WTFNB Coffee Ride - Sat 10/14/23

Saturday, October 14, 2023

• 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Summit Bicycles

392 California Ave, Palo Alto CA 94301 (map)

The Alto Velo Racing Team is recruiting for the 2024 road racing season! Interested in racing your bike next year? Come join us for a ride and get to know the team. Saturday's ride will be a women’s ride, conversational pace, ~40 miles, finishing with a coffee/pastry stop.

Ride Leader: Lora Maes

Pace: Relaxed pace, no-drop

Route (UPDATED): Strava Route

Race Report: Patterson Pass Road Race - Men's Cat 4

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

Date: Sunday, August 6th 2023

AVRT racers: Maxime Cauchois, Michael Fryar, Drew Matthews

Top Result: Maxime Cauchois (8/32)

Course: 3 laps of a ~23 mile loop totaling 65 miles with ~6500’ of elevation. Here’s a course breakdown by Jeremy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EimAPKne5_zoPfqbCKgzwS5Z2m6p-BeURk1C_V-SI8I/edit.

Briefly, each lap consisted of the feed zone at the base of Patterson Pass, (3 mile climb at 5.5% with minimal wind) followed by a fast, nontechnical descent. A sharp right onto Flynn Rd (2.2 mile climb at 4.3% finishing into a headwind). This is followed by ~9 miles of gradual descent (cross headwind becoming cross tailwind as the road turns from north to east). There’s a very tight left turn that requires significant braking just after cresting Flynn. Each lap ends with a right turn onto Midway Rd and a 0.8 mile climb (finish at the top on lap 3) followed by a fast descent (laps 1 and 2). Wind was from the NNW at 10-15mph, mostly favorable on Patterson Pass. Temperatures ranged from 80 and bearable at the start to 100 and insufferable at the finish.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9596026490

Nutrition: Three bottles with a mix of Skratch and cyclic dextrin during the race (~80g carbs/bottle), one feed bottle at each lap, not nearly enough hydration and too many carbs per bottle given the conditions

Race Report: The fact it took me about two months to process this race and finally get myself to write a race report already hints at the physical and mental toll this race had inflicted on me.

To summarize it, it was plain brutal, a course of attrition where the pack wouldn’t necessarily even hit insane numbers up the climb, but where the heat and dehydration would remove riders out of contention little by little.

I actually felt somewhat okay during the first 1.5 laps, staying near the front the first two times up Patterson Pass, but even at that point I could see my heart rate was much higher than it should be given the power. I even ended up somewhat inadvertently in a two-man break on Flynn road on the second lap, but we got brought back relatively, first because it was clear we would only waste our energy going into a headwind, and also because my break companion unfortunately crashed out of the race right in front of me going into that tight left turn after cresting Flynn. I somehow managed to avoid him and continue racing, so it is undeniable that my day could have been worse.

Nevertheless, I could feel the intense heat getting to me even as I tried to stay hydrated as much as possible. Unfortunately, I could only manage to retrieve one feed bottle per lap, which turned out to be not nearly enough. In retrospect, it seems clear that I should have targeted at the very least two full bottles per lap, but it is easier said than done: the feed zone was located at the bottom of Patterson Pass climb, and the group would invariably surge as we would approach it, making the full bottle collection fairly technical and possibly sketchy — one guy even crashed in the process.

In any case, I found myself with leg cramps and energy depleted at the end of the second lap, at which point I knew it was only a matter of time before I exploded. It was invariably the case shortly after starting the last ascent of Patterson Pass, despite renewed efforts to hydrate myself. My whole body completely shutting down, it was pretty clear to me that I would just DNF and head back down, but I then met another rider from the P12 field who encouraged me to keep going, stating that I only had one lap to go when he still had two remaining. His indisputable math as much as my relatively clouded mind kept me pushing to the top, at which point I thought I might just keep going and try to finish the race. It was probably not the right or smart decision—I was dehydrated, heat exhausted and my heart rate was near his maximum, despite only producing Z2 watts—but I still tried to make my way towards the finish line. It was a highly unpleasant experience, especially with no water in the last 45 min, but I did eventually reach it, probably a bit delusional at that point. 

I quickly learned that I’d finished 8th, which came as a complete surprise as I thought there would have been more people ahead. I was lucky and relieved to find a few teammates at the finish line as they handed me about 2L of water. I then proceeded to stop at a Starbucks and drink another 2L of fluid on the way home. If you must ask, when I weighed myself after I came home, I was still about 2 or 3 kg lighter than my usual self, and the leg cramps took a few days to dissipate. Overall, it was one of if not the hardest race I have done, even more so with my inadequate preparation, but I do question whether it wouldn’t be better placed earlier in the year.

Thanks for reading!

Race Report: 2023 Mt. Diablo Challenge – Women

Race: Mt. Diablo Challenge

 Date: October 1, 2023

AVRT racers: Lora Maes, Louise Thomas, Rachel Hwang, Robin Betz 

Top Result: Rachel Hwang 1/15 (Age Group) 6/126 (Overall Female), Louise Thomas 2/15 (Age Group), Robin Betz 3/15 (Age Group), Lora Maes 3/16 (Age Group)

Course: 11.2 miles, 3249 ft hill climb

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9959486695

Race Recap: (Rachel Hwang’s perspective)

My goal going into this race was to get under 1 hour, and to use my heart rate and RPE to measure how hard I should be going.

With that said, I got to my wave start (Wave 3) 1.5 minutes late, and so booked it in the beginning trying to catch up to the mass and draft behind them.  I saw Louise on the way up.

While I did want to draft behind others and help others around the same speed pull each other up, as I caught up to people, I did exactly that, and kept going if I had the energy.  What I liked about this race was that at some points, I could draft and pull as I wanted, but could keep going and constantly chase people down.  However, I do not think I did a good job drafting on the flat parts.  Because this is an individually timed race, I pulled more than I wanted to and did not conserve energy well in the sections I could have done so.  In addition, it was really windy with lots of crosswinds and headwinds, so I should have tried drafting more, and there were many moments of me smashing uphill against the wind by myself.

I honestly had no measure of how I was doing on time the entire way up, and kept looking at my heart rate on my Apple Watch. It stayed around 173 (goal of averaging 177) for the most part when I checked. Around 1100ft left, I was watching the elevation profile on my Garmin.

When I got close to the end, right before the wall, there were a ton of people standing and cheering, and I got a bit of adrenaline so sped up, however, the wall got me and I STRUGGLED hard up that.  I was wheezing and going at a snail’s pace trying to make it up.  When I crossed the finish line, I almost felt like puking. 

When I saw my result for the first time back at the bottom, 59:52.5, I was both happy that I was under an hour, but thought I could have done better.  In retrospective, I could have pushed harder through the entire race.  But this is by far one of my favorite races and I will definitely be back.

 Nutrition: 1/5 of a bottle of tailwind and a gel halfway up because I didn’t have time to take it at the start

Race Report: 2023 Oakland Grand Prix - Women’s 3/4/5

Race: 2023 Oakland Grand Prix - Women’s 3/4/5

Date: September 17, 2023

AVRT racers: Jennifer Steele, Louise Thomas

Top Results: Louise 3/13, Jenn 4/13

Course: four corner crit in downtown Oakland. Each lap was around 0.6m with a hairpin on turn 1 and a ~3% hill going into turn 3

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9869304247

Nutrition: a gel on the line and part of a malto bottle during the race

Recap:

The main feature of the course is a hairpin on turn one, with manhole covers and potholes scattered on the exits of corners one and two. At least one guy slid out on the hairpin during the race before ours, and the race after ours was completely stopped for a couple of minutes to get an ambulance to another guy that came off there. Luckily the women’s fields are much smaller and more sensible though, and I figured at least this would be easier than last year when we had to race in heavy sideways rain

We started the race assertively - Jenn shot off the front from the start and I followed. Coming out of the second corner we had a small gap on the field, but of course everyone else wasn't going to let that go so caught us almost immediately. It was fun to get the party started though. Eclipse had three riders in the race and used their numbers to send repeated attacks. Jenn and I settled back into a defensive strategy, between us effectively making sure any moves were shut down. A couple of the solo riders were also chasing everything, which made our job a lot easier. 

By the middle of the race Eclipse had calmed down and weren't sending any more attacks. One of the solo riders would repeatedly attack on the hill, but then sit up as soon as we got to the downhill section shortly after. It wasn't the most effective strategy.  At some point, the marshals near the hairpin started waving us to one side of the road. At first I wondered whether someone had crashed, but that didn't make sense because the peloton was still together apart from a couple of individual dropped riders and I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if someone next to me went down. Turns out it was just a homeless guy that had wandered onto the course and wouldn't leave. 

When the lap cards came out it seemed inevitable that the race would end in a field sprint. Me and Jenn decided we should try for a lead out and, since I don't have much faith in my sprint, Jenn would be the designated sprinter. At that point Eclipse started attacking again though, and we had a burn a couple of matches chasing. I almost got in a breakaway with Pam when I was the only one that chased her, but in the end everything stayed together. 

The last few laps were mired by confusion. We switched back and forth as to who should be the sprinter since we were both getting fatigued from chasing, but settled on the original plan of me leading out Jenn. During the final lap I stupidly started doubting whether or not it was actually the final lap because I couldn't remember hearing a bell on the previous one.  I decided to go for it anyway so got to the front and pushed the pace up the hill, but I think the niggling doubts in the back of my mind meant I wasn't 100% committed so it wasn't as fast as it should have been. On the final stretch I was waiting for Jenn to come around, but then Paula and Gwen did instead and Jenn yelled to sprint so I chased but unfortunately couldn't catch them. While sprinting I could see from the corner of my eye there was someone just behind me so pushed even harder. It was only after I crossed the line I saw it was Jenn, and turns out I'd accidentally taken 3rd from her. Whoops.  

Overall our communication could have been a bit better at the end, but I feel like we worked well together in the middle of the race to cover attacks. Getting 3rd and 4th wasn't too shabby either. 

Thanks for reading,
Louise

Race Report: University Road Race 2023 - Men's E3

Race: University Road Race - Men’s Cat 3

Date: 8/20/2023

AVRT racers: Flo Costa, George Wehner

Top Results: Flo 4/23

Course: 40 miles, 5200 ft of climbing - 15 laps around the UCSC circuit, featuring a 5 min climb followed by a 3 min descent. Essentially a 15 x 5’ min threshold workout.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9688243169

Nutrition: Clif Bloks and gels with malto + gatorade in the bottles.

Race Recap: After racing at San Ardo the previous day, George and I lined up at UCSC ready to test our climbing legs. Our tactics for University RR were straightforward: follow the group, survive the climb, and don’t blow up. We had a decent sized field with 23 riders at the start, many of whom were strong climbers. As tradition for University RR, we were on the lookout for any junior w/kg monsters.

The first couple laps were relatively calm with a few riders taking flyers up the final kicker on the top of the climb only to be caught within the first 30 seconds of the descent. In an effort to preserve my legs, I tried to smoothen my power as much as possible every time we went up this last kicker. My gameplan was to conserve as much energy as possible for the final laps.

On the third lap, there were attacks from the base of the climb which strung out the group. This time up the climb was an especially painful VO2 effort knowing we had 12 more laps to go. Thankfully these moves were brought back and the pace eased up for the next few laps as we settled into a low threshold pace. We dropped a couple riders here and there, but overall the group stayed together during the middle part of the race.

With 8 laps to go, solo rider Josef took the front and started pacing the climb. The pace wasn’t infernal, but it was enough to string out the group. Josef continued to set the pace for the next few laps, each time pushing slightly harder than the previous. At the top of every climb, I looked around to assess everyone’s level of comfort, which deteriorated as we repeated this effort.

With 3 laps to go my legs started feeling really heavy. At this point the pace had increased quite a bit.. Thankfully the descents served as an excellent opportunity to catch my breath and eat/drink. With 2 laps to go, the group was down to maybe 8 riders. As we started the climb, the group accelerated once again at the base of the hill. At this point I was well positioned in third wheel, but was giving everything I had to follow the riders in front of me. Halfway up the climb, Josef launched an attack which completely shattered what was left of the group. I tried to go after him but couldn’t follow. Only a junior from Team California was able to follow the move, and in a few moments the two of them were out of reach. In the descent, I was joined by two other riders.

The three of us worked together up the final climb, but weren’t able to make a dent in the gap to the two riders ahead. We were also too gassed to attack each other, which meant we would be “sprinting” for third place. In the finishing straight, the Pen Velo rider found himself on the front and launched his sprint a bit early. I stayed in his wheel until the other rider opened his sprint and came around us. I quickly launched after him, but didn’t have the punch to come around him. I finished fourth on the day, missing out on the top 3, but was still proud with how the race played out for me at this painfully fun race.

Thanks for reading,

Flo

Race Report: 2023 Shea Center Criterium – Women’s 3/4/5

Race: Shea Center Criterium – Women’s 3/4/5

Date: September 24, 2023

AVRT racers: Louise Thomas, Rachel Hwang

Top Result: 1st – Rachel Hwang

Course: 45 minutes around a 0.6mi crit course. Very flat and square shaped.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9914106449

Race Recap: (Rachel Hwang’s perspective)

Going into the race, Louise and I swapped what we wanted to work on/what our goals were for the race.  I told Louise I wanted to work on my sprint at the end, and Louise said she could lead me out for that sprint, and attack periodically to keep the field interesting.

The course itself was very straightforward.  It was very flat, very square, very small of 0.6mi, making right turns going clockwise, and with lots of yellow bumpy things in the middle of the roads which were something to look out for on every corner. 

There were 10 racers total to start.  The race started tame, but after a few laps, Louise and another girl, Christina, started taking turns attacking up front.  Louise had me as a teammate, and Christina had two other teammates in the field.  I let the rest of the group chase, staying in the back saving my legs.  I did chase down two attacks when it seemed the rest of the group was tired and wasn’t sure if they were going to successfully chase down the group, and when I did, Louise told me to save my legs for the sprint, so I went reverted back to drafting in the peloton.

With 1 lap to go, our strategy was for me to jump behind Louise’s wheel and have her lead me out for starting two corners before the final straightaway sprint.  However, because everyone is fighting for position at that point, I found it equally difficult to fight for position behind Louise.  On the second to last corner, up front the peloton was Louise taking it wide, with two others on her wheel.  I was on the inside of them stuck behind another girl, and could not make it behind them.  Halfway through the second to last flat, I managed to get behind the train of riders riding 4th wheel, but at that point we had reached the last corner for the sprint.  While Louise went wide to peel off, I took the opportunity to corner on the inside to get away and pass as many riders as I could.  I heard her scream “Go Rachel!!” as I sprinted as hard as I could for the finish line to secure 1st place.

Overall, our team tactics went to plan.  It was a team effort with great pulls and leads and attacks from Louise to stretch out the field and launch me for the sprint.

Nutrition: 1 bottle of water with a stick of liquid IV, and a Cliff Double Espresso flavored shot on the start line right before the race. 

Race Report: Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder 2023

Race: Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder - Open Men

Date: 6/21- 6/25/2023

AVRT racers: Flo Costa

Top Results: GC - 16/71

Course: 5 day gravel stage race in Central Oregon totalling 360 miles and 30,000 ft of climbing over the five stages.

Stage 1: Sisters → McKenzie (75mi / 7200 ft // Strava) - 22nd

The Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder was one of my target races for the year. Leading up to the race I was able to put in a solid block of specific training, followed by a taper week that left me feeling pretty good on race day. With a lot of strong riders showing up, I didn’t have goals tied to a specific placement and instead was “simply” focusing on getting the best out of myself by riding as hard and fast as I could.

The beginning of stage 1 started out relatively flat, with no one wanting to drive the pace up front, on smooth red lava rock gravel roads. But as the road slowly tilted upwards, the group pushed harder and harder. This eventually turned into full-on attacks as people tried to break the field up every small hill. By the time we reached the bottom of the first climb, the group was completely strung out and I was fighting to stay in the top 10. On top of the climb, we turned onto the old Santiam Wagon Road, which turned out to be the 6 sandiest miles of the entire week. I felt pretty comfortable on this section despite my bike squirreling underneath me, but this required many repeated spikes of power. The sandy old Santiam Wagon Road ended with a rocky and tricky descent, which also ended up being the most technical part of the entire week, followed by a smooth, speedy descent on champagne gravel. A few minutes into the descent my heart sank as I felt my rear wheel going flat. I prayed for it to seal as I continued following the rider in 7th place ahead of me, but by the time we reached the bottom of the descent, it was completely flat. I suspected it had gotten sliced by the sharp lava rock on the technical descent. I quickly hopped off, put a CO2 in, and tried to get it to seal. By the time it finally sealed, I ended up using another half of a cartridge to reinflate the tire. I felt helpless as a handful of rides passed by, but had “only” lost 3 minutes on this 4+ hour day.

The second climb was less steep than the first and offered us amazing views on the snow-capped cascade mountains. Unfortunately, I didn’t have too much time to soak in the views since my only focus was to catch up to the riders ahead, one by one. I soon caught a couple of very strong triathletes, and together the 3 of us settled into a nice tempo while working together. After passing a couple more riders, we reached the top of the climb and I took the front. I dropped them in the descent and upped the pace on the penultimate climb to make sure I was out of sight and out of mind.

I had clawed my way back into the top 10 and was feeling really good on the day. Now all I needed to do was get over the real challenge of the day: the final 8 mile climb. I could slowly feel my efforts throughout the day creeping up on me. About halfway up, I caught a glimpse of 6th & 7th place up ahead. My motivation was higher than ever, but both of my legs were starting to cramp. I slapped them and kept going, giving everything to keep pushing. For some reason I thought of Gino Mäder, who had passed away in the Tour de Suisse the previous week. He, his family, and his friends would give anything for him to be racing through beautiful mountains like these. I was extremely lucky to be in this situation. Keep pushing.

At the top of the final climb I had 6th & 7th in sight. I was confident I could catch (and even pass) them on the final descent into the finish. I was ready to bomb the descent, which started out pretty techy. Approximately a minute down I had gained a lot of speed and opted for a rocky (but faster) line. I lost a bit of control and hit my front wheel pretty hard on the final big rock. A few seconds later it was completely flat. Shit. I hopped off, tried to get it to seal, and used the rest of my CO2 from my previous flat. By the time it sealed, it was too flat to ride so I hastily whipped out my hand pump. In this process I somehow broke the hand pump, which left me without a means for air. Luckily there was an aid station at the top of the climb about a mile back. I had no choice but to hike my way back to the top of the climb (seen in the elevation profile). Eventually I was able to fix the flat on top with some help from volunteers and was finally back on the bike. I was too frustrated to try to make up any time and descended gingerly to the finish. I finished in 22nd, 40 minutes behind 7th, upset and exhausted.

Stage 2: McKenzie → Oakridge (61mi / 5800 ft // Strava) - 19th

I woke up the next morning in my tent with my legs more sore than they’d ever been after a race. I had been over-eager the day before which led to poor decisions and bad luck. I had to be more patient and race my own race in order to make time up on the riders ahead of me in GC. Stage 2 started with a 15 mile climb, followed by a series of small hills before a final 3 mile climb. Similar to the first day, the pace was directly correlated with how steep the road was. About halfway up, I was pretty close to my limit so I had to ease up in order to have any hope of surviving the stage. Unfortunately, the group ahead still had over 15 riders left. I continued at my own tempo and was passed by a few more riders before reaching the top. Despite feeling like I was losing positions, I ended up setting a 1 hour power PR up this first climb. With the main feature of the stage complete, the rest of the stage was straightforward with a few descents and smaller climbs.

After the first descent, I started climbing the next (deceptively steep) small hill. As I started going up, my legs felt empty and I immediately knew it was going to be a long day. I struggled to push power and had run out of energy after only the first climb. I kept eating, hoping I could find some energy to carry me through the day. I got passed by more riders, but no longer cared. My only goal was to make it to the finish. I was in a hole and was still mentally frustrated from the previous day. In hindsight, I’m bummed that much of this day was a blur, but these gravel roads were awesome.

I slogged along until the final 3 mile climb, where I finally started feeling better. I was able to push a little harder and settle into a nice rhythm all the way to the finish, coming across the line in 19th place, 30 minutes behind the leaders. The result was not as bad as it felt, but I knew I hadn’t performed to my potential. Luckily, stage 3 would be much shorter and would provide an opportunity for much needed rest.

Stage 3: Oakridge → Oakridge (48 mi / 4100 ft // Strava) - 11th

The third day was a “rest” day featuring two timed segments: a 7.5 mile uphill and a 10 mile downhill. The climb started after 20 neutral miles around the Oakridge reservoir. After an easy start, we regrouped and we were off for the hill climb. Knowing that the second half of the climb was the steepest, I planned for a negative split meaning I would conservatively pace myself for the first half. This also meant that I had to drop myself from the group earlier than I would’ve liked and had to be strict about maintaining a pace I knew I could hold for 45 minutes. As the climb got steeper, I slowly increased my power and saw that I was catching back up to riders that had started out too hot. With 15 minutes left in the climb, I had been able to pass a few riders and was still feeling pretty good. I upped the pace one last time and focused on completely emptying the tank. In this final effort I overtook a few more riders and finished with the 12th fastest time on the day, with a solid 45 minute power PR. Negative splits are fun.

After refueling at the aid station on the top, we were sent off for the 10 mile downhill segment individually in 30 second intervals. The downhill was a bit bumpy and had some loose gravel corners, but wasn’t too steep. The segment itself was 20 minutes long and had a lot of sections you could pedal through. I definitely should have pushed harder out of every corner and on the flats. I did catch my 30-second man, but it wasn’t my best descending. I finished with the 14th best time, 1:10 down from the winner. Surprisingly the time gaps were pretty small on this long of a segment.

The combined segments put me at 11th on the day, my best placement out of all the stages so far. The shorter stage was also by far the most productive off the bike - I had extra time to sleep, eat, stretch, wash my bike, and jump in the river at camp. The camp vibes on this day were great; we had plenty of down time to hang out with other athletes and were even treated to a beautiful Oregon sunset.

Stage 4: Oakridge → La Pine (95mi / 10,200 ft // Strava) - 11th

This was the queen stage, with all of the climbing front loaded in the first 50 miles. We had a 15 mile climb, followed by a 5 mile climb and a 3 mile climb, before flattish rollers to the finish. After an easier stage the day before, I was mentally and physically ready to bury myself on stage 4. In a similar fashion to the other days, the pace of the group slowly ramped up as we began the first climb. About 10 minutes in, the top 5 riders broke away. Given the difficulty of this stage and given that the first climb was well over 1 hour, I made sure to ride within my limits. The chase group slowly whittled down as most people rode at their own pace. We made our way up this gravel road along a cliff which offered us incredible views on the surrounding mountains and forest. My legs were also feeling pretty good and I managed to beat my 1 hour power PR I had previously set on stage 2. Over the summit I found myself in a group of three fighting for 10th place.

The three of us worked together for a bit as we started the next climb. One of the guys who was clearly stronger took off, leaving me with one other guy now fighting for 11th. Midway up this climb I caught up to Simon, a fellow Alto Velo rider and Eganeer, who had started in the early wave of riders. It was nice and quite motivating to exchange cheers as we suffered up the climb. I continued riding with the other guy, Ulisses, as we worked together up the third and final climb summiting at mile 50. The hardest part was done, but we still had 45 miles to go. We stopped at the aid station for water and food, and continued our way on the next section on a technical “pioneer” road where we weaved between patches of snow, rocks, trees and puddles. Somewhere in this descent I dropped Ulisses and pushed on, hoping to power through the rest of the day.

The rest of the stage was uneventful as I trudged along alone through the flats and rollers. In order to stay motivated, I kept telling myself that the next rider was just up the road, just around the corner. Despite being able to take in a decent amount of food, I felt like I was slowly fading. My brain was getting foggy as I became a mindless creature pedaling as hard as I could through the forest. A true out of body experience. Was this real life? About 5 hours into the ride, Ulisses caught back up to me and woke me up from the haze, which proved to be life-saving. We worked together and kept each other motivated the rest of the way, while I was on my absolute limit. I finished once again in 11th, but I was wrecked.

Stage 5: La Pine → Sisters (83mi / 6300 ft // Strava) - 9th

The morning of stage 5 was really, really tough. My legs were sore, my body was tired, and my head hurt. Thankfully the food at camp was good and I was able to make it to the start line, fueled mainly by coffee and the fact that this was the last day. Stage 5 featured two main climbs - a sandy 7-miler followed by a 9-miler that started pretty steep and crested around 6700 ft.  The first 20 miles were relatively flat, but the racing was on from the gun. People looking to make up time and get a head start on the climbs were extra motivated to attack, which made the first hour of the day feel like a road race. The roadie in me found this really fun, but I questioned how long I would last with still the two main climbs to come. Eventually a break of 5 riders got away and I began the next climb in the chase group of about 10 riders.

The first climb was quite sandy and immediately split the group up. Riding uphill in sand is pretty discouraging, as you move so slow despite having to push even more power. I continued at my own rhythm and carried on, just outside the top 10. The first descent took us down some fun dirt roads close to the forest in Bend where I caught up to Simon once again, who I was really happy to see as we cheered each other on. In the rolling hills before the final climb I was joined again by Ulisses, which was awesome since it seemed like we were really close in strength.

Just like the day before, we worked well together and made our way up the final climb. Together we maintained a solid tempo as we managed to pass a couple more riders who had perhaps started off too hard. After clearing the steepest section, the climb felt endless but we made it to the top nearly an hour later. I felt empty but was motivated knowing the end was near. I also had an opportunity for a top 10 finish since we were gaining on another rider ahead. I attacked through the final downhill and rollers and was able to pass the other rider ahead in the final mile for a 9th place finish. I was stoked on the result and even happier to be done.

These five days of racing were a rollercoaster of emotions. Despite a rocky first couple days that put me out of GC, I turned things around and finished strong. I surprised myself with my fitness and found new levels of perseverance I did not know I was capable of. The event was really well organized, with food, tents, and showers provided by the organizers. I was so stoked to meet new people and ride through these backcountry roads with amazing scenery. If anyone reading is interested, let me know, I would highly recommend this event. I’m already looking forward to coming back stronger in 2024.

Thanks for reading,

Flo

2024 AVRT Application NOW OPEN!

The 2024 application for new and returning team members for both Local and Domestic Elite (travel) teams of Alto Velo Racing is now open!

<<<< https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQcvGQLhF0X8oRmqM3WfBtecL17_AXAzn5WULnQZkCSICCVA/viewform >>>>

Applicants are required to participate in one of our recruiting rides. Routes, also linked below, and ride details are now posted under Events > Event Calendar. These rides start at 9am at Summit Bicycles Palo Alto on the following dates. If you are unable to make any of these please make other arrangements to ride with the team.

• Sunday 10/1: https://www.strava.com/routes/3139270961876513154

• Saturday 10/14 (WTFNB Only): https://www.strava.com/routes/3137260913584816136

• Sunday 10/15: https://www.strava.com/routes/3138174267060363650

Applications close Friday 11/10/23.

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

Race: University Road Race - Men’s P/1/2

Date: 8/20/23

AVRT Racers: Andrew Ernst, Cam O’Reilly, Conor Austin, Grant Miller, Nathan Martin

Top Result: 1st - Nathan

Course: 20 laps around part of UCSC. Up a hill, down a hill, repeat. Link

Nutrition: 2 bottles of mix, 1 gel.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9687575847 (missed first 3 laps)

Race Recep (written by Nathan): 

In preparing for the race, we had Quinn Felton as the strongest rider who we’d have to make work as much as we could. We were planning on having me stay fresh for the end or the break and everyone else would try to tire Quinn and other hitters like James Kinney.

The race started steady, then at the bottom of the first lap I took a little flier off the front to get things going. University is always a battle of attrition, and I wanted to try to get people dropping as soon as possible.

I was pretty quickly brought back, however, and then the attacks started to fly.

There was a lot of activity, and Cam was very quick to jump on any moves early in the race. On lap 3, he would get into a break with a couple riders that stuck for a few laps, but a Team California rider was drilling it on the front and brought them back.

Once they were back, another group broke off the front, again with Cam in it, but this time it was him with Quinn, James, and Eric Colindres. These were all exceptional riders and it was obvious that we needed to get me up to the break since Cam did a ton of work already today and the day before.

Grant and I let other riders try to chase for a lap, before Andrew got to the front and turned up the pace at the bottom of the climb to start to bring them back.

When we hit the twisty bit on the first half of the climb, Grant motioned for me to follow and he started to bridge. We took turns pulling, catching the break about a full lap later again just before the feed zone.

Here, I went straight to the front and started pulling in the break. In the process I dropped Grant and Cam, but I knew I’d have to do some work or else the break would be reabsorbed. 

We were comfortable with this group because I could do the least amount of work since I had plenty of teammates, and Quinn and James were solo so would be incentivized to work.

We worked for a few laps, until with 6 to go Quinn put in the first of his attacks to try and thin the group. I jumped to catch his wheel, but wasn’t able to and he had a bit of a gap as we came through the feed. Once it flattened out a bit I was able to finally catch him before the steep finish of the climb.I did bring Eric and James with me, but keeping with Quinn was well worth it.

On 5 to go, he tried the same thing in the same spot, again a similar result, but I took a bit longer to catch. It made me a bit nervous, how much power Quinn still had, but for now I was with him.

4 and 3 to go had similar attacks, but this time I let others follow to try and save a little bit of energy. It was a bit risky, as if Eric or James didn’t have the legs it would be game over, but my gamble paid off and each time one of them followed.

2 to go, no attacks. On the last lap, however, he put in a dig at the top of the climb, but we could again catch him.

As we hit the bottom of the climb for the last time, I knew from last year that someone always tries to attack at the bottom of the climb. Sure enough, after the turn, James put in a huge dig, but we stayed with him. As we caught him, he put in another dig, but again stayed with him. 

Coming into the chicane the order was James, Quinn, Me, Eric. Perfect placing for me. Last year I went from about 400m to go, and I figured I’d try the same again.

I leapt out from the group and hammered. With about 300m to go I could see Quinn gaining on me on my left side, found a second wind, and with about 100m to go he pulled the plug and I was able to win it.

Overall super happy to defend the win from last year, with some super strong riders in the field. Loads of work from everyone, to either sit in breaks or chase down groups or bridge me to the move that we needed to be in. It was a great team effort, and a good way to get some redemption after San Ardo didn’t go as to plan as we would have liked.

2024 AVRT Recruiting Rides

The Alto Velo Racing Team is recruiting for the 2024 road racing season! Interested in racing your bike next year? We are recruiting at all levels, from first-time racers to those with national-level race ambitions. Come join us for a ride and get to know the team. All rides start 9am at our sponsor bike shop, Summit Bicycles in Palo Alto. Application and ride details coming soon.

• Sunday 10/1 Recruitment A ride: Typical fast A ride pace, limited regroups, mostly men. Ride leader: Cameron O’Reilly.

• Saturday 10/14 WTFNB coffee ride: Relaxed pace, no-drop, ~40 miles, finishing with a coffee/pastry stop, no men. Ride leader: Lora Maes.
  Sunday 10/15 Team Recruitment ride: Social but spirited, with regroups and/or ride splits as needed so everyone can ride hard, ~60 miles, followed by pizza party. Ride leaders: Gina Yuan and William Hakim.

Questions about the team? avrt (at) altovelo (dot) org (Cameron O’Reilly, Sue Lin Holt, Gina Yuan).

Race Report: 2023 Il Giro di San Francisco - Women's P/1/2/3

Race: 2023 Il Giro di San Francisco - Women's P/1/2/3

Date: September 4th, 2023

AVRT racers: Gina Yuan (4th/20), Sue Lin Holt (5th/20), Lora Maes, Chris Davis, Serenity Marshall (guest rider)

Course: L-shaped 6-corner course with a small bump. Pavement is bad on the backside stretch, and the second corner has tracks on the road.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9785007541

Written By: Gina Yuan

Our plan going into the race was to set up Sue Lin for a sprint with her killer track legs, or for me to follow small late race moves. Lora and Chris competed in (and won!) their Master's Crit District championship categories earlier that day, and Serenity was guest riding with us the first time, and their roles would be to support and be more active especially in the first half of the race.

The pace was pretty fast in the first half, and there were no real lulls. Lora contributed to that as planned and I felt chill when I could see Lora and Sue Lin in good positions. I may have gotten a bit too complacent as I had fallen to the back of the group, and while I was waiting for the pace to slow down again before moving up, the move of the day went off the front.

Jamie (Monarch) had attacked with Ilan (Terun) and Jacqueline (ROXO). Chloe (Monarch) bridged up and attacked through them, going off solo for the rest of the race. I actually didn't see any of this in detail because I was still frantically trying to bridge. I was in no man's land with Kate (Terun) who wasn't particularly helpful since Ilan was up there.

I took a few pulls to try to catch Chloe. We're joined by people from behind and the other three in the break. After a few attempts, I dropped back to see what had become of the group. There were ~10 of us and none of my teammates. It was going to be a dsyfunctional chase. I thought about attacking the group but honestly I didn't have the kick in my legs after the initial chase effort. So it became a race for 2nd.

We catch a few lapped riders, including Lora ~5 laps to go! The officials tend not to pull dropped riders from these women's races, likely so people can have a chance to still race their race as long as they don't pose a significant safety risk. Kind of weird, but the rules are that lapped riders can re-join the field and even participate in race dynamics, just that they will be considered a lap down at the finish. Lora was doing pretty good as she had dropped back intentionally to rest and rejoin, so as the field was getting antsy, she took the front and kept a pace just fast enough to keep us in-line. I sat comfortably on her wheel without having to fight for position.

Then the swarm came with 2 laps to go. And woah there was Sue Lin! And a bunch of other people! Reunited teammates catching up after some time apart. The announcer did say something about the field being back together. But it just didn't cross my mind in the chaos. The field had actually become a mix of the two chase groups, lapped riders, and riders a lap down from dropped chains.

Face palm moment for not communicating more with Sue Lin. I was now focused on navigating the pack solo for the sprint, but I'm glad Sue Lin found her own way on my wheel for a lot of this journey. I think I generally pedaled up the side to the front when the group was spread out across the road, slotted in the front when the pace went up, and focused on keeping momentum if the pace fluctuated. Gwen started a leadout for Marcie (Revolution) on the backside of the course. The finishing stretch after the final corner was pretty long, so people burned out, and Sue Lin and I made up so many positions in the final lap! We finished 4th and 5th overall.

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

Race: San Ardo Road Race - Men’s P/1/2

Date: 8/19/23

AVRT Racers: Cam O’Reilly, Conor Austin, Grant Miller, Greg McCullough, Jack Liu, Max Noda, Nathan Martin

Top Result: 6th - Nathan

Course: 4 laps of this. Starts with a very short and not too steep climb, bit of a twisty descent, before hitting a very poorly paved bridge and a flat and fast backside with some rough pavement in parts. Finishes on a ~1 minute turn off from the main road.

Nutrition: 3 bottles of mix, 2 gels.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9681081023

Race Recep (written by Nathan): 

Plan going into this was to set up Greg for a sprint finish, with me, Grant, and Cam on lead out or break away duty, and Jack, Max, and Conor going for any moves in the race.

The race started out with what is becoming an increasingly common occurrence, Cam was in a breakaway from minute 1. Joined with him were Steve Reaney and a rider from the Subaru Santa Monica team.

While off the front, a few people like Max Rye would try to bridge to them, but any bridge attempts were shut down by us and the group stayed together, except for Jack who was able to bridge up to them with a Subaru rider.

This pattern continued through the first and second laps, until at the start of the third lap Quinn Felton went to the front and began to pull really hard turns to bring back the break. Over the course of the third lap, the gap would be whittled down until they were brought back just before the feed zone. 

As we were catching them, Grant wanted me to launch through the feed zone, since it was a bit of a hill, so once we crossed the bridge, which marked the start of the climb, I launched and started to try and create some separation.

We got a bit of a gap with Quinn and worked a bit, but we were soon caught by the group. A few counterattacks went, Greg being among them, but the group was soon back together.

It would stay together through the top part of the course and onto the backside, but soon another small break went, again with Cam in it. This group would hold about a thirty second gap all the way down Cattleman Rd, until they were caught just before San Ardo downtown.

It was also at this point that Greg got a flat, so we were now basically without our person who was freshest. I was the next freshest, having been sitting in and planning to lead out Greg, so I started looking for opportunities to move up.

As we caught Cam and his group, he kept the pace very high, which was good because it meant the group stayed somewhat strung out and I was able to find little gaps on the very right hand edge of the road, almost in some gravel, to move up.

The group hit the bridge and I was squeezed a bit by the narrowing of the road, forcing me to pull the brakes a bit, but I was still sitting about 10th wheel.

After the bridge, at the start of the bottom of the hill, I went out in the wind all the way to the front of the group. Someone followed me and must have thought I was attacking, because they kept momentum after I slowed and tried to attack themselves, so I latched onto their wheel and was sitting second position when we hit the overpass.

However, before the turn onto the sprint stretch, I was right on the very inside of the left-hand turn, which meant I was going to have to hit a big patch of gravel. As a result, I had to slow from 22 mph to 17 mph to not slide out on some gravel, which basically killed all momentum for the sprint for me.

I gave it my best shot despite losing some speed and managed 6th in the sprint, but taking the outside line there definitely would have been the move.

Overall it was a pretty good race from us. If Greg didn’t flat it definitely would have been a perfect ending for him, I was fresh, Cam did a great job of keeping it fast, and he would’ve been set up nicely. We also did a great job of not working too much to chase down everything when Cam was in the break, only marking moves that were really dangerous, like Jack hopping on the back of a Subaru bridge.

Race Report: 2023 San Ardo Womens 3/4/5

Date: August 19, 2023

AVRT racers: Steph Hart (3rd) Kristin Hepworth (4th)

Course: 2 laps of a 22 mile course. First 4 miles have some rolling hills, followed by 18 miles of flat non-technical roads with a bridge in the middle. Short (1-2 minute) climb to the finish.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9680954173

Race Recap: The plan going into this race was to ride the first lap pretty mellow, followed by some attacks in the hilly section of the second lap if necessary to break up the field. The Cat 3/4/5 field + masters was ~13 women. The first half of lap 1 was controlled and after a short attack by a single rider without a team, 6 riders were left in the bunch (1 super sprinkles, 3 riders without teams, and me and Kristin). From this group of 6, A few riders tried to attack on the hilly section of lap 2, but everyone seemed to have a pretty similar fitness level, so no one got away. The rest of lap two was also mellow with the 6 of us rolling turns in a paceline. Coming back into town with ~1k to the finish I attacked and was followed by the super sprinkles rider. Realizing I went a little early, I cracked on the hill and super sprinkles and one other rider came around me and sprinted out the finish. I rolled in 3rd and Kristin finished right behind me in 4th. Overall, we probably should have put a little more effort into animating the race early on, but as neither of us had raced in awhile, so the day was still useful in shaking off some race cobwebs.

Race Report: 2023 Il Giro di San Francsico - Men’s Cat 4/5

Race: 2023 Il Giro di San Francsico - Men’s Cat 4/5

Date: September 4th, 2023

AVRT racers: Drew Mathews, Logan Allen, Brian Shreeve

Top Result: Drew (2/71)

Course: An L-shaped criterium with one left and five right turns off the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Rough pavement on the backside of the course. 

Recap: (Written by Drew)

Logan and I lined up early knowing that being towards the front in the first few laps would be key in a field of 70+ riders. We both did this race the year prior and spent a lot of energy making up spots early, which hurt us later in the race. Despite having probably the ideal spot on the line (dead center, front row), I was swarmed after the whistle was blown and turned left through the first corner one to two dozen wheels back from the front. I didn’t have the slowest clip in, but it made me realize I could use some more practice. 

Brian, Logan, and I didn’t have a plan going into the race. We chatted before and all agreed to let the race play out and react accordingly, with Logan and I being keen on following moves from strong riders we knew in the field and Brian leaning towards waiting for the sprint. 

The race was hard fought. I managed to avoid disaster on a few occasions, skirting around an ejected bottle, bumping elbows and shoulders more than once, and avoiding a swerving rider with a broken spoke. Being towards the front was especially helpful in the slightly downhill corner on the backside of the course where the pavement was cracked and bumpy in that I could carry speed much more easily through it. It was also worth it in hindsight to do a couple pulls on the front for this reason and to escape the rowdy pack. 

Logan was by far the most aggressive rider of the day in that he put in three or four solo attacks off the front, going first on the second or third lap. I stayed in the top five riders during his attacks to jump on any bridge attempts, but none went. Riders dangled off the front for half a lap or so throughout the race, but no hard breakaway attempts went until around five laps to go when Logan launched his final attack of the day. He stayed out front for a solid two laps until a strong Roval Components rider tried to bridge. I was marking his wheel for most of the race having raced against him before at Sand City, and with three or four laps remaining, I decided to follow him. I passed him and Logan, hoping they would follow me, but instead a Dolce Vita rider bridged to me and we strung out the field. We were caught a lap later by a group of ten, and half a lap later by the rest of the remaining field. 

A young independent rider attacked and got a gap sometime after the pack came back together, and the bell lap was soon upon us. I tried to move towards the front without being on the front as we turned left for the last time. I moved my way up as we came onto the backside of the course, and I decided I should get to the front heading into the final corner, sliding up the outside. All of a sudden, Logan came by on the sliver of pavement to my left, shouted my name, and sent it. I followed his wheel as closely as I could as he led me into the final two corners, coming out second and third wheel into the final straightaway with the lone leader a little ways up the road. I put my head down and sprinted as hard as I could for the line and held on for second place. 

Logan proved to be a great teammate in this race with his unrelenting attacks and impromptu lead out - huge kudos to him. This race proved to me that becoming a stronger rider is not only a game of training hard but of rest. I took two weeks off the bike in August, something I hadn’t strictly done since I started cycling. I started riding again a week and half before this race and took it very easy the three days leading into Labor Day, and I ended up having my best result yet at the Giro di SF. My dad came out for this race, and he, Logan, and I capped off an awesome day riding the Alpine Dam loop across the GG bridge. 

Race Report: 2023 Gateway Cup - Men’s Cat 2

Gateway cup is a 4 day criterium omnium held in St Louis.  All 4 courses are within a couple miles of each other, making it a super easy weekend to do without a car.  Courses range from wide open squares/rectangles to a super technical 10 corner crit on the last day. The events are very well put on and also both well attended and supported by the communities they occur in.

I was the only AV racer out there but my old Denver team had a large contingent that I stayed with.  There were a few other Norcal riders out there, mostly from Terun.  

Race: 2023 Gateway Cup - Lafayette Square, Cat 2/3

Date: September 1, 2023

AVRT racers: Jon Wells, 53rd of 66

Course: 0.9 mi loop around Francis Park in St Louis. The course is a nearly flat square course with wide open (4 lanes) roads throughout.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a break have success on this course with how easy it is and the high speeds

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9768969390 

Nutrition: Pre-race Red Bull chug plus a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of Flow Formulas during the race.  Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.

Race Recap:

Watch the race highlights on my youtube channel here (once I make the videos…) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBBGnCBadQtU8CDFuSUGvhg 

Be sure to smash those like and subscribe buttons! 

Plan for the day was to conserve energy all race and try for a field sprint.  This course is very flat, open, and not technical which keeps the race too fast for a break.  Did a good job surfing wheels all race and felt comfortable throughout the pack.  It was kind of challenging not getting bored with doing absolutely nothing for the first 40 min but managed to make it happen.

Moved up closer to the front around 3 to go (laps are around 2 min).  At 1 to go I was around 20th wheel but was able to make a solid move up the inside into corner 1 to come out of it around 5th.  However the field swelled up big time and the guy I had slotted in behind decided his race was done and just stopped pedaling.  Unfortunately the pack was coming on both sides of me at this point and I was super trapped behind him, taking me all the way to the back.  Was pretty bummed that this guy ended my race with his, but I also didn’t have huge expectations for this race as its a pretty pure field sprint which I don’t love doing.

Race: 2023 Gateway Cup - Francis Park, Cat 2/3

Date: September 2, 2023

AVRT racers: Jon Wells, 18th of 73

Course: 1.2 mi loop around the perimeter of Francis Park in St. Louis. Roads are wide open with 4 corners per lap.  There is a small hill through the start/finish every lap with a slight downhill on the far back side.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9771863432 

Nutrition: Pre-race Red Bull chug plus a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of Flow Formulas during the race.  Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.

Race Recap:

Each of the courses at gateway gets slightly more interesting as the weekend goes on.  So for today’s moderate improvement we got some elevation.  Course is still super wide open with easy corners, but the hill adds a slight dynamic to the race.  Despite that, it's still super fast and the course usually lends itself to a field sprint.

I sat in all race, which is super easy on this course to do (Average power was ~210W; quite low for a course with a hill).  A break of 6 established itself around 20 minutes into the race.  Their gap went out to around 30 seconds at its largest and actually looked quite threatening.  The pack never really worked together to bring it back but everyones frantic solo bridge attempts that would string out the field kept the pace reasonable.  Then around 3 to go the break started shedding riders until only 3 remained.  They would eventually get caught by the field going into the 2nd to last corner of the race.

I just sat in and watched while this happened, counting on others to reel it back in.  The wide roads made it hard to hold positions at the front as a swarm was constantly coming from one side or the other.  In the end I made a big move up the inside between corners 3 and 4 on the last lap to get very close to the front.  But the front was very crowded with people sprinting 5 or 6 wide across the road.  So despite feeling like I was at the front it was only good for 18th.  One of my Colorado buddies did win the race though which was certainly our race highlight of the weekend!

Race: 2023 Gateway Cup - Giro della Montagna, Cat 2/3

Date: September 3, 2023

AVRT racers: Jon Wells, 35th of 72

Course: 1 mi loop through the Italian neighborhood of St. Louis called “The Hill”.  The course was paved earlier this summer making for a super smooth, 4 corner course.  This course is quite a bit tighter and more of an actual crit than the first two days.  You climb the hill on the back stretch and descend through the start/finish on the main side.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9778394581 

Nutrition: Pre-race Red Bull chug plus a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of Flow Formulas during the race.  Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.

Race Recap:

This course has 4 tight corners and a solid hill.  It is the first day of the series where a break actually has a solid chance of success.  Considering this, I wanted to make a break happen today.  

I sat in for the first 15 minutes to let everyone get all their early race antics out of the way.  Then I repeatedly smashed the hill at the front (on ~5 different laps) until about 45 minutes into the race.  I got some separation a few times but never brought along anyone strong enough for a break to get established.  Each attempt lasted less than 2 laps before being brought back.  But all of the break attempts from myself and others kept the pace very high.  It was strung out all race and plenty of folks got dropped. I didn’t have much left for a field sprint after all the breakaway attempts (330W NP for the race) so I just came in midpack.

Race: 2023 Gateway Cup - Benton Park, Cat 2/3

Date: September 4, 2023

AVRT racers: Jon Wells, 12th of 60

Course: 1.7 mi loop through the Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis and right next to the Anheuser Busch factory.  Each lap has 10 turns and there is a small hill on the start straight.  Pavement is a little suspect throughout, but especially bad along the start straight.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9785103374/ 

Nutrition: Pre-race Red Bull chug plus a triple scoop (90g carbs) bottle of Flow Formulas during the race.  Try it for yourself with code “Jon15” for 15% off here.

Race Recap:

The Monday race at Gateway is easily the best course of the weekend, featuring 10 tight corners and a small hill.  It's normally a race of attrition with half the field or less finishing in the lead pack.  Considering this, I lined up near the front (the only day of Gateway where staging really matters).

The race started fast and stayed that way all race.  I kept it in the first 15 wheels pretty much all race to conserve energy through corners and avoid extra accelerations.  I also took a couple hard digs on the front to keep it strung out.  Many guys got shelled off the back and at one point the field even split in half for a lap.  It eventually all came back together for a reduced field sprint.

Coming into one to go (laps are just under 4 min here, so quite long) I found myself around maybe 20th or so and I followed a wheel up the hill into a solid position, ~15th.  All the corners kind of keep everyone in the same spot so I couldn’t do much to move up but also others couldn’t get around me.  There was a crash around corner 4 that I had to ease up for a touch so had to burn some energy getting back up to speed and in line.  Opened up the sprint along the longest straight of the course into the second to last corner and passed a few guys.  Then held my position through the last couple corners and opened it up on the home straight and was basically sprinting into the back of guys with nowhere to move around.  Ended up in 12th for my best result of the weekend.

Race Report: 2023 University Road Race Women’s P123

Date: August 20, 2023

AVRT racers: Louise Thomas, Niky Taylor, Steph Hart

Top Results: Louise 2/4, Niky 3/4

Course: 14 laps of a circuit through UC Santa Cruz featuring a 1.2-mile climb followed by a 1.4-mile descent. There were no flat sections. The climb averaged 5.5% with a short 8% kicker at the top.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9688685335

Nutrition: A fig bar before the race, a couple of bottles of malto and some strawberry gummies during the race

Recap: I was the only AV woman pre-registered for this one, so was pretty happy when both Niky and Steph decided to join me on the day. For some reason not that many people were excited about a course made entirely of hill repeats. Before the race, we chatted a little bit about strategy. Both Niky and Steph wanted to treat this as a hard workout; Niky was coming back from Covid and Steph hadn’t been racing much recently, so we decided I would be the protected rider.

Illan from Terun was the only other rider in our category, so the start was combined with the 3/4/5 women. For the first few laps, Niky stayed on the front to control the pace. Steph then took over, and on the next climb at the kicker at the top Niky attacked and got a good amount of separation. I stayed on Ilan’s wheel to let her do the work to catch up to Niky. At one point she moved to the side as if she was trying to get me to take the lead but, though I might not have the best tactics, I know not to chase teammates.

We caught Niky halfway up the next climb but unfortunately dropped Steph in the process, so then it was just the three of us. For the rest of the race, Niky had to keep reminding me to get off the front and let her and Ilan do the work. It’s hard when there are only three people, but I tried the trick of eating and drinking whenever I found myself getting antsy and that seemed to help. I also successfully took a feed bottle for the first time ever in a race (thanks for the hand up Cam!). When I finally got the hang of eating, drinking, and not doing work, the pace was stagnating so Niky told me to pull for a bit but not too hard, and then attacked on kicker again but didn’t manage to get any separation this time.

The rest of the race played out with Niky and Ilan trading places on the front, until the final climb when Niky shot off the front right at the start of it. I managed to stay on Ilan’s wheel as she chased it down, but was at my limit just trying to hold on. We caught Niky with about 0.3 miles to the finish before she dropped off and yelled words of encouragement to me. I then had the option to push to the front and try and outclimb Ilan or tuck in behind her and try to outsprint her at the end. I chose the latter since I know Ilan is a good climber but didn’t manage to make up the extra bike length in the final sprint, coming in second. I did manage to push my heart rate up to 197 bpm in the attempt though - a new record for me. Ultimately I’m not sure if I made the right decision to try for the sprint rather than the climb, but regardless I felt like the race was a good learning experience. The course also seemed pretty well suited to me so would be interested in trying it again next year.

- Louise

Race Report: 2023 Green Mountain Stage Race P12 Women

Date: September 1-4, 2023

AVRT racers: Niky Taylor

Top Result: Niky 5th/74 GC, 9th in the stage 1 TT, 8th in stage 3

Day 1 Stage 1 - Time Trial

Course: First half is hilly, last half is pretty flat. There’s a final dip with a steep punch at the end.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9763516236

Recap: I was really nervous before this. I still feel like my respiratory system is recovering from COVID and I strained a muscle coughing a week ago. It's just been hard to push or trust my body. I almost always struggle with nerves, but after COVID I’ve felt very timid on the bike. I’m still terrified I’ll blow up randomly or something. But I’m here. All the logistics have been done and the only thing left to do is ride my bike.

I started warming up an hour before my start time. I rode down the hill to the start from our airbnb, then climbed back up (about a 15 min climb with a couple hard efforts thrown in), dropped off my stuff, and went back down. I rolled around a bit and then got in line. I chatted a bit with the girl in front of me. She was super nice. They sent her off. My turn.

Cam cheered for me as I started, then as soon as he was out of earshot a voice in my head said “I don’t want to do this.” But then another voice said “that’s ok, I do” and I felt like I lit up. So congratulations to me on having multiple bike personalities. I don’t mind if people think I’m weird. 

After those two thoughts I just zoned out and rode my bike hard. And that was great. It was amazing to just ride hard and fast and go totally all out and not worry about anything. 

I went pretty hard on the first climbs. I passed the racer in front of me at the end of them. I didn’t go as hard as I could because my coach had cautioned me about not going out too hard. So I did not go out too hard. 

Once the course turned and flattened out I kept it a pretty steady effort. At one point I got stuck behind a car and screamed at them to pull over, which they did. I passed the car and another racer.

I made sure to save some energy for the final punch. I tucked into the dip and shot out of it, passing a third racer. I messed up my gearing a bit but got it under control and punched it into the last climb. 

I felt pretty happy at the end of this. I gave it my all and even if I don’t feel as strong as pre-covid, I’m plenty strong enough to be here and race this. I was so grateful to feel my body able to push. I’ve missed that feeling a lot.

Turns out I got 9th. I’m pretty pleased with a top 10 finish in a national level TT. My strained muscle hurts now. Back to feeling scared and worried about overdoing things. But I think I’ll be ok.

Nutrition: 1 bottle of gatorade before and a few clif bloks

Day 2 Stage 2 - “Circuit” Race:

Course: Two laps of a mostly flat and slightly rolling 37 mile loop. One Sprint point and one QOM hill, then a technical descent and a flat sprint finish.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9771460965

Recap: My goals for the day were to try and get some QOM points because I’ve never tried to do that before. Once again I was so nervous. I fixate on things when I’m that stressed, and that day I fixated on not having put on enough sunscreen. Cam lied through his teeth and told me Vermont was at such a high latitude that you can’t sunburn. Which was a nice try except that he was clearly sunburned.

The start of the race was pretty chill. Only having one lane of the road was difficult though, it was so narrow. There were zero attacks. Nothing was happening. Then nothing continued to happen. It was one of those races where everyone was trying to just not be on the front. Including me. 

Leah Thompson from 3TQM got on the front a few miles in, and then basically was just there the whole race. We all fanned out behind her. I kept waiting for one of the other teams to attack or do something. There were at least 4 teams with four or more riders. Finally it seemed like one team was doing a lead-out for the QOM, but they were several miles too early and it dissolved.

Holding position was hard. Partly because we were going slow, and partly because the road was narrow. I rode on the right and could move up pretty consistently there but I would get shuffled back once near the front. I was maybe one of the more confident handlers in terms of obstacles, but was less confident fighting for wheels. So I started practicing that.

The course was overall fairly flat. We started going up a hill and I assumed it was the QOM hill because we were in about the right place. It wasn’t. The next bump was, which was strange. I went for it and got 5th.

There was the descent, a very slow roll to the feed zone, then it felt like we blasted through the feed zone and it was total chaos. Then back to slow roll for lap 2.

Lap 2 was insanely frustrating. I was on the left this time and felt like I was braking about as much as I was pedaling. I finally moved back over the right and it was slightly better. I went for QOM points again and got 3rd, but in the sprint someone swerved and shoved me way over the centerline. I yelled but managed to stay upright and the girl who’d hit me immediately apologized. That was exciting.

The five of us who made it over the QOM hill first started ripping the descent. That was fun. I finally got on the front and did some work and it felt so much better than sitting in at coffee ride pace. But we got caught. And then it went back to slow roll. Until the last mile, when Claudia (Monarch) ramped up the pace and then most of the field decided to sprint which was insanity.

So stage 2 was a bit disappointing. I was glad to have gone for QOM points, that was pretty fun. Minus getting pushed over the centerline, I had a great time battling it out with the other racers going for points. I started looking forward to stage 3. More climbs, some gravel, and hopefully some wider roads. Sounds like a good time.

Nutrition: two bottles of gatorade mix, a sleeve of clif bloks and half a waffle during the race. A bottle, a waffle, and some bloks before.

Day 3 stage 3 - Road Race:

Course: Point to point, mostly flat with two gravel sections in the first half. Sprint point, then the feed zone, then a QOM point on a small climb. More flat/rolling until the final climbs, then the final final climb called “App Gap” which ramps up from a steady 6% to a final 500m 15% pitch.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9777505982

Recap: Today was supposed to be a good day for me. There were several climbs, two gravel sections, and it ended on a big climb with a super steep pitch to finish. I was looking forward to it. I wanted a podium, but I also wanted a more interesting race and maybe QOM points.

I lined up next to Claudia (Monarch) at staging. The first 3 miles were neutral roll-out, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from national P12 races it’s that there is no such thing as a neutral roll-out. All that phrase means here is that you aren’t allowed to attack off the front, which I highly doubted anyone would do based on what I’d seen the day before. You still have to fight for position.

Our race officially started, and nothing changed. Except that once again, Leah from 3T was pulling the whole field. This went on for a few miles and then I decided I didn’t care if it ruined my race later, I was not down to just sit in and be bored for 3-4 hours. So I went up and got on the front.

Maybe a mile later, another 3T rider attacked. I did not respond, because a team should respond. The GC leader from Fount was on the front. She kept looking back for her teammate. A rider from Amy D briefly got on the front. Nobody pulled 3T back. I bridged. 

I tried to get 3T to work with me but she didn’t want to. The pack caught us and just stuck behind me. I slowed way down and expected a counterattack to go. But nope no one did because apparently the game is not “who can force a break” but rather “who can avoid pulling.” I heard someone yell “you got it 178, ride away! I’ll hold them off!” and looked back to see a gap with the 3T rider I’d bridged to earlier. I laughed. It felt like a commentary on the field’s unwillingness to do anything. So then we rode and did nothing. 

Then there was some gravel. It was pretty chill but it made people more nervous, which made me nervous, so I rotated in the top few wheels. After gravel there was a sprint point so I faded back into the pack. I got a bottle in feed from Cam's parents. I moved up for the QOM. I got boxed in and floundered up late. Not sure if I got points. I went back into the pack. 

A few miles later two riders touched wheels and the rider in front of me went down with a scream. We were on a perfectly straight non-technical descent. I watched her head and shoulders sliding across the road right next to my front tire. And then behind me I heard so much screaming and crashing and it felt like I was being chased by a wave of disaster and if I stopped pedaling I’d go down too. 

When I was clear I looked back and saw a pile of bikes and people and at least half the field either on the ground or stuck behind. I didn’t see either of the other NorCal racers, Rachel (Monarch, but racing for Amy D) or Claudia (Monarch) anymore. It turned out Rachel got up and finished the race but Claudia had to go to the hospital. 

I wanted to stop racing. This was the scariest crash I’ve seen so far. I was shaking and wanted to cry. I went to the front because I’d rather do work than be crashed out. I completely forgot to eat anything after that. I felt really alone.

On the beginning of the last climbs I got on the front and paced it up, then faded back a couple wheels before the QOM point. I ended up getting boxed in, but hauled around for a point or two. 

On the final climb people went out hard. I tried to go with the front 3 but couldn’t hold it. A few more people passed me. The climb was beautiful. There's waterfalls here, like everywhere, and people don’t even make a big deal about them. Where I’m from, a waterfall is a major destination. I really wanted to stop riding my bike and go stand in a waterfall. 

On the 15% I started passing people back. In the end I got 8th. 

I was disappointed. I felt like I could have done so much better. I wanted to win. I felt so alone. I wanted a team. I was sick of riding my bike halfway through this race. The course was beautiful and interesting but the only notable thing that happened was that stupid awful crash. 

Nutrition: Total fail. A small kate’s bar during the race and like 2-3 clif bloks, one and a half bottles of gatorade.

Stage 4 - Crit:

Course: L shaped, 1km, technical course. One long side is a descent, the other long side is an uphill to the finish. Runs counter-clockwise.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9784764781

Recap: I did not want to do this. But also I did. I was so depressed and anxious after yesterday. I didn’t want to get up in the morning. Cam had to gently pry me out of bed at 10 am so I could eat something and get to my start on time. When we got there my brother and his girlfriend and my cousin were there to watch and cheer. I felt so relieved to have family there to support me. 

We staged at 1:25 but everyone lined up earlier. There was a half lap “neutral roll-out” which I fully expected to not matter in the slightest. Then plot twist they were like “women’s field take two preview laps.” So we were all forced to ride the course twice. Basically a little race before the race to make sure you got a good position for staging. 

I got a great position. Go me. Then they called up the jerseys and the top ten! So I got an even better position! Sick.

The race started and yeah neutral roll-out was total bullshit no surprise. I held a position in the top ten wheels, then started slipping back. The first few laps were wild. It was blazingly fast. There was none of the slow, faking-it tactics. It was full on ripping corners and picking lines and sprinting up the finish hill. It was great. 

The course was technical but not difficult. I found good lines easily and was able to move up on corners 1-4. I still ended up braking and sprinting more than I wanted to, but I’ve definitely gotten more comfortable in crits and the more technical the better. I had trouble with the last corner—I’d gain a lot of speed drafting people on the downhill, and have to brake to not come around. Then that would screw me over when we came through the turn to go up the finish, because I couldn’t conserve as much momentum as I’d like. I focused really hard each lap on finding the ideal line and wheel.

Any hopes of sprinting for GC points went completely out the window, I didn’t have the power to compete. I focused on following safe wheels and marking people I knew were ahead of me on GC. I stayed in the top 20 or so wheels for the whole race and finished with the front group.

Two of the riders ahead of me on GC fell back from the front group, so I moved up to 5th GC. It took 24 hours for that to sink in. I got top 5 in my second national level stage race. That’s pretty good. And I could do better.

Nutrition: I really need to just bring like half a bottle of plain water for crits. I carried a bottle of gatorade and took like 2 sips. Had a few clif bloks right before.

Race Report: San Ardo 2023 Women P1234 Long Course

Date: August 19, 2023

AVRT racers: Robin Betz, Niky Taylor

Top Result: Niky 1/7.

Course: Here’s my description from last year. The course is the same. “San Ardo RR is pretty flat. There’s some rolling at the beginning of the course and a couple short hills after the turn to head back to the finish, but not much that will help a climber get away. The road  is pretty rough in places, especially over the bridge on the far side of the course. Goat heads (thorns) are a hazard on the sides of the roads. The end of the course is on a short climb off from the rest of the course, about 4%.”

Recap: I had not done a road race in a few months so I was excited to be back. I was also feeling a bit timid because covid really knocked me down in July. But I was wearing my district's kit for the first time. So that was neat. My main goal was to eat consistently.

Robin and I came up with a race plan which was for me to make the first half of the race hard, and launch a breakaway with her in it for the last lap. There were only seven people registered but it was a strong field. So I needed to wear people out if Robin was going to go off the front later on. 

The race started which was cool. Eclipse had three riders and we had two, then there was Ilan from Terun and Hannah from Cal Poly. I dropped back on the first hills to see how people were riding and then did an attack up a roller because idk why not you know I wanted to see what people did.

I got brought back is what people did, mainly by Ilan and Hannah. Robin counter-attacked. I was like this is fun, so then I counter-counter-attacked that. And then we drove the pace up and dropped one Eclipse rider. I did an attack after the bridge, which I thought was a smart idea because I can get a gap riding over the rough stuff. But actually I’ve decided the bridge isn’t as amazing an attack point as I thought because after the bridge it’s slightly downhill and that makes it basically impossible to stay away. We had a sneaky attack up the punchy hill on the stretch back, where I drove the pace up and then Robin faded off my wheel to create separation.

Lap 1 was pretty fun. But I was more tired than I wanted to be coming into lap 2. I still had some covid effects and noticed that I wasn’t recovering as quickly as usual. Also our attacks had only dropped one rider. So I thought maybe it was time to re-evaluate the plan.

Robin and I checked in. She said she wasn’t feeling great, and we agreed we didn’t think a break would stick and it was time to switch plans. She would do as much work as she could and I’d sit in for the sprint. So for a lot of lap 2 Robin just drilled it. I got a gap on the bridge again and briefly tried to make a break stick with Ilan, but that fell apart immediately.

Start of lap 3 I got a bottle (thanks Lynne!) and followed Ilan and Hannah up the climbs. They were setting a quick pace and I was hoping we’d drop the two Eclipse riders, but unfortunately we dropped a very tired Robin instead. The Eclipse riders caught back on. I managed to sit in for a while, saying I wasn’t going to contribute to dropping my teammate. 

By the time we got to the bridge we’d gotten a pretty good groove just pacelining. Everyone was contributing except for one Eclipse rider still sitting in. I felt pretty sure no one was going to attack, there wasn’t much point, it's so flat and so hard to get away. I started thinking about how I wanted the finish to go. I saw Hannah and Ilan as the main threats. I decided I should try to be on one of their wheels coming into the finishing turn and try to go around them on a sprint. 

About a mile from town I attacked to shake things up out of the paceline and get where I wanted to be in the lineup. Hannah shut me down immediately, then I was tired from attacking so I acted like I was tired from attacking because I was tired from attacking and dropped to the back. The working Eclipse rider got on the front and did a long lead out until the hill, then Ilan, Hannah, and I all came around in that order. 

Just before the final turn Hannah started fading, so I sprinted to catch onto Ilan. I thought about passing her on the turn but couldn’t remember how long the final stretch was, so played it safe and stayed on her wheel. About 50m to the finish line I came around her to snag the win by about a bike length.

Robin stuck it out and finished the race to get 6th. I cheered for her and we met a guy who we had passed on course and who apparently had offered Robin a hot dog that he had in his pocket. There are some jokes about this that could be made. Then we rolled home and by home I mean back to where everyone was parked.

This was a fun race. It was a small field but had some fun dynamics. It made me think about “attack points” in races. I thought the bridge was a good attack point because I could get separation fairly easily. But the downhill after the bridge meant I had trouble sticking the attack. I thought that was really interesting. Idk maybe that’s just obvious. I’m going to go get sushirito now.

Race Report: 2023 Giro di San Francisco - Men’s P12

Race Report: 2023 Giro di San Francisco Men’s P12

Date: 9/4/2023

AVRT racers: Andrea Cloarec, Nico Sandi, Greg McCullough, J Evans, Jack Liu

Top Result: Jack 7/53

Written by: Jack Liu

Course: L-shaped 6-corner course with a small bump. Pavement is bad on the backside stretch, and the second corner has tracks on the road.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9785102680/

Nutrition: one bottle of scratch (didn’t even drink it before it jumped out of the cage due to the bad pavement) + one sip of water from Nico’s bottle (Thank you Nico!)

Race Recap: 

The course kinda reminds me of San Rafael with its small bump and downhill backstretch followed by fast technical corners before the finish. We didn’t really have a team plan for today’s race, as most of our forms are quite uncertain (Andrea said he doesn’t know how to corner on the road bike cause he has only been riding his TT bike recently). Team Mike’s Bikes (TMB) showed up with 9 people, seemed pretty determined to take the win after an unfortunate last-lap puncture last year. 

A couple laps into the race, my water bottle flew off the cage because the pavement was too terrible on the backside. We were cornering at 30 mph on shitty pavement and no one crashed -- I think that’s the biggest win for everyone today. On the next lap, I saw Nico re-joining the group from the side. He said he dropped his chain and didn’t get a free lap so basically out of the race. He happily gave me his bottle after learning that I lost my only bottle, which truly saved me for the rest of the race! (Even though the mix in his bottle tasted very weird… I still appreciated it!)

About 20-min into the race, a break of 3 went away. TMB was pleased to let the break dangle out the front with a gap never exceeding 20 sec. Everyone was fighting for the positions right behind the TMB train. People were happy to let TMB do the work, and “chilling” behind the train. The newly crowned master national champion Greg told me he will give me a leadout at the end, and I felt honored to be on his wheel.

With about 8-lap to go, the break was caught and TMB started to ramp up the pace to not-so-chill mode to prevent any attack. Again, everyone wants the spots behind the TMB train, so the cycle of washing machines began -- you fought hard to a good spot, got swamped, fought back, got swamped…repeat. Fortunately, Nico did a great job staying in top 15 and I was able to follow his wheel to conserve energy. It really makes a difference that people are more likely to give you space if you’re following your teammate’s wheel.

With 2-lap to go, TMB still got the whole team at the front and I figured the pace was about to go to hell mode very soon. I passed Nico to get a better position behind the TMB train, and sure enough the pace picked up and it got very difficult to move up any further. In the final lap, it got so fast that there was a small gap opening up to the front 5 riders. I was the 7th wheel, and the 6th wheel just couldn’t close it. I made a huge effort to try to jump across on the backside, coming around the final corner as 6th and got passed by 1 rider at the line to finish 7th.

Overall, I’m happy with the result and appreciate all the help from my teammates during the race! TMB played it very well and conserved all their bullets in the final laps to podium 1-2. It’s not the first time that the lead-out in the final lap goes so fast that gaps start to open up, and I think I need to be further up to avoid getting caught behind gapped riders. Looking forward to the season finale in 2 weeks!

TMB controlling the front (photo credit: Gina Yuan)

REGISTER TODAY! 2023 Inclusive AV Annual Picnic 09/24

2023 Inclusive AV Annual Picnic New Venue / New Food

The Alto Velo Picnic will take place on Sunday 09/24 from 3-6pm at Shoup Park at 400 University Avenue, Los Altos. REGISTER HERE

We are welcoming all-comers to this INCLUSIVE event and we expect this event to sell out.  Please register early to avoid incurring late registration fees. 

• Cost to AV members is $0 if you register by Sunday, 9/10 5pm.  After that, it will be $15 per person.

• Non AV member cost is $15 per person.  AV member spouses, family and friends, and other cyclists are welcome to join us!

• If you are experiencing hardship, your cost is $10 if you register by 9/10 5pm.  After that date, registration will NOT be available due to logistics of food ordering.  

We are excited to invite all of you to the upcoming Inclusive AV Annual Picnic.

Everyone is welcome to attend, and we want this picnic to be INCLUSIVE. There will be a taco truck on site with vegetarian options. Booze and beverages will be provided. Bring your family and friends to join us.

Vatos Tacos IG will be catering this event with beef, chicken, pork, and vegetarian options. In addition, there will be fresh churros made on site. Both alcoholic and non alcoholic refreshments will be provided. 

We are growing our AV Social Club so follow us on Instagram.  This site will allow you to stay up to date with our group rides, events, and social get togethers.  

Finally if you are not an AV member, we encourage you to sign up.  We are expanding the benefits through the year as exhibited by our new yoga instruction.   

The AV Social Team

Roger, Chloé, Ed, Akin, Jonathan, Mike, Katheryn, Simon and Jerome