign at the end of lap 4, I noticed Lindsey up ahead. She was about to finish as well and was somehow screaming encouragement while climbing the 12% finishing grade – amazing. Lora cheered as I rolled through the line, followed shortly thereafter by Lindsey and Kristin. We got to convene with some teammates who were out supporting us while warming up for their own races.
Good times were had! I love having teammates. It’s incredibly inspirational to watch people train so hard and earn their deserved victories, podiums, and upgrades. I hope future events I race have higher turnout for more action and learning experiences, but I’m glad five Cat 4s ended up racing so I could earn my first few upgrade points.
