Race Report: 2023 Watsonville Crit - Men’s P123

Race: 2023 Watsonville Crit - Men’s P123

Date: July 8, 2023

AVRT racers: Jack Liu, Conor Austin, Matt Carvell, Colin Karpfinger, Jon Wells

Top Result: Jon Wells, 11th of 60

Course: 1 km loop through the neighborhoods of Watsonville, CA. The course is fairly technical with 5 turns and a slight hill up to the finish.  Additionally, there are significant gutters that run through the middle of turns 1 and 2

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9415313100 

Nutrition: Pre-race Red Bull chug plus a double scoop (60g carbs) bottle of Flow Formulas during the race.  Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.

Race Recap:

Watch my race highlights here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp-OD3P0To8 Be sure to smash those like and subscribe buttons!

Game plan coming into the race was to stay in good position near the front of a large field on a technical course which suits a breakaway and to cover moves with the big teams represented (Mikes Bikes and Project 74). 

Things got underway with a motocross style hole shot into turn 1 as everyone knew the importance of positioning on this course.  Attacks were fast and furious from the start and we all did an excellent job covering moves in the first ~15 min of the race.  

Unfortunately, the first dangerous move that we really missed out on ended up being the move that stuck.  A group of 3 including Mikes Bikes, Project 74, and Voler snuck away.  Their teammates did a great job sitting on the front of the peloton slowing down the chase and making bridge attempts even harder.  With them occupying the first several positions, attacks had to be launched from even further down the group on a course with few places to move up.  

Once the break was gone, there were some efforts to chase but no big organization amongst teams that had missed out.  The pace was kept high enough that we were never lapped on such a short course but not high enough to bring them back.  Bringing back that group on a course with so many turns was a big ask once the gap had gone out.

Coming into the finish it was super important to be in a good position since it's challenging to move up on this course.  I found myself around maybe 15th with 2 laps to go with Mikes Bikes and Project 74 setting the pace for a field sprint.  Was able to slide up single spots at a time through corners in the last 2 laps and ended up taking 8th in the field sprint for 11th overall.  

-Jon

Race Report: Lake Tahoe MTB Race

Lake Tahoe MTB Race - 4hr open/pro

Rider: Alex Rusoff

Result: 3rd

Date: 6/17/23

This race format involves completing somewhere from 4-6 laps on a 11 mile course. Riders try to complete as many laps as possible but can't start a new lap after the 4-hour mark. In the past two years only one rider managed to reach 6 laps.

My main goal was to practice adhering to a planned pacing strategy. The course was slightly modified from prior years due to the remaining snow so rather than targeting historical lap times I was going off of mph (13.5mph or sub 50 minute laps). On this pace I was planning on completing 5 laps just past the 4 hour mark.

The course only has 1,100 feet of climbing per 11 mile lap which is more comparable to a typical road course than mountain. As a result, there is a lot of flattish rolling miles with the exception of one ~12 minute climb in the middle of the lap. The trail was about equal parts passable double track and single track. There weren't any challenging features except for one brief rock garden, a few snow drifts to blast over and a couple shallow stream crossings.

6-8 riders slowly created a gap from me on the first climb. It wasn't clear which of these were racing the shorter 12 and 36 mile events (all distances mass started together). I resisted the temptation to chase wheels. The established power target felt very sustainable and I was a little bit surprised to see a ~47 minute first lap.

Over the first three laps my power drifted a little bit but I was managing to stay on pace because I was figuring out how to carry speed through the course. At the end of lap 3 I dropped my first hydro pack and grabbed my 2nd (both ~3 bottles). It was also around this time that I was noticing a lot of soreness in my right hip flexor.

By the start of the fourth lap my hip flexor was quite sore but not in an acute cramping kind of way. I figured I would just push through it. I wasn't really able to tap into my full pedaling power because of this weird limitation. I'm hoping this was a bike fit related issue, which I have since tweaked, but it will take a full gas event to test. My power dropped pretty markedly in laps 4-5 but not catastrophically.

As I started the 5th lap I passed someone stopped in the feed zone. This turned out to be the race winner, who was working on a mechanical. He passed me so powerfully ten minutes later that I thought it must have been one of the relay teams or something. I'm sure he got a ton of motivation when he briefly lost the lead. I figured that I had now dropped off my 6 lap pace just enough that I should go all in on 5 laps so I killed off what was left of my fuel and opened it up. I never caught second place and saw that he pretty much bonked on his 6th lap. If I had managed to pace fast enough to get a 6th lap maybe I would have caught him - who knows.

Successes

• All laps at or under target pace

• No dramatic fall off in power

• Kept up on fueling and hydration strategy

• No technical mistakes in course navigation, timing issues, or crashing

• 209w raw average for 4 hours is pretty high given amount of coasting and elevation

Race Report: CCCX race 4 - Women cat 1

Race: CCCX. The 4th one in the 2023 series.

Date: June 25th, 2023

AVRT racers: Niky Taylor

Top Result: Niky 1/3

Route: In Fort Ord, 6 laps around a 4ish mile course for a total of about 26 miles. It started on a paved climb, then turned into the main course and we started the laps. Notable features included: sandy turns, a few punchy climbs, one particularly punchy gravel road climb, a flat exposed stretch where drafting was ideal, a feed zone, the start/finish line.

Recap: My friend Nathan (not AV Nathan) has been inviting me to try XC mountain bike racing for a few months now. I got a new mountain bike (Julianna Wilder, thanks Summit) and felt like trying something new. So I decided to give CCCX a shot.

At the start I met the two other women racing cat 1. They were in different age groups than me but since there were so few of us we decided to race each other. The officials said go and I failed to clip in twice in a row. I got my shit together and caught up to the group right before we hit the dirt, barely edging past the other two women for a position right behind Nathan. He dropped me almost immediately. But I was in first position of the cat 1 women.

I spent the first two laps killing myself and treating this like a cyclocross race: throw myself everywhere and sprint the whole thing. Then it occurred to me that most cyclocross races I’ve done are like 6-8 miles and this one was 26 miles and I was like whoa buddy better slow it down.

So I chilled out and ate some and tried to recover a bit. Some cat 2 guys caught me. Then one of the other cat 1 women, Michelle, showed up. We got to a short punchy gravel climb and I went all out to drop her. One guy, Mike, hung with me. I felt pretty good and started sending it again. Then Mike came around and was like “hey want a wheel?” and I was like oh wow, I did not even think about drafting since we’re on mountain bikes but now that you mention it that’s a really good point.

I got on Mike’s wheel but he was pretty fast and I was much less comfortable drafting on a mountain bike than a road bike. So after a few near crashes, a lot of brake checking myself, and probably no actual energy saved, I was like ok I’m good and he dropped me. Bye Mike.

I was learning a lot and also really tired from trying and failing to stick with Mike. Then Michelle caught me again and I was like ahhhh go go go and dropped her. 

Bernardo caught me around 3 laps to go. I got on his wheel and it was a lot easier to draft someone who I’ve ridden with before. So then I just unapologetically drafted Bernardo for a couple laps. Thanks Bernardo. Sorry I didn’t pull, I was maxed out just keeping up. I lost Bernardo’s wheel while we were passing someone. Then he finished and I still had one more lap. 

Last lap I sent it as hard as I could which was not very hard because I was super tired. I had no idea how far back Michelle was and I knew that if she passed me that would be the end because I was toasted. But I managed to hold my lead and take the win!

This was really fun. Also really hard. I learned a lot about what XC racing is. I liked the course and the people were all super nice. I liked doing the laps and trying to pick better lines each time around. I could definitely improve on handling, and getting more comfortable on my bike and this type of terrain would help save a lot of energy. In particular I’d want to work on my cornering. Overall I had a really great time trying something new and out of my comfort zone and would recommend CCCX to anyone interested in trying out some low-stakes local XC racing.

Nutrition: I ate 2-3 bloks and drank a bottle of water and in the future would definitely run 2 bottles with skratch or something

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9334819135

Race Report: Baker City Cycling Classic - Men’s P/1/2

Race: Baker City Cycling Classic - Men’s P/1/2

Date: 6/23/23 - 6/25/23

AVRT Racers: Austin King, Cam O’Reilly, Deven van Greuningen, Grant Miller, Greg McCullough, Nathan Martin

Top Result: GC: 1st - Nathan, 5th - Cam, Stage 3: 5th - Deven, Stage 4: 1st - Nathan, 5th - Cam

Nathan wrote the report, with Deven writing the crit stage report

Stage 1: Catherine Creek Road Race - 6/23

Course: 71 miles of rolling road with an unexpected gravel sector. Wind played a large factor. Feedzones at miles 23 and 48.

Nutrition: Malto and Skratch, about 250 calories, and 200 calories of hammer perpetuem. 2 gels and 1 larabar. Got a team bottle at the feed at mile 48 with another 250 calories or so.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9321719464

Summary: Our plan going into Stage 1 was to have Grant and I be protected with Cam, Austin, Greg, and Deven responding to anything dangerous. The fact that there was no time bonuses basically meant we were fine with a group finish, since we were looking to really make a difference on Stages 2 and 4. Austin and Deven would also be on the lookout for a good placing if it came down to a sprint, but we wouldn’t do a lead out or anything in order to save legs.

However, as per usual, we quickly scrapped our carefully thought out plans as Cam got into a break at mile 5. The break started with an uncommitted group of three riders but then gained momentum when two more jumped across. The break then had representation from two large teams (AVRT and George’s Cycles) as well as strong solo riders, and was missing two other large teams (Pacific Automation and Expeditors), putting pressure on them to maintain the pace. While he was off the front, Grant and I mostly relaxed in the group with Austin, Deven, and Greg responding to and shutting down any dangerous bridge attempts from strong teams. However, the group mostly stayed together, with the only two Pacific Automation riders making the bridge.

At the halfway point, we had an unexpected gravel segment. Not like normal gravel, but it was like someone just dumped gravel on an already paved road, which was clearly visible in some parts. It seems this wasn’t a usual feature, chatting with those who did the race previously.

On the other side of the gravel, Expeditors sent their train near the front and started to work, but looking back on the data the break continued to gain time on us even during this part, so they weren’t working very hard. Greg, Deven, and Austin did some big work here to get everyone to the front so that when attacks started flying, we would be in a good spot to cover things.

At the base of the climb, Expeditors’ GC man, Max Ritzow, launched a hard attack, and a few of us followed his wheel, with Grant having to bridge a bit to catch on to the group. As Max slowed up, people from the break continued attacking and Grant and a few others fell back into a second chase group just behind.

Cresting the hill and passing through the feed zone, my Dad shouted that Cam’s group was 4 minutes up the road. This may have energized my group, as they began to work hard together. My job was to simply sit on and surf wheels while they rotated, not giving any work. However, this proved a little difficult as there were some gnarly crosswinds after the feed zone climb, meaning I still did a fair bit of work.

The riders in my group were strong and Cam’s group had been off the front for hours now, and we caught them with around 6 miles to go. As this happened I yelled at Cam that I was with the group.

Eventually I found myself on the front with about 5 miles to go. We had some wind from the right and I rode the centreline in an attempt to gutter some riders, which was a mistake on my part as I was guttering Cam as well. When I pulled off, Mark Tucker was right behind me and attacked. Two riders went with him, the rest of the field hesitated, and he got a gap.

When we hit the flat last 5k, he had a solid gap with one rider, dropping the other, and we motored to try and catch them. The group sat up for a second and I tried to attack, but there was a pretty strong headwind and I made no ground. Instead, I opted to work on the front to try and close down as many seconds as possible.

I stayed on the front until the line and a few guys sprinted around me for 3rd place. I ended up finishing 6th and Cam finished 13th, with us both getting the same time. 

Overall we were happy to have two of us in the break, with a couple minutes separating our group from the next solid group of riders, and only about 35 seconds down on Mark Tucker.

Stage 2: Baker City Time Trial - 6/24

Course: 11 flat miles with a slight downhill start. Some chipseal along the backside of the course.

Nutrition: Gel 15 mins before

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9327271599

Summary: I was excited for the TT, when I did Tour de Bloom I had a rather lackluster result so I was excited for a bit of redemption. It was a bit hard for me to estimate what I could do since we were at a bit of altitude and I was on a relatively new bike frame, but I was still confident.

I went a bit hard out of the gate for the first 5 minutes and paid for it during the middle sector, averaging well below my target power. I found my rhythm about 15 minutes in and had a good last 8 mins of my effort.

I’d finish 10th on the day with Cam just behind in 13th. I was now down over a minute on Mark Tucker and Cam down about a minute and 15 seconds. We didn’t lose any GC position so we were ultimately alright with our efforts.

Stage 3: Baker City Downtown Criterium - 6/24

Course: Flat L shaped course.

Nutrition: Clif Blocks before the start and sipping on a Malto bottle before/during. 2 GUs during and mostly water during the race.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9329001132

Summary: I (Deven) was the only one to race the crit as it was not towards GC. This was due to rain during the day and delays. The race was ultimately shortened and we started with only 30 laps to go. This would make it super fast and aggressive throughout the entire race. My plan was to sit in and wait for a sprint, unless there was a threatening move I could possibly bridge up to. 

Attacks started almost right away and were quickly being covered by others. This worked great for me. I made sure to just stay in the draft and sit in. most attacks would go on the finish straight into turn 1. I was SUPER confident in all of the turns so was able to close any little gaps with just taking faster lines. 

There was a large break forming about halfway through with all the major teams in it as well as Mark Tucker. Decided to make an effort to get across in the most technical section of the course (turns 2, 3, and 4) was able to close them but the field was not happy with that and the break was reabsorbed. 

Once we hit 3 laps to go I was in a good position near the front. There was a break of 3 up the road but we were close enough to catch. We ended up getting super close to them  on the last lap through turn 2, 3, and 4. This is whe I knew it was time to go. A few of us launched on the back straight going into turn 5, I think I was 4th or 5th wheel out of the last turn right as we were catching the break. I gave it everything on the finish straight. Had a decent sprint and we were able to catch 2 of the 3 up the road. One was able to stay away and I was able to get 4th in the field sprint and 5th for the race. 

Was happy with the result. Legs were definitely starting to feel the fatigue from my previous racing earlier in the month and the RR the day before and the TT from that morning. 

Stage 4: Dooley Mountain Road Race - 6/25

Course: 100 miles 7k feet of climbing. Two small climbs, three medium climbs, and a 25 minute climb to finish things off. Very nice pavement, some wind. Feedzones at miles 45, 72, and 95.

Nutrition: Started with a team bottle of malto and gatorade (~250 cals) and about 500 calories of perpetuem. Drank about 80% of both bottles before the first feedzone, where I grabbed another team bottle and a neutral bottle. Also ate 2 gels and about a lara bar and a half.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9334817871

Summary: I was down 1:01 on 1st, 0:45 on 2nd, and 0:29 on 3rd after the TT. Cam was 0:13 behind me, so we had two cards to play on the final stage which really suited us. It was a long stage and a lot could happen, but we knew that our best chance would come if Cam and I could make something happen in a reduced group on the final climb. Cam and I were to be the protected riders, trying to save as much as we could, while Grant, Greg, Austin, and Deven would do any and all work to bring back breaks, sit on dangerous moves, help us get good positioning in the field, etc.

As such, the first 28 miles were very uneventful for me. I stayed near the back of the group with a few other GC guys for the first 15 miles, then when they started moving up before the first climb at mile 18, I moved up as well. Grant tapped out a solid pace up the first small climb to ensure nobody tried anything, and we all stayed together. After this climb, a group of 4 slipped off the front, but no other teams were worried since they weren’t GC threats, so nobody was chasing just yet.

When we started getting pretty close to the first medium climb of the day, Deven helped move me up to the front. Next thing I knew, however, Deven was on the front, right at the base of the climb, and drilling it. I was working a bit to stay in his draft, but still this meant the group was staying together and no attacks were going. However, I knew that when Deven eventually sat up, there might be an attack. Sure enough, as he sat up, an attack went, but it was from Cam! He went and a few others jumped on his wheel, I let gaps open and forced other people to try and close gaps to them.

We spent the rest of the climb catching up to Cam’s group and caught them before the top, but no counterattack followed and we all rolled over the first climb together.

Similar story between climb 1 and 2, I stayed in the draft and was protected, same as Cam. On climb 2 Greg and Grant did work at the front to keep the pace controlled and make sure no bridge attempts went to the break, which now had a gap of about 4 minutes on us. Regardless, nobody was super concerned about the break, and we rolled through the first feedzone and continued on.

At mile 52 we hit our second small climb, nothing super interesting happening, then at mile 58 we hit our last medium climb, with Team George’s sitting on the front and pacing us up the climb. Each climb, again, I was moved into position by someone and kept very well protected.

At mile 70 we turned into a valley and the race started to get a bit faster. 3 teams, Team George, Pacific Automation, and Gene Johnson, started working to bring the break back. Austin was also on the front doing lots of work from here onwards. He was eating wind and working with these guys so the rest of us could stay fresh for the climb.

We hit our last feed zone around mile 78 and it was a bit of a mess. We came through it at 30 mph, lots of bottles everywhere, I stayed well to the left and didn’t grab a bottle since it wasn’t worth risking hitting something.

Around mile 85 Greg, Grant, and Austin started to move Cam and I towards the front. Our plan was to have Greg and Grant each do 4-5 minutes as hard as they could on the front at the start of the climb to keep the group strung out and drop anyone we could. Then, I would attack from about the 20-22 minutes left mark, since my stomach was absolutely turning at this point and I thought I’d not have it in me to finish. My attack would hopefully set up Cam to go and get enough of a gap to get as much GC time as possible.

As we hit the start and Greg started hammering the front, I was still a bit of a ways back, having lost Greg’s wheel in the chaos of people trying to get into position. Austin saw this and pulled anchor, got me on his wheel, then towed me up just before Cam’s wheel. I tried to fight a bit with Expeditors to get in their train, but ended up just having to eat a bit more wind to get in front of Cam and he let me in. It was also right at this point we caught the break from the beginning, they did a huge effort being off the front for nearly 90 miles.

I sat in as Grant did his turn on the front, Greg having done his job. There was a big switchback where we were planning to have me go from and as Grant sat up right around the turn, I went for my move. I knew I’d have to go hard from the gun to try and get a gap then I could settle into a tempo, but when I looked back after about 30 seconds the gap was already closing. There was an Expeditors rider on the front doing a ton of work, and behind him another Expeditor’s rider and a George’s rider. I was averaging well over 400w so he was exceeding that as he was gaining on me. The chase was extremely hard on these riders and each one of them was forced to pull off after their efforts, leaving these teams’ GC riders less protected. 

Once I got caught, it was part of a well reduced group, with mostly GC riders and one or two of their teammates if they had any, as well as Cam. As I settled into the group, letting my heartrate get back under control, I noticed there was no counterattack of any kind. If other teams wanted to win GC, they needed to get a time gap, they couldn’t just sit in because there was no time bonus for winning the stage. I figured I might as well attack again to try and set Cam up since everyone was gassed, so off I went.

Again, the same Expeditors rider started to bring me back after about a minute or so, and I eased off the power. After easing off for a bit, I looked back and noticed the gap was about the same, so they had eased off too, and nobody was rushing to close the last bit. Cam yelled at me that there was still a gap and to go, so I threw another acceleration and started to dig in.

The minutes ticked by and the gap between me and the group was growing. Eventually they were a turn or two behind me and I started thinking about the stage win. After about 9 minutes I hit a ‘3k to go’ sign and focused now on getting as much time as I could. The second, third, and fifth place GC riders were all in the group behind me, so I was aiming to put enough time in to at least get on the podium.

I tried to hold my power as best I could, but we were now well above 5,000 ft of elevation and I started to feel it, easing off a bit, but still crossing the finish line strong. I had gotten myself a 0:49 gap on the group behind me, meaning I had finished with a time gap of 0:04 on second place who was the virtual GC leader at the bottom of the climb, resulting in me just barely edging onto the top step of the podium. Cam would finish 5th on the stage and 5th overall, notably not sprinting at the end to try and give me as much cushion as I could, which clearly was important given how close it was.

Overall this was such a cool experience. It truly was a full team effort, the amount of work everyone did was staggering. I really owe the squad a lot for this win. Super grateful for everyone, and a huge shoutout to my Dad who came out as well and worked the feed zones for us both road stages, without which we’d probably have been toast. It feels great to get an awesome result for our second stage race this year, hoping we can keep this momentum going!

Alto Velo PRACTICE Popup Crit!

PRACTICE Pop up Crit is here!! All Alto Velo members are invited to join the inaugural practice Thursday night crit on July 13 at 6:15 at Windy Hill in Portola Valley. Meeting and gathering in the parking of Windy Hill on Portola at 6:15. Riders will self select between group A or B and will be sent out at 6:45. The course will be start at Portola/Windy Hill and turn onto Mtn. Home>Whiskey Hill>Sand Hill Loop 3 times with a finish on Portola at the Firehouse sprint: Pop up Practice Crit.. The final stretch on Sandhill turning into Portola through the Firehouse Sprint will culminate the practice crit.  Marshals will be stationed on the course for safety. Greg B. will be at the intersection of Portola and Mtn. Home for the left turn and Gina Y. will be the marshal in the town of Woodside. If you have questions please contact Chris at: cdavisbike@gmail.com.

This is a practice event for Alto Velo members only, for now. If you aren’t already a member and want to participate, please join today: https://www.bikereg.com/altovelo2023.

Looking forward to seeing you there!!

Review: Princeton Carbonworks Peak 4550 Rim Brake

The following review was written by Nico Sandi. Alto Velo would like to thank Princeton CarbonWorks for their generous sponsorship. If you’re not a 2023 Alto Velo member, join today and take 45% off any wheelset!

Hey Alto Velo,

I ordered a set of Peak 4550 (rim brake!!) with White Ind hubs earlier this year. I was hesitant to order expensive carbon wheels because I have had bad experience braking using carbon wheels.

These wheels have far exceeded my expectations! I rode them in all weather and road conditions, training and racing.

Winning the Elite Open Men at La Ruta del Lago aboard a set of Peak 4550s

The tubeless setup is super easy on these. No need for tape. Just put valves, tubeless ready tires (it can be a little bit hard to get them on), sealant and inflate. They also keep the tires inflated for a long time which means you don’t have to re seat them. My only problem initially was that air was escaping through one of the drain holes. I just put extra sealant, shook it up and it was good to go!

I also rode these wheels a lot in then rain. The braking track was better than expected when wet. It is still carbon and wet carbon is not wet disc brakes. You have to learn how to handle them going down steep wet roads. But I can say that I felt safe and the wheel braking was responsive.

These wheels are marketed as lightweight and that made me think they would be weak and breakable. The opposite. These wheels are indestructible. I rode them on chunky gravel and cobbles, bad pavement and potholes. No problem. I also traveled internationally with them and either the airlines were extra careful or I packed them well or they are just hardy wheels. No scratches or issues.

White Ind hubs can be a little tricky to service. But reading the manual and having the right tools let me fix some minor issues I had with them. Nothing huge. Just a little bit of play that was easily fixed.

And of course these wheels just perform amazingly! I feel light climbing, super aero on flats, they feel fast and responsive accelerating, and they provide snappy handling sending it down descents.

Nico

The Peak 4550s (and their White Industries hubs) can take a serious beating

Race Report: Cascade Gravel Grinder

Race: Cascade Gravel Grinder - Open Men

Date: May 12-14, 2023

Written By: Flo Costa

Result: 17/59 GC

Course: Three-day gravel stage race in the Central Oregon Cascades.

Stage 1 TT - 3.6 mi / 430 ft - https://www.strava.com/activities/9059959947

The first stage was a short gravel TT, with a 2 mile climb followed by a descent to the finish. The original TT course was completely snowed out this year, so the organizers ended up falling back to this course only a few days before the race. Although I didn’t get a chance to pre-ride the new course, the pacing plan was simple: all out 10 minute effort up the climb and rip the descent with whatever’s left. I stuck to this plan and felt pretty good the day of the race. My legs felt solid on the climb until I reached the snowy and muddy section at the top. This is where I think I made some mistakes, as the first half of the descent was a slalom through snow patches which my hypoxic self was a bit hesitant to bomb through. After that it was a techy but dry descent to the finish. My finishing time put me in 19th on the day, with less than a minute separating 5th and 20th place. I was happy with my effort, but knew I held back a little too much on the descent.

Stage 2 - 58 mi / 3600 ft - https://www.strava.com/activities/9066685799

Day 2 began with a 7 mile paved descent before starting the gravel, which consisted of a few short climbs through the ponderosa pines looping back towards the long 7 mile climb to the finish. As predicted, things were a bit cagey in the descent as the mass start group of 100+ riders jostled for position before the gravel. This is where being a roadie paid off ;) . I entered the gravel in the top 10 wheels before things went ballistic. We immediately began a VO2 effort up the first climb which left me wondering how this would affect me 3 hours later. I told myself it would ease up eventually (it didn’t) and kept hammering for the next 10 min before getting distanced from the top group of 8 or so riders. At the top of this climb we entered a mile-long section which was 50% snow slush and 50% ice. Since no one could tell which was which, this was an absolute slip n slide with people falling left and right. I hopped off the bike and ran a few parts, but boy was this fun. I felt good and continued pushing a hard pace hoping to find a group of stronger riders I could work with.

About an hour into the race I had found a group of 4 or 5 guys that were all riding pretty well. I kept putting the power down and motivated everyone to work together. I had settled into a nice rhythm of hammer hammer hammer, eat eat eat. At some point one of my bottles had jumped out, but I wasn’t too worried since I had packed a bit of extra food. With this group, we were fighting for a top 12 result, which would’ve been great in this stacked field. After a little over 2.5 hours my earlier efforts caught up to me and I got distanced from the group. This kicked off my downward spiral towards implosion. I began the long 7 mile climb by myself and couldn’t up the pace. My legs wouldn’t respond. I got passed by riders one by one but was all out of energy. I hobbled to the finish in 23rd place and lost almost 10 minutes to the guys I was with. This was the first time I’ve ever blown up like that in a race, but it was a great lesson to stay within my limits. Despite not getting a great result, this was still a super fun stage.

Stage 3 - 80 mi / 6300 ft - https://www.strava.com/activities/9073229930

The third stage was the queen stage with 5 main climbs that were 15-45 min long. This stage would be the last opportunity to make up time, and I was determined to not let myself blow up. My legs felt fatigued from the day before, but as soon as the race started I was ready to roll. For the first few miles before the climbing began the pace was surprisingly chill, dare I say sustainable. Sadly this didn’t last too long and as soon as we hit the first climb things got spicy. As things ramped up I made sure I followed the front to stay in good position as the bunch thinned out. Unlike yesterday, I was careful not to burn any matches this early and dialed it down before going too deep into the red. I eventually got caught by a small group of riders and together we made it to the top of the first 8 mile climb. After ripping the first descent we began climbing again, but this time things got broken up as we each settled into our own paces. We started passing riders that had pushed too hard on the initial climb, and it felt really good to still be in control of my effort.

The next couple hours were definitely some of the best gravel riding I have ever experienced. The roads went from perfectly packed dirt, to firm gravel, to loose gravel, to even looser gravel, to rocks, to sand, to snow, to mud, and back to dirt. The whole nine yards. Like a buffet but for gravel. All while cruising through the forest at the feet of the snowy Cascade mountains with beautiful blue skies. What an amazing place to suffer.

I continued pushing my steady pace, mostly alone, and was able to pass other riders here and there. Somewhere along the way I lost another bottle, but was able to stop at an aid station to grab more water, sugar, food, and pickle juice, the last of which relieved me from  an imminent cramp. The final hour felt endless. My legs were tired, but I still had enough energy to keep pushing all the way to the line. I finished in 17th place on the day and moved up to 17th in the general classification. I was happy with how I paced the day and glad I was able to regain some time in the overall results.

Summary

This was my first proper taste of the American gravel scene and it was quite a humbling experience with the likes of Ian Boswell, Peter Stetina, and Rob Britton lighting things up at the front. With such a strong field it felt nice to have no pressure on myself and just race my race. Over these 3 days I learned a lot of important lessons about gravel racing. I had approached the race as a tune-up race for the five-day Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder in late June and walked away knowing exactly what I needed to work on to improve for this next race. 10/10 would recommend.

Race Report: 2023 Regalado Road Race - Men’s P/1/2

Date: 6/4/23

AVRT Racers: Conor Austin, Austin King, Nathan Martin, Grant Miller

Top Result: 3rd - Conor

Course: 4 laps of a flattish/rolling 17-mile loop. Per usual in NorCal road races, there were sections of rough road full of potholes and loose gravel. East to West winds that were not insignificant and it was HOT.

Nutrition: Overnight oatmeal pancakes, cheerios, banana and a couple slices of toasted gluten free bread slathered in peanut butter at 5:30am. 4-5 Salted Lime Gu gels throughout combined with Gu Roctane Drink mix in two 24 oz bottles. Grabbed a few neutral feed waters on laps 2 and 3 to douse myself with or sip from.

Race Recep (written by Conor): Our plan coming in was to have Grant, Nathan, and me make this an active race while Austin sat in to be ready to sprint to victory if everything was together in the end. We wanted to make sure we were represented in any moves that went up the road but otherwise force others to bridge and chase.

As we passed the neutral feed for the first time on lap 1, Grant saw ahead in the distance that the road pitched upwards and he launched the first move of the day. That man loves a good incline. There were some efforts to bridge across to him but all Grant’s move did was force others to burn matches early. Attempts to bridge across to Grant eventually brought him back about 8 miles later, at which point Nathan put in a dig of his own on the rougher section of the course with a PenVelo rider, Eugene. Nathan’s move up the road really forced a lot of solo riders and the other teams to work harder than they probably planned to. Everyone knew that Nathan and Eugene could stick it out until the end so there was some urgency for others to try and shut their move down.

Nathan and Eugene were eventually brought back about halfway through lap 2 at which point Eugene went ahead again with a rider from the Ride Bikes Bro team. The rest of the peloton continued to remain disorganized in chasing and solo bridge attempts kept flying, which for us was great. Austin, Grant, Nathan and I remained active in trying to latch onto any attempts to cross the gap that was growing. Eventually we did try to organize a “chase” to try and launch one of our guys across in a crosswind section of a course. It was clear we weren’t going to get much help and after trying to have Grant get some daylight off the front unsuccessfully, we began to sit in a bit to conserve energy. It was at this point we missed a solo move by a rider from Olympic Club who was able to get across on his own. After the three riders up the road began to get over a minute on the field, Austin asked Grant, Nathan, and me to start rotating turns to bring them back after passing through the neutral feed for the last time on lap 3. 

We weren’t getting much help from others so each time I rotated back I would shout out for some help and take a look around to see who was sitting at the end of our three-man train. As we came into the rougher and more technical section of the course I noticed Ryan Gorman of Mike’s Bikes lurking and suspected he might attempt to get away in the more technical sections. Knowing that he would wait for the moment that best suited him, the next time I hit the front I launched away so that we wouldn’t miss his move. Whether Ryan was actually planning to go or not, I’m not sure. I was sure that the field was beginning to wither in the heat and that we would be better off being more offensive at this point than continuing to burn ourselves in our three-man rotation to bring the whole field together.

Ryan and I pushed on and eventually were joined by James from Dolce Vita. About 5 minutes later I looked around and the peloton was nowhere in sight, but the break was coming within shouting distance. Once we caught them we invited them to hop on the train and pressed on as a 6-man break with about 25 miles to go. A few riders dropped off and the heat was getting to all of us. We eventually came back to the westernmost portion of the course on the final lap where I knew someone (Ryan) would try to take advantage of the crosswind to solo away. Sure enough, as we rounded the second to last big corner 3(ish) miles from the finish, Ryan made his move and left the remainder of us cramping trying to bridge up to him. The remaining four of us in the break at this point all rolled in one by one with myself coming 3rd.

Overall, it was a hot but fun day. Our communication as a team was fantastic throughout the day. Now, I’m looking forward to a break in the season and long rides under the midsummer sun!

Race Report: 2023 Regalado Road Race – Men’s 3/4

Race: 2023 Regalado Road Race – Men’s 3/4

Date: June 4, 2023

AVRT racers: Andrew Ernst, Jeremy Besmer, Michael Fryar, William Hakim, Brian Shreeve, Drew Matthews

Top Result: Andrew 1(/41), Jeremy (5/41)

Course: 4 laps of a flat/rolling, 17-mile loop. There was a mix of good and bad pavement, with the worst on Tim Bell Road (southbound), a mile or so of which required dodging gravel and potholes. The finish was on a mostly flat section heading east on Warnerville with a decent tailwind. The bottom half of the course (westbound and northbound) had small rollers and moderate cross/headwinds.  By the end of the race, temperatures were nearing 90F.   

Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/9203417880

Nutrition: Started with two bottles (one with water and one with 75g GU Roctane) and picked up two bottles from the neutral feed. Also consumed 4 Wiggle gels. Total calorie intake was 700kcal for the 2.5 hour race.

Recap (by Andrew):

The week leading up to the race, Jeremy did an excellent job designing a race plan based on everyone’s fitness level, personal goals, and team goals. With minimal climbing, we felt this would be a race better suited for the sprinters. We planned to soften the field with early attacks in the first 2 laps by Drew and myself. We really wanted to ensure Velo Kings was putting in work so EJ would have less support late in the race. Michael and Jeremy were planning to cover attacks, Will was our late-race breakaway man, and Brian was our dedicated field sprinter.

The race started smooth but quick, with EJ and Mitchell from Velo Kings controlling the front during the tailwind section. Jeremy and I moved up behind them. As we turned onto Tim Bell, I put in my first attack which strung out the field through the pothole section. This successfully caused a bit of chaos and forced everyone to work as we were riding with the tailwind. Jeremy called out for somebody to attack in the crosswind section just before turning onto Warnerville (NW corner of the course). We did just that and I found myself in a group of about 12 riders that weren’t too set on staying away from the field. Regardless, it kept the tailwind section fast and forced everyone to work.

The remainder of the second lap was pretty relaxed until Jeremy put in an attack at the NW corner of the course again. As solo riders began bridging up to him, I followed one rider through the gap and counterattacked as soon as we hit Jeremy’s group. Four riders followed, one of whom dropped back to the peloton immediately after bridging. This group included someone from each of the major teams in the race (Velo Kings, Dolce Vita, and Mikes Bikes). With this composition we figured our respective teammates in the field would disrupt any chase attempts to allow the break to succeed, which is exactly what happened.

The four of us kept a good rotation going through the third lap and managed to gain about 2 minutes on the field coming into the start of the fourth and final lap. I focused on taking in plenty of fluid and nutrition. The moto told us that the field wasn’t chasing anymore, but I bullied the other riders into continuing to push the pace. I knew I had a better chance of winning if I attacked them while they were tired vs letting the race come down to a sprint. On the final hill on Claribel into the headwind, about 7 miles from the finish, I ramped up the pace enough to gap the other three riders. I didn’t fully commit until about a mile later when I saw my lead increasing. I managed to stay away for the win. I owe a huge thanks to the team for disrupting an organized chase attempt from the peloton. I definitely wouldn’t have had the same result without a solid team effort.

Meanwhile, back in the field, the third lap was relaxed, with AV and Velo Kings controlling the pace and disrupting occasional chase attempts. Going into the start of the fourth and final lap, the moto ref told the field that the gap to the breakaway was 2 minutes. That was likely to hold through the finish, so the field would be competing for 5th place. (Due to the Mikes Bikes rider in the breakaway riders flatting during the final few miles, the field sprint ended up being for 4th rather than 5th). Knowing that beating EJ in a field sprint was unlikely, the AV riders in the field planned to launch a series of attacks in the last few miles of the race. This would force Velo Kings to chase and disrupt their attempts at setting up a lead out for EJ.

The plan worked. Michael attacked coming out of the penultimate turn (onto the crosswind section) and got a small gap. EJ put in a hard effort to close and dropped his teammates in the process. Anticipating this, Jeremy followed close on EJ’s wheel, and then counterattacked as soon as EJ caught Michael. Jeremy got a gap which he held through the final turn (onto the tailwind section) with 2 miles to go. In response, EJ and three other riders broke from the field to chase Jeremy. The group of four caught Jeremy with 800m to go, but Jeremy hopped onto the back of the group. Things got strategic from there and ended up with the five of them staring each other down with 200m left. EJ then put out his classic 1500+ W sprint, and Jeremy did his best with his 900 W sprint and stayed in EJ’s draft as long as possible while putting a gap on the other riders in this group. Jeremy rolled in for 5th place just a couple bike lengths behind EJ who ended up 4th.  

We executed our race plans well which landed two AV riders on the podium. A successful day!

Race Report: Regalado Road Race – Women’s 4/5

Race: 2023 Regalado Road Race – Women’s 4/5

Date: June 4, 2023

AVRT racers: Emily Schell, Robin Kutner

Top Result: Emily, 1/11

Course: 3 laps of a flat/rolling, 17-mile loop. There was a mix of good and bad pavement, with the worst on Tim Bell Road, a mile or so of which required dodging gravel and potholes. The finish 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. We were the last group to start, so it was extremely hot for most of our race (90 degrees!), but the wind helped with the heat.  

Strava:  https://www.strava.com/activities/9203775250

Nutrition: Two bottles with Malto and Skratch mixed in, 1 sleeve of Clif Shotblocks, 1 packet of Cakesters (they are elite race food, don’t try and convince me otherwise…) 

Recap (written by Emily):
As many of you know, I am not a fan of hills (understatement of the year). This race does not have hills, which made me very happy. It also meant that this would be a target race for me, as I had been working on my fitness for the last month and a half and was feeling good. I have a pretty good sprint, so I figured if I could stick with the lead group until the end of the race I would have a shot at success. As a result, Robin (coming into the race tired) was open to working for me. The strategy was for her to cover all attacks and I would sit in as long as possible. 

The women’s fields all had to complete 3 laps, so I figured the first lap would be chill and things would get increasingly harder as the race continued. That is what happened; most people were not trying to work too hard in the heat and nobody wanted to pull. It was very easy for me to sit in, and Robin stayed in the top few wheels to easily cover the few attacks. She also would swing next to me on crosswindy sections to protect me from extra effort.

Things started to get harder in the middle of lap 2. A few of the racers from Super Sprinkles (the largest team there, with 3 racers out of 11) started launching attacks on each roller. Although it was more challenging (~350W for 20-30 seconds for me), Robin did a great job continuing to cover attacks and I didn’t do much work to stay with the group. We lost a few through these attacks, but by the end of lap 2, the group was still together. Per our strategy, Robin took the front a few times on this lap (mainly on the tailwind sections 🙃). 

On lap 3, 17-year-old Shantelle took a bottle from her dad and then launched her first attack while still in the feed zone... Super Sprinkles didn’t love that, and then they launched their team strategy. They would send one rider (who often had at least one woman hanging on) out front; then, when those two got caught, they would counter-attack and send another rider to try and create a break. Both breaks were ultimately caught, but the strategy was effective in whittling the group down. Unfortunately that included Robin - she was on the front when Sprinkles attacked on the biggest “hill” and couldn’t react quickly enough. 

After this point, I was working more than I probably should have been to close gaps. I noticed that (yay for remembering the strategy!) and moved to the back of the remaining group. Nobody complained, although I could tell that the 1-2 women who got stuck on the front pulling weren’t thrilled with their position. 

Around 1km out from the finish, the pace picked up significantly, but I knew I needed to stay in the back until ~200m to execute a successful sprint. Around 250m out, I came around the side and put as much space in between me and the remaining group as I could. We had the whole road width available (vs just one lane) for the finishing straight. I’m not sure how long I sprinted for, but at one point I saw 590W and knew that I was not at risk of getting passed, so I knew that was a good effort.

(Robin’s addition: meanwhile, with ~20% of the race left, I got dropped with two others. One eventually DNPed, and the other (Erin) was a competitor Emily had marked as being a sprint threat. Not wanting to bring a sprinter any closer to Emily, I sat behind Erin for the final 30 minutes of the race. It felt lame to sit on and put out fewer watts than we had on lap 1, but this was the correct thing to do. I flew past her with 400m to go, which felt like a dick move, but after the race we chatted and the way it played out seemed mutually understood. This is bike racing??) 

This was my first win in my 5th road race ever! It felt amazing to execute a successful race strategy and I am very grateful that Robin was willing to be such a great teammate for me to help me make it happen. Looking forward to continuing to improve my sprint in races throughout the summer (and help my teammates get on the podium, too)!

Race Report: Regalado Road Race – Men’s 30-34/35-39 1/2/3

Race: 2023 Regalado Road Race – Men’s 30-34/35-39 1/2/3 (Masters District Championships)

Date: June 4, 2023

AVRT racers: Andrea Cloarec

Top Results: Andrea, 1st overall

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: https://www.strava.com/activities/9203550362

Nutrition: Two bottles with 80g Malto in each, 2 sleeves of Gu Block, 1 Maurten gel. Total of 90g carb/h

Recap:
Cam asked to the cat 2 guys who could join in the masters race. As I was the only 30+ who had planned to do the race, I felt that it was for me =)
So I was happy to go for that race, and would be a good training. The field was very small, only 4 riders in the 30-34, and 6 in the 35-39, for a total of 10 guys racing this.
After the first lap, not a lot happened, the guys let me at the front most of the time, quite annoying. So I started to push the pace on every roller to start getting people tired.

Beginning of the second lap I decided to get the race hard for everyone as absolutely no one wanted to go in front of me. So I kept attacking from the front at every small hill for 10-15 minutes. After that, I used the roller part to put a good tempo at the front for another 10 minutes. At some point, I saw that the 35-39 guys had stopped following, and only 2 guys from the 30-34 were behind me.
I saw that one of the guy was quite tired, so I told the other guy to follow me while I attack so we can drop the Velo King guys. We quickly dropped him, but directly after, while taking a fast turn, the guy who followed me took the turn too wide and got a flat because of bad pavement.
After quickly looking for him, I saw his race was over. And the other 30-34 guy joined me. As I saw he would not do anything, I directly pushed the pace to drop him.

From here, I knew I had around 2 hours left. So I decided to go on training mode, tempo, setting the power to 300W and just go.
Everything went well…. Until I passed a group of women just before a left turn, that I got into way too fast, specially with a bumpy road on that turn. So I realized I could not avoid the crash. I made the best to reduce the damages: Avoid the barred wires, avoid the rocks, and avoid the big pole. To just crash into the bushes.
I quickly got up. I had to straight back my front wheel, open my rim brakes (as my wheel was bent…), the left lever was upside down and totally unscrew so I couldn’t touch it for the last hour. I put back my chain on and started back my effort to finish the race. Forgetting to pick up my glasses that I lost in the fall.
I finished 5-10 minutes ahead of the other racers.

For the 70 miles, 2h45min, I averaged 280W with a NP of 300W. So it was a good training day!
Even if the fall let me with a nice bruise under the eye, and a painful knee for a few days after that.

Masters 30-34 should not exist, we are still young =)

Andrea Cloarec

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.