Race Report: 2024 Patterson Pass - Women’s 3/4/N

Race: 2024 Patterson Pass - Women’s 3/4/N

Date: Aug 4, 2024

AVRT racers: Hannah Chen, Claire MacDougall

Top Result: Hannah (6/11 overall) 

Course: Two laps of a 23 mile loop with 2 major climbs. The second half of the course is mostly downhill with a 1mi uphill finish. It was cooler than previous years with a max of 95 deg in the afternoon and quite windy in certain areas, like by the highway overpass. See Jeremy’s course notes I found from last year. 

Nutrition: Oatmeal for breakfast. 2 gu and pack of chews during the race, 3 bottles of water and 1 feed bottle with mix. 

Race Summary: 

I wanted to try something crazy, since if it came down to the last uphill climb one of the stronger cat 3 riders would win. I chatted with Claire and asked if we wanted to try attacks/counterattacks, and she was game. This turned out to be A Total Mistake. 

Having never ridden the course I underestimated how defeating the first climb would be (hint: it goes from 8-14%). We set the pace too fast and burnt matches too early in the race, and that’s when I looked up and realized we weren’t even at the legit climb yet…lol.

The group was separated at the end of the first climb, with a group of 3 breaking away and the rest of us each on our own. During the Flynn climb switchback I saw Claire below me and wasn’t sure if I should wait (2nd mistake). With another woman between us chasing, I kept going but didn’t push. I should’ve waited for Claire so we could ride together. 

Feed Zone: My first time using a feed zone. I got a neutral bottle from the feed but it was half empty. Then I got a mixed bottle from the AV feed and it was the perfect slushie temp - YUM YUM YUM sugar (thanks guys!!!!) And to top it off, they had pantyhose ice packets made for us <3 I had to stop my bike to shove it down my back and switch to a full water bottle. The woman chasing passed me here. Oops. 

The rest of the race was pretty sucky. Second time on the climb was equally not fun. I’m actually really embarrassed to admit this: I got off my bike and walked the steepest section. I thought I was gonna fall over. During this time, another woman passed me. I spent the rest of the race in survival mode, got cramps in each leg, mentally was not feeling it, and was so relieved for it to finally be over. 

I read previous reports about how hard this race would be, but we had “favorable” weather and it was only “a little” windy compared to previous years. At the end of the day, both Claire and I showed up and finished so I’ll take that as a personal win.

Thanks for reading!

Claire and me, happy at the start, ignorant of the suffering to come

Race Report: 2024 Patterson Pass RR Men’s Cat 4

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

Date: August 4th, 2024

AVRT Racers: Clark Penado

Top Result: Clark Penado - DNF

Report Author: Clark Penado

Course: Three hilly 22 mile loops with two major climbs and an uphill finish per loop

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/12063460208

Nutrition: 2 energy gels, 1 bottle of high carb drink mix and 1 bottle of plain water

Event Recap: The race started fairly gently into the first major climb on Patterson Pass Road, which felt like everyone was waiting for someone to jump. After a little while, a VeloKings rider started to move up the road to the left of the group, and I opted to hop on their wheel. After a bit they peeled off, and I opted to move to the front and settle into a pace a little less than threshold. The wind was blowing from our right, so I also moved over to the right side of the road in front of the larger group. I was able to stay on this effort for the bulk of the climb, and coming over the top some of the group passed me going into the subsequent descent. 

I had to stay on the power a bit to stay with the group through this section, which was followed by a right turn into the second climb. For this one, I ended up putting in a high end V02 effort, but wasn’t able to stay with it. I ended up losing contact, but was able to continue on with another rider for the rest of the lap. We did some rotations through the rest of the first leg and through the final uphill before pushing on to the second time around the course.

We could still see the main group farther up the first climb at the start of lap two, but the other rider I was with ended up peeling off part way through the climb. For the rest of this lap I continued on solo, but by the end of it I decided to call it a day since I couldn’t see the group and the heat was starting to settle in. 

Definitely a tough race, and in hindsight I probably should have held off from pushing the pace initially. That said, there were some fast bits on the back side of the course that added a bit of fun too.

Race Report: 2024 Baker City Cycling Classic, Stage Race - Men's Cat 3

Race: Baker City Cycling Classic, Stage Race - Men's Cat 3

Date: June 21-23, 2024

AVRT racers: George Wehner, Henry Mallon

Top Result: George 5th (Stage 2), Henry 2nd (Stage 4), Henry 6th (GC)

Strava: 

Stage 1 (Henry): https://www.strava.com/activities/11707420028 

Stage 2 (George): https://www.strava.com/activities/11714149902 

Stage 3 (George): https://www.strava.com/activities/11716078452 

Stage 4 (Henry): https://www.strava.com/activities/11723535947 

Nutrition: Team feed bottles with roughly 80g of carbs each and additional plain water from neutral feed. 

Race Recap:

Stage 1 - Catherine Creek Road Race

Written by Henry. The first 50 miles were mostly flat, followed by a 3-mile climb with an average gradient of 5%. This was succeeded by 25 miles of descending with a few short rollers. After an easy 40 miles, the pace picked up during a 10-mile section of false flat leading into the main climb. During this period, two strong solo riders broke away. I tried to bridge the gap and encourage other teams to form a paceline, but there wasn’t much cooperation, and we started the climb at least two minutes behind.

George surged at the base of the climb, and then I attacked, hoping to split the field and reduce the gap to the breakaway. At this point, George was dropped and shifted his focus to pursuing stage results in the remaining days.

In hindsight, I expended too much energy in the second half of the race—attempting to bridge to the breakaway on the false flat, pacing the shallow 5% climb, and taking more pulls than anyone else on the rolling terrain to the finish.

By the final five-minute roller, I was really struggling and nearly got dropped from the group. There were a series of attacks on the fast run-in to the finish, and I was caught behind a split, finishing 19 seconds behind the solo winner who managed to stay away from the original breakaway. With bonus seconds at the finish, I ended up 29 seconds down on GC, closely grouped with about 15 others.

Stage 2 - Baker City Time Trial

Written by George. I cracked hard on the first stage, so I was a bit nervous going into the TT as I didn’t know if I had the legs to really be competitive. Unlike Henry, I was already out of GC contention, but I still decided to ride all-out for the TT as practice for future stage races. My strategy was to pace the uphill really hard, so my legs would feel dead at the top. 

I used the first two miles of the course, before the road started pitching up, to see how my legs were feeling. I felt good, so I increased the power by about 10W once I started going uphill. This increase in power meant I slowly started to feel worse, but I was flying and I knew I just had to make it to the top of the hill at that power, so I pushed through. 

I was right at my limit when I crested the hill, so I knew I paced it right. I recovered a bit on the downhill, then gave everything I had left (which wasn’t much) to get to the finish. I felt completely miserable crossing the line, but a better kind of miserable than how I felt on stage 1.

After I finished, I was happy with the effort, but I didn’t think I was that fast compared to everyone else – I guessed I was in the top half but not much faster. I was quite surprised to see that I got 5th place, and less than 10 seconds behind 2nd. The winner, Jordan, was absolutely flying that day, finishing 45 seconds ahead of 2nd and almost a minute ahead of me, and he ended up going into the GC lead after this. Henry finished about a minute behind me and was 1:55 behind the lead on GC after the stage.

Stage 3 - Baker City Downtown Criterium

Written by George. The plan going into the crit was for Henry to sit in because he was close enough to contest GC, and for me to race for the stage. I felt good after my 5th place result in the TT earlier that day, but I still didn’t want to do much work in the crit because I was a bit tired from the TT and had a 50-minute climb waiting for me the next day. AV also didn’t have any obligation to take control of the race, as there were 12 people ahead of Henry on GC. Therefore, I decided to just try to get the best finish possible without really forcing a move. The course was a 1km L-shaped lap, with the start-finish straight being only 300m, but the roads were wide so it still would be a fast race.

It was really hot for this race – temperatures were in the mid-90s – so Henry and I used ice socks, and I had a full bottle with fairly dilute drink mix. I was a bit worried about how the heat would affect me after the day before, but the ice sock was helping, and after the race started I felt better than I expected. I still didn’t do much for the first 30 minutes of the race – I was mainly sitting in and learning where to move up, which was actually quite challenging with the straights being so short. The most notable thing that happened during this first half-hour was that my ice sock completely melted.

With about 10 laps to go in the race, a break of 2 went up the road, and a chase group of 2 followed shortly after. GC leader Jordan was in the first break, so I thought the group would want to chase it back, but they didn’t, and with about 3 laps to go I realized that break was going to win the race. With 2 to go, I attempted to bridge, but my legs were way more cooked than I expected – I think that after the ice sock had finished melting, my body started feeling the heat a bit more, and I didn’t realize how much it was affecting me until this bridge attempt. Therefore, this bridge attempt only lasted around half a lap, and I ended up just finishing in the middle of the main group. Jordan ended up winning the stage and extending his GC lead a few seconds, but he isn’t a climber so Henry and I figured he wouldn’t hold this lead on the final stage.

Stage 4 - Anthony Lakes Road Race

Written by Henry. The route was the reverse of the first stage, followed by a massive 12-mile climb finishing at over 7,000 feet of elevation. Given our GC placement, the main goal for the day was to conserve energy until the final climb and go for the stage win.

The group kept a moderate pace all day, a few minutes behind a breakaway of about five riders. At the base of the final climb, a hard initial surge reduced the group to about six. Niko from PenVelo paced the first 25 minutes of the climb before exploding and eventually losing about 10 minutes. 

Since everyone else in the front group was in contention for GC, I thought they would mark each other for the overall rather than ride aggressively for the stage win. This wasn’t the case, as every time I attacked, they immediately glued to my wheel. So, I quickly shifted strategies and decided to back my sprint for the finish.

We caught all the original breakaway riders and crested the top of the climb in a front group of four. Going into the descent, one rider launched an attack, and I crawled back to his wheel along with everyone else in the lead group.

After that attempt, we soft-pedaled down the descent to the final 200m slight uphill finish. The virtual GC leader, Tyler, was the first to launch his sprint. I quickly got into his draft, coming around in the final 50 meters and throwing my bike at the line. It was a super close finish, but after a few minutes we got confirmation that Tyler won the stage and I was second—so close!

George had a great ride, finishing 7th on the stage, and I moved from 13th to 6th on GC. Despite missing the stage win by a couple of inches, I’m still proud of my effort on the last climb and glad to finish off a long weekend of racing feeling stronger than at the start.

This was a super fun introduction to stage racing, and I really appreciate the support of the whole team. In particular, Roger (Nathan’s dad) was incredibly helpful in managing logistics and supporting us in the feed zones with cold bottles and ice.

Race Report: 2024 Pescadero Coastal Classic - Men’s P/1/2

Race: Pescadero Coastal Classic - Men’s P/1/2

Date: 6/15/24

AVRT Racers: Grant Miller, Nathan Martin, Andrew Ernst, Greg McCullough, Cam O’Reilly, David Domonoske, PA Laforcade

Top Result: 2nd - Nathan

Course: 4 laps of this. Some short climbs on Stage Rd, a false flat up towards Haskins which is about a 7-8 minute climb, then a ripping descent before a false flat downhill to the start, finishing the last lap on the climb.

Nutrition: 3 bottles of mix, 4 gels

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11661218210

Race Recep (written by Nathan): 

The race started strong, with Grant getting in a break with Erik from Dolce Vita on lap 1. This was a really strong move, both had the engine to make it to the end. For the rest of us, we just had to stay in the group and try to mark any dangerous bridge attempts, so that people trying to bridge would pull one of us up to Grant. A small chase group did end up going before the first climb that we were represented in.

The first time up the climb was pretty fast for first lap, I think because of the early break and second group behind it, but any part of the group that broke up on the climb was able to stitch back easily on the descent.

The chase group got caught as we hit Stage Rd for the second time, and we also saw Erik, who was with Grant, pulled over by the side of the road fixing a flat tire. We now had Grant up the road solo for potentially another 3 laps, which he could definitely do, but would be much harder than with another person.

The second time up Haskins would also be the second hardest of the whole race. Gavin would attack early on the climb trying to create some distance, but the gap was closed and then we basically just did hard above threshold the rest of the climb.

On Stage Rd the third time, some attacks went from Marcis and Gavin, again trying to make the race hard and create some separation, I went with either of them each time and the group stayed together. At this point, Grant had about 2 minutes on us before Stage, but the attacks on Stage cut his advantage down to about 50s.

The third time up Haskins was more of the same, us basically following whoever was setting a hard pace on the front, with the fatigue definitely catching up to the group as fewer people were with us at the top, but again most of the field caught back on during the descent. This hard pace would have us catch Grant on the climb. Right after the descent, Cam would get in a move that went off the front.

Cam’s move would get caught on Stage, and again some attacks would go near the end of the first Stage climb and on the second one, but at the bottom of the last Stage descent we were together, and here David put in a huge dig and built a decent solo gap on the group.

Marcis and Gavin would do most of the work on the front to bring David back. The gap would keep going out slightly, hitting about 40-50s, never quite out of sight but on some of the turns he would be temporarily out of view. Meanwhile, we were just sitting in behind and making sure we weren’t eating wind.

As we got closer to the climb, we could still see David up the road, but it looked like not quite a big enough gap, so we knew it would come down to the final climb. Grant took a big pull into the bottom of the hill, then I made sure to keep an eye on the stronger riders to go with any moves.

Right after the first turn where it kicks up, attacks started going from Miles from Voler. Quickly, the group became Miles, me, Marcis, and Gavin. My goal was to hang on as long as I could and try to give it a good kick at the end for the win, so no early attacking for me.

As we kept going up the climb, attacks going still, Miles would drop out, then Gavin, and it was me and Marcis for the end. There was a moment where he tried to put in a dig, then sat up, about 500m from the finish where I probably should have attacked, but I trusted in my sprint and sat on his wheel.

As we hit about 200m and rounded the last corner, we were both alongside each other and started our sprint. Unfortunately, I just didn’t have the legs that he did, and rolled in second.

It was a great tactical race from us, basically gave me the best shot possible and made lots of other super strong riders do a lot of work. It hurts to get so close to winning and come up short, especially with the effort the team made, but I’m proud of how we all rode regardless.

Race Report: Calaveras Time Trial

Race: 2024 Calaveras Time Trial

Date: July 13, 2024

AVRT racers: Robin Betz (writing this report), Emily Selman, Hannah Chen

Top Result: Robin 1st Merckx Women, 3rd Open Women, Hannah 2nd Merckx, Emily 1st Cat 4, 3rd Merckx

Course: 10 mile out and back with rolling hills and a 1 mile, 300 ft climb before the turnaround.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/segments/611015

Nutrition: A TT is too short for eating but I had oatmeal for breakfast, a latte, and a 200kcal bottle in between races.

Race Summary:

The day started with the womens’ Merckx category and I was the first rider. After a short warmup, I headed to the start with the intention of leaving my water bottle there, but of course I forgot to take it off my bike. At least I’d taken my front bottle cage off so the aero penalty wasn’t too bad.

I didn’t have my best legs today, so I aimed to really nail my aero position and pacing to get the most speed with what I had available. I was able to punch it up each roller and over the top, and focus on getting super aero on the downhills. [pic]

I rode the climb as hard as I could knowing that the downhill would offer a small rest opportunity, and managed to not overcook the single tricky corner on the way back. Then I counted down the miles on my bike computer and did my usual time trial thinking tricks of trying to do mental math, which I find a good distraction from the effort: “I’m 2 miles out. At 30 mph, that’s 4 min. At 20 mph, that’s 6 min. I’m going about 25mph, so only 5 min remaining! Oh, now it’s 1.5 miles remaining. How long will that take?” At Z4 heart rate that train of thought takes about 3 minutes to formulate and the finish line tent was soon in sight.

I know I’ve done a good time trial when I have to just stand over the bike, put my forearms on handlebars, and gasp and pant and try not to throw up for a few minutes. My efforts were rewarded with a win in the category!

Up next was the open category, which I’d brought my time trial bike for with a 90mm front and a rear disc wheel. I knew I should be faster than my previous run, but was also pretty tired, so again focused on making the most of what I had and keeping the best aero position possible: shoulders shrugged, chin up, and hands not death gripping the skis.

This run was a bit harder - I definitely felt the previous one in my legs and mentally was also pretty fatigued and not able to dig as deep. My power meter also was negging me the whole time since I’d forgotten to adjust it for the shorter cranks on this bike, but I ride to feel during TTs and didn’t let it get in my head.

The aero position on the TT bike is worth a lot of time, even on the hill– with 10 fewer watts I managed the same time on the climb, but since I don’t descend on this bike a lot I was actually slower on the descent due to wanting to be on the brakes to corner. Some blustery wind on the way back was a bit stressful but at least distracted me from the effort.

I ended up with the 3rd fastest time overall and was happy with it. You can’t always control how your legs are or who else shows up, but races are always an opportunity to do your very best and TTs even more so. I hope they run this course again next year because I’ll certainly be back!

Race pics by Greg Beliera

Race Report: 2024 Baker City Cycling Classic, Stage Race

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

Date: June 21st-23rd, 2024

AVRT racers: Andrea Cloarec, Nathan Martin, PA Laforcade, Cam O’Reilly

Top Results: Andrea 7th Overvall GC / 75. Nathan 8th

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11723508387/overview

Nutrition: Safeway Deli bar for lunch and dinner, cookies for breakfast!
A lot of Malto and gels during the race.

We went to baker city with Cam, PA and Nathan. With Nathan being the winner from last year. Lots of big teams with many riders, so we had to be very attentive on everyday.

Stage 1 - Road race:

First part was pretty flat, then the last 30 miles with 3 climbs of around 10 minutes and 2 times 5 minutes.A small break went early but never too dangerous. Once the peloton pushed the pace on a small ramp and catching the break, I moved up as I was seeing strong teams also moving up.Quickly after 2 guys went, I followed. After a few minutes I looked around me. We were a break of 8, with all the good teams, a good gap on the peloton already, and rotating well.We kept working well until the first climb, and we heard we had a 3min40 gap.On the first climb, 2 guys went as I couldn't follow (450w for 10 minutes was too ambitious to try to stick!). These two guys finished the overall GC 1-2.

I found myself with a Team California guy, and Matt from TMB.
We finished the stage together, Matt taking the sprint for 3rd. I finished 4th.

Stage 2 - TT, 13 miles:

I road it the day before, I knew it would be fast and I expected it to be 25min.
So I set my power at 400w, trying to be as aero as possible. I managed to pace it well, quickly catching the Team California boy who left 30 seconds before me. So I knew I was moving correctly.

I finished in 4th position on the day, 11 seconds behind the winner. Who also won the day 1, and did this tt on a road bike. I was 3rd on GC after this. And Nathan 7th.

Stage 3 - Crit :

Job was for PA to chase a result. Cam, Nathan and me just chilling and finishing in the pack, saving energy.
So PA was alone facing organized teams with many riders. He stayed in good position during the hour, but unfortunately couldn't catch the good train on the last lap and finished 16th/74. TMB controlled the full race with Eamon winning this.

Stage 4 - Queen stage:

The reverse of stage 1 with a long 12 miles climb to finish the day.

So it was a rolling start with some small climbs. We were expecting a break to go to try to attack the GC. So PA stayed ahead, following several attacks. Good thing he kept following as a very good break got formed with 2 tmb, Jackson and Chris, and with Kent Ross from Expeditors, certainly the main favorite for the climb. POA, the team of the leader, had to chase the full day using their 8 guys, as the break with PA did an amazing job setting a hard pace.We stayed in the peloton with Cam and Nathan trying to ride effectively, fueling well to arrive fresh for the final climb.
As we started it, we were just 40 seconds behind the break. Thanks to POA who worked crazy hard the full day.

From the first percentage of the climb, Nathan sent it. Tim from TMB quickly followed. As I was feeling good, I went with them. So we were 3, we quickly caught all the guys from the break. With PA giving us a very nice pull when we passed him, with his last resources, Thank you PA! 😂
Only Kent Ross was ahead.

A group of 6 guys, with the main GC contenders caught us. So we were 9 climbing, trying to chase Kent Ross.
Unfortunately the pace was quite hard, Tim from Tmb dropped, another guy did too. Then it was Nathan and me to have to drop and pace it correctly.

Finally we finished 9th and 10th on the day, 2 minutes behind the main group.

Overall GC:

Nathan finished 8th overall, and I finished 7th, just seconds separating us.

Considering the depth and the level of this year's field, it was still an ok result, the 6 guys ahead of us being all renown bike racers, pro of semi pro.

Very nice weekend here in Baker City, Oregon.

And huge thanks to Roger, Nathan’s dad, for helping us one more time!

Race Report: 2024 Calaveras TT - Men's P12

Race: 2024 Calaveras TT - Men's P12

Date: July 13th, 2024

AVRT racers: Andrea Cloarec, Grant Miller

Top Results: Andrea (1/6)

Course: 10 miles out and back with a small 3’ climb, and twisty and fast descent. Quite windy on the day.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11879860425/overview

Nutrition: One caffeine gel 15min before

Race: I estimated TT would be around 20’ so I planned to go for 400W avg.
As on every TT, I started faster to get to speed with a first minute at 490W. So I could settle down for the nex 5-6’ on the flat and save energy.
After the climb and the turn around, I saw Miles Hubbard, who started just 1’ behind me and was certainly the guy to beat, more than a minute behind, so it gave me an extra motivation to keep pushing and take risks.
I did… and almost missed a turn on the descent. Lucky I saved the crash, I put back my head down and kept pushing. As I never put the time on my bike computer during TT, I just was focus to keep the power high as long as it would take until I cross the finish line.

Averaging 402W for 21’04”, I got the win with a good 33 seconds lead on the second, Miles.
Very happy with the result, and the work I’ve done on the TT recently.

Pescadero Coastal Classic- Women's 4/5 Short course

Race: Pescadero Coastal Classic - Women's Short course

Date: Saturday June 15, 2024

AVRT racers:  Hannah Chen, Kristin Hepworth, Robin Kutner, Claire MacDougall, Katie Monaghan, Emily Selman, Katarina Zgraja

Top Result: Kristin 2/3 Masters 40-44 (3/27 overall), Kat Zgraja 5/16 Cat 4 (9/27 overall), Robin Kutner 6/16 Cat 4 (10/27 overall), Emily Selman 1/1 Masters 45-49 (?/27 overall) 

Course: 1.7 laps of a loop. Race begins with a neutral rollout to Stage road, where there are two short climbs. Race then continues onto 84 for several miles before turning into the feed zone on Alpine. The race then takes another turn onto the Haskins climb, the longest climb of the race. After the climb, there is a 9 mile descent to Stage road. First 4 miles are technical with several hairpin turns, the remainder is fairly straightforward. 

Nutrition: 

Kristin: Oatmeal for breakfast, a gel from The Feed at the start line, one bottle of water with Perpetuum and one bottle with only water. 1 gel and a few gummies Hannah passed to me during the race.

Kat: Turkey sandwich for breakfast, one gel at the start line, one pack shot block gummies during the race. Two bottles with 0.5 pack LMNT + 1 scoop Tailwind carb mix each.

Recap (mixed POV from Kristin and Kat):

Kristin: All ages and categories for the women's short course raced together, so there were 27 of us. Robin, Hannah, and I were the protected riders for Alto Velo. I was racing for the master’s district championship for women’s 40-44 age group and Robin and Hannah were racing cat 4.  There were only two other racers in my field, but they both are incredibly strong and coincidentally both named Shannon (Shannon G. and Shannon P.) and were working together as an alliance.

Kat: We had discussed a tentative game plan together as a team prior to the race. As Kristin mentioned, we had our protected riders, and we also had a few competitors who we each wanted to "mark". As Kristin’s domestique, I was tasked with keeping a close eye on the two Shannons, ensuring they did not pull away from the group, to give Kristin the best chance possible to earn the district champion 40-44 title.

Kristin: The race started and was smooth and steady.  We got to Stage Rd. Shannon G, clearly working for Shannon P, picked up the pace as they tried to thin out the group. Kat and I were able to keep up with them and made sure we were close enough in case they attempted a break. We descended Stage Rd and worked our way to 84. The pace on 84 was moderate and steady with very few surges or attacks.

Kat: I was pretty nervous about trying to stay on top of both of the Shannons as I know they are both very strong, especially on climbs (as is Kristin).  The first two climbs on Stage went at a surprisingly mellow pace, and both descents were also very mellow. It seemed there was some nervousness/hesitation. Perhaps everyone was getting a feel for the course. 

Kristin: At some point on 84 I heard a crash behind me and I hoped none of the team was affected and everyone was ok, but didn’t know who went down. I found out afterwards that a few ladies on our team went down. Robin got back up and caught up to the group, but unfortunately Claire had some wounds and DNF’d.

Shannon P. (my marked competitor who won every race she entered this year) went up the first Haskins climb at a blistering pace. I stayed close to her up the climb. She was in front going into the descent, but I passed her after the first turn. I had a small gap on her but I knew that was pointless and I didn’t try to keep the gap and slowed a bit for others to catch up. It was the first time I realized that Shannon P could be vulnerable on technical descents. She and two cat 4 Sprinkles riders (who we had marked as top contenders going into the race) caught me once it flattened out on Pescadero Road. We worked together briefly, but not everyone was willing to work, so the field eventually caught up to us.

Kat: When the pace blew up on Haskins, I told Kristin I'd probably be falling off, and then just like that I was dropped by the front group. I think there were about 10 riders ahead of me once I reached the top of the climb. Based on my experience at the Berkeley RR, I had assumed that the group had split and was likely going to stay split for the rest of the race. I knew I could make up time on the descent, so I pushed super hard, passed the first follow group fairly quickly, then rode solo for the remainder of the descent to catch the front group (containing Kristin). I eventually caught up to the front group (I think about 5 riders), and then the chase group (including Hannah and Robin, who traded pulls to catch back on) caught up shortly after me. The remainder of the riders eventually caught up so we had most of the field back together again. In hindsight, I should have probably just saved my energy and waited for the main group to catch up to me, and then rode with them to catch up to the front group, but I wasn't sure during the race if they were going to catch up or not.

Kristin: On the second lap Super Sprinkles tried a few attacks that didn’t stick. Kat was my main helper who worked to protect me but many other teammates also helped protect me from the wind and took pulls on the front. (Thanks, Kat and team!) The pace was pretty chill on most parts of the course. 

Kat: The pace relaxed again, and again was not too much on either of the Stage climbs. After the second Stage climb, one of the Sprinkles riders (Rensy) picked up the pace on the descent. Finally a solid paced descent, I followed her, and Kristin was right behind me. It was fun. We did not get away from the group (I don't think we were really trying to). Between the second Stage climb and Haskins climb, Camille and Sophia from Sprinkles attacked into the headwind near the town of Pescadero, and Robin initiated a chase with Kelly (Eclipse) to bring them back. From there we were all getting set up for the final climb. Katie and myself stayed near to the front for most of this time. There was also a Sprinkles rider, but she wasn't contributing on the front (and really their team never did take the front!). 

Kristin: The race really came down to the final Haskins climb. The group was mostly together at the bottom of Haskins. I stayed on the front of the group right on Shannon Pidd’s wheel. As we headed up Haskins for the final time the group started to spread out and break up. I was at the front with Shannon P and Gwen. As we reached the 1K marker I was starting to reach my limit but still managed to stay on Shannon’s wheel. Just before the 100M marker Shannon P started her sprint and a gap started to open. Gwen, who was on my wheel (but not in my race category), came around me to try to take Shannon’s wheel. Unfortunately, I took too much time to start my sprint and I was distanced. I ended up getting 2nd for the masters district championships and 3rd overall.

Kat: We all knew what was going to happen going into the final climb. My goal was just to keep up as much as possible with this front group. Kelly attacked fairly early, before Haskins actually started. I couldn't keep up with this attack, and grinded out the rest of the race as much as I could. Kelly was ultimately caught (she later said that she made a mistake and attacked too early, and burned her matches before the finish line). Kristin is so strong, and I am super impressed at her pace on these hilly races! I'm excited for us to try some different tactics in the future to get a win over some of these dominating riders.

Kristin: In hindsight, I wish Kat and I would have tried to break away on the 2nd Stage Rd descent to get away from Shannon. I also plan to work on my sprint/kick for next season. This race was so fun for me. The team was really awesome and supportive. I feel fortunate to be part of this team of women. I’m already looking forward to next year's Pescadero Road Race.

Race Report: 2024 Sand City Crit - Women’s 4/N

Race: 2024 Sand City Crit - Women’s 4/N

Date: July 7, 2024

AVRT racers: Hannah Chen

Top Result: 2nd/9 overall

Course: Approx 1km, 10 corner loop with beautiful murals as backdrop. Road conditions and weather were great - an escape from the heat wave!  There is a short hill (max 9%) after turn 3. I found positions could be gained at (1) the start/finish straight, (2) the hill, and (4) taking good turns on the short block after the headwind section. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/segments/32745702 

Nutrition: oatmeal for breakfast, 1 gu at the start. Sip of water during the race, but wasn’t necessary.

Race Summary

The women’s 4/N race was combined with Women 35+ 1/2/3, but scored separately. It was also the first race of the day at 8am, so I was able to warm up on the course and practice my cornering lines. It was mostly singletons; the only team represented was Eclipse with Stephanie and Suzzette.

The race started and I had trouble clipping in. Stephanie led at the front and I settled into the back of the pack. It was a pretty chill pace. Being in the back really sucked though and I was frustrated: got stuck with bad lines and people slowing on the hill really killed your momentum.

About 5 laps in, I was fed up and attacked on the start/finish straight. I had a gap for a lap and Stephanie bridged up to me. We probably had a gap for another lap but it was a prime lap, and she sped past me on the final straight for the prime. She wouldn’t take a pull after that and the field caught back up.

The remainder of the race was straightforward. We kept the race at a decent pace and it was the same few people vying for the front positions. I realized I could conserve energy midpack for most of the race but then gain positions by zooming up the hill (thanks Egan rides!), putting me at the front to pick my lines on the downhill and backside of the course. I tried a couple more times to attack but Stephanie was always on my wheel. However, I was able to surge for a prime lap and won a box of bonk breaker bars :) salted caramel and peanut butter flavor, yum!

With 2 laps to go, Stephanie made her move. I wasn’t expecting it and was behind Suzzette at that time. I hesitated. Should I chase Stehanie or draft Suzzette, since Suzzette was chasing her teammate? From my attack earlier in the race I wasn’t confident I could max out for two whole laps… At the hill on the last lap, she was only 8 seconds ahead. I pushed as hard as I could and even clipped my pedal on two corners(!), but it wasn’t enough to catch her. In hindsight, I should’ve immediately started chasing. There was a comfortable gap between us as I crossed the finish, and another gap behind me so I didn’t even sprint.

All in all, I had a great race. I went in with a plan (try some attacks! make people suffer!) and stuck to it. While initially hesitant with pack cornering at speed, I got more confident towards the end. The weather was wonderful and the walls of art alongside the course were super picturesque. Shout out to a great race put on by Monterey Bay Racing Team - they put up soooo many barriers and had a lot of sponsor flags which made it feel so legit.

Race Report: 2024 Pescadero Coastal Classic - Men's Novice

Race: Pescadero Coastal Classic - Men's Novice

Date: Saturday, June 15, 2024

AV racers: Adam Bhavnani, Andrew Wrist, Jack Lund, Kevin Lin, Nick Fletcher, Richard Red, Yash Shahani

Top Results: Yash Shahani (3/50), Andrew Wrist (5/50), Jack Lund (6/50)

Course: 1.7 laps of a loop. Race begins with a neutral rollout to Stage road, where there are two short climbs. Race then continues onto 84 for several miles before turning into the feed zone on Alpine. The race then takes another turn onto the Haskins climb, the longest climb of the race. After the climb, there is a 9 mile descent to Stage road. First 4 miles are technical with several hairpin turns, the remainder is fairly straightforward.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11660919688

Nutrition: 1 pack of Clif Bloks and 2 bottles with carb mix.

Race Report:

7 AV members showed up for the 2024 Pescadero Coastal Classic. I wasn’t aware of any strategy amongst the AV members as I didn’t get a chance to meet up with them before the race. My personal strategy was to be one of the first riders to the start of every climb. I hoped this would compensate for my weak technical skills on the descents.

Lap 1:

The pace was fast the moment we hit Stage. Chad Whittington, a triathlete, was mostly responsible for the pace throughout the race as he was almost always leading the peloton.

On the first stage road climb, Chad had gained distance on the rest of the field. I followed closely behind him since I did not want him going off the front at the start of the race. After the first Stage road descent, Chad and I fell back into the group of riders behind us. Since we were pushing 4.5-5 W/kg on these small climbs, around half the racers were dropped. The second Stage road climb went similarly. By the end of Stage road, there was a lead group of around 15-20 riders.

Along 84, the pace slowed down significantly due to many riders feeling tired after Stage road. The slower pace meant that some riders who were dropped on Stage road found opportunities to rejoin the front group. At this point, AV members in the front group consisted of myself, Jack, Andrew, Richard, and Nick. This pace continued until the feed zone, when a very unsportsmanlike attack was launched, forcing us all to focus our efforts on not getting dropped.

A side note: before the feed zone, Adam was able to catch back up to us. Unfortunately, he ingested a bug at the feed zone (“not the feed I needed” - Adam) and had to drop out of the race afterwards.

(A piece from Adam: 

I learned a valuable lesson about working with others. 

A small group of about 8 racers, including Kevin and myself, were dropped on the second Stage Rd roller. 

On 84, we agreed to work together. The first in our paceline did a ~2 minute pull and as the second-in-line, I felt the need to reciprocate the effort. By the time we caught the front pack before the Alpine Rd turn, only 4 of us had done a turn at the front.

The smarter thing to do would have been to rotate shorter pulls - perhaps ~30s at most. That would have moved us at the same pace (or maybe faster) and left us a little fresher for the Haskins climb.)

After the feed zone, we began the first Haskins climb. During the climb, Richard was forced to stop as another rider touched wheels with him, which caused a classic low category uphill crash. Thankfully, he was able to get out safely. Andrew was up the climb before me and stuck with the front group on the descent.

On the descent, I watched at least 10 riders fly by me. I was glad that I made it up Haskins near the front as it allowed me to be slower on the descent without major repercussions. Towards the end of the technical part, Jack passed me. When the descent mellowed out, the front group had gotten back together and was slow enough for Jack and I to catch back up. Richard also chased back with a group of 3 and rejoined at the goat farm. By the end of the first lap, the front group was barely any smaller.

Lap 2:

Until Haskins, this lap was a slightly mellower version of the first. Stage road was still tough but a lot of us were worn out and the pace was slightly slower. I was also much more patient this lap as I knew Chad would definitely not be able to get off the front successfully. 

On 84, I was caught behind a rider who had nearly caused two crashes. To get away from him, I moved up in the group and hoped to find an opportunity to slot in near the front. Unfortunately, I was unable to do so and ended up eating wind for a few miles.

Later on 84, all five of us were near the front of the pack. Jack took a hard pull and the pace went up considerably.

As we reached the bottom of Haskins, the group was still the same size and I knew a race-deciding move would be made soon. Nils Hummel, a 16 year old, launched an attack up Haskins. Nils played the race smart by taking good drafts and saving his big effort for the final Haskins. None of us suspected him and none of us could match him. Andrew tried to get on Nils’ wheel, and even got close, but blew up soon after. Seeing Andrew’s effort inspired me to try and catch up. As I passed Andrew, he cheered me on, which gave me the push I needed to keep going (power of friendship). Soon, I was able to catch up to Chad and I held his wheel until the finish line where I secured a podium for AV.

Overall, I’m glad I took part in the race. I enjoyed racing with fellow AV members, most of whom I had not met before the race. I also learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses and look forward to improving. Good work everyone!

Race: 2024 Snelling Road Race - Women’s Cat 4

Date: June 8, 2024

AVRT racers: Emily Selman

Top Result: Emily (2/4)

Course: A 12 mile loop with several rollers and decent pavement until the back half of the course, which was very bumpy and had gravel on some turns. Excepted hot weather but didn’t heat up until we finished. 

Nutrition:  Gel at the start, two bottles of Skratch plus 30g malto. One bottle of water from Cam at the feed zone on lap 4.

Recap:  Only 4 women came for this race: Lily Sander (who got 2nd behind Kristin at BHRR), Elisia Varner, and a woman from Elk Grove. At the start, Lily’s dad kept asking if Kristin was coming and casually said “Lily wants to win one Cat 4 before she upgrades,” so I had my motivation. Lap 1 Elisia took the front and pulled at a steady pace so we all let her. When we turned onto lap 2, no one wanted to pull and we were just riding slowly 4-wide on the road, so at the first hill, I gunned it a little to see who could follow. I then pulled up front that 2nd lap, pushing up the hills and attacking corners to see who got dropped. Also got stung on my leg by a wasp on that lap, but just kept pushing. As we turned onto the 3rd lap, I looked back and said, “Lily, it’s your turn” and she took the bait and pulled that lap. On a few rollers before the turn onto the last lap, Lily attacked and I followed, dropping the other two. We held a steady pace, trading pulls for the first part of the last lap, but Elisia was time trialing at full speed on the flat section and caught back up to us. Lily and I attacked again on the hills and dropped Elisia, then Lily put in a big attack at the final big hill and I couldn’t hold her wheel. I finished second at the line.  

Race Report: 2024 Snelling RR Men’s Cat 4

Race: Snelling Road Race - Men’s Cat 4

Date: June 8th, 2024

AVRT Racers: Clark Penado, Jack Larkin, Zack Berger

AV Club Guests: Matin Massoudi, Johannes Ferstad, Leo Lonzarich, Chris Ritchie

Top Result: Johannes Ferstad - 6th

Report Author: Clark Penado

Course: 11.7 miles of rolling farm roads with variable pavement in Snelling, CA. The final sprint is a bumpy 300m after a tight right-hand turn. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11606120914

Nutrition: 2 energy gels, 1 clif bar, 1 bottle of high carb drink mix, 1 bottle of Gatorade mixed with maltodextrin, 1 bottle of water

Event Recap: This race was rescheduled from the earlier February date due to flooding, which made the race a heater both in terms of weather and field ability. 

The race started with a neutral rollout to a bit of an uphill start, where I opted to move to the front to get a feel for the course. I tried a couple attacks during the first lap, which did not materialize into anything. Later on in the lap, I was also able to help neutralize an attack from a Specialized Sacramento rider. 

The second lap rolled into a bit more of a mellow pace, with one VeloTrap rider making a solo breakaway around halfway through the lap. Before the second to last turn of the lap, I was able to use a longer uphill to bridge up to the VeloTrap rider, but the gap only lasted until just before the end of the lap. 

Early into the third lap, a different break formed with Chris Ritchie present formed. After they built some separation, Matin and I moved to the front of the main group to disrupt any potential counters. Although there were some attempts to bridge, Chris was able to stay away throughout the third lap, as well as the majority of lap four. The fourth lap was also where Leo Lonzarich and I were able to grab a couple bottles from the feed zone. 
On lap five, the group held together, with the pace starting to pick up just after the feed zone. There were a few attacks throughout, where the field generally neutralized any attempts. This contributed to the pace gradually crescendo-ing into the last turn, where Johannes Ferstad was able to carry a good position through the final ~250m or so for our top result.

Race Report: 2024 Sea Otter Road Race - Women's 40+

Race: Sea Otter Road Race - Women's 40+

Date: Thursday, April 18, 2024

AVRT racers: Kristin Hepworth 3/8, 5/22 (overall)

Course: 5 laps of a 7-mile loop with a steep 3-minute climb at the start of every lap. After lap 4 the course turns onto Barloy Canyon Road for a final 7-minute climb that steepens to 9% in the final half mile. The full race was about 40 miles with 4,000 ft of elevation gain

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11210993176

Nutrition: Oatmeal for breakfast two hours before the race. One Ucan energy gel at the  start. One bottle of electrolytes and one bottle of water with malto.

Recap: Women’s B/C/D, collegiate, and masters categories raced together with a very early 7:00am start time. Driving over in the morning was tough. I only had enough time to warm up for about 8 minutes before I needed to get over to the start line. I was not feeling ready and warm at all.

Two of the ladies in the masters category were cat 1 and still very active racers. One was Leah who is a national champ. I knew this going into the race and was confident they would make the race really hard.

The cat 1 masters ladies positioned themselves at the front through the uphill neutral roll out and took off first and incredibly hard at the whistle. I tried so hard to keep up with them, but I was not warmed up and it was clear their watt threshold was much higher than mine. 

Shortly after the first climb, a group of 4 formed including Claire, who is also on AV, but was racing for Stanford. The four of us pacelined hard to try to catch up to the front groups for the next few laps. We lost Claire during the last lap at some point, so we were down to 3 chasing.

I positioned myself on the front going into the final turn up the 2 mile finish. My plan was to hit it hard and try to drop the other master rider I was with. I went as hard as I could while knowing I had to keep my heart and breathing at a sustainable level for 2 miles. I finished 45 seconds before the other masters racer I was pacelining with and 3 minutes behind the cat 1 masters ladies that broke away at the beginning. I got 3rd for the masters category and 5th overall. Looking back, I wish I would have warmed up to get the most out of that initial attack, and it was rewarding to hold that last climb to the finish to minimize the time lost. It was a fun race and I was glad I did it.

Race Report: 2024 Dash for Cash - W P123

Race Report: 2024 Dash for Cash - W P123

Race: Dash for Cash Critérium - Women’s P123

Date: June 1st, 2024

AVRT racers: Ari (Pascarella) Fischer, Sue Lin Holt, Steph Hart, and Chris Davis (Chris was combined with our field as a Masters racer)

Top Result: Ari (Pascarella) Fischer Cat 2nd; Chris Davis Masters 2nd

Course: An uncomplicated, .82 mile, 4-corner crit. 

Strava: https://strava.app.link/501mU4Y7iKb

Nutrition: Pre-race bottle of SiS drink mix, SiS flavor Tutti-Frutti on the line, during race half bottle of SiS drink mix.

This race was the perfect illustration of team spirit- cheering on Steph and the rest of the 3/4/5 racers, pinning each others’ numbers and warming up together pre-race with some laughs and discussion of strategy, encouragement mid race, and feeling the love and support afterwards with the sweet taste of a good result to end on a high note. 

Off the line Chris drove a hard pace. As I got my bearings and thought about positioning, I was eager for the prospect of capitalizing on my sprint for some cash (thinking I had many laps ahead to work on this execution). That was quickly squandered when on lap 2 Alex from Terun went hard after the lap sprint and, as she was my mark to follow, I tried heartfully yet fruitlessly to chase her down to get into a break together. I just could not close it down, so after a couple of laps in no man’s land (and questioning all my life choices) I let the peloton reel me back in. 

A few random riders that didn’t have teams tried to get away, but between myself, Sue Lin, Terun, and a few other riders chasing it down the group stayed together. Any attempts amongst the peloton to organize and chase down Alex were swiftly interrupted by the Terun riders in the peloton.

Then around 30-35 min into the race (with Alex out of sight), the Terun riders in the bunch launched repeated attacks, to wear down the peloton. I chased a few and then had to sit in for a while to recover, a few people got dropped, I was saved by Sue Lin chasing one of those attacks, and ultimately enough people were alternating that it stayed together (Minus Alex of course) to the end. 

Despite feeling pretty cooked, I managed to remain protected and to recover the last 10 min or so of the 60 min race, so I felt pretty good coming into the final sprint. This had a fairly long runway following the final corner, so I knew I wanted to be a few wheels back going into it. I actually sprinted from mid-pack, and used the early sprints of novice racers to lead me out before coming around and nuking myself. It was a decisive field-sprint win (my speciality, apparently), and a great feeling to celebrate a podium finish with the team. 

Race Report: 2024 Sea Otter Circuit Race - Elite/A Women

Race Report: 2024 Sea Otter Circuit Race - Elite/A Women’s

Race: Sea Otter Circuit Race - Women’s Elite

Date: April 20th, 2024

AVRT racers: Ari Fischer (Pascarella)

Top Result: 9th

Course: Buttery smooth pavement on the infamous Laguna Seca Raceway featuring the thrilling “corkscrew” and a grinding climb. 2.3 miles of twisting track for multiple laps of grit and speed.  

Strava: https://strava.app.link/UyRD1hA6iKb

Nutrition: Pre-race bottle of SiS drink mix, SiS flavor Apple on the line, during race half bottle of SiS drink mix.

I rolled into this race with excitement and nerve fueled adrenaline. This would be my first race of the season after a busy start of the year traveling to Africa and then back just in time to get married (woo hoo!), so I came into this one with realistic expectations and eager to have some fun on a slippery smooth track.

In the starting corral, I cheered on fellow Alto, Velo team mates, and saw an impressive finish by Louise. I smiled and made small talk with some intimidating, fast ladies whom I’d stalked shamelessly online the night before, sizing up my competition. I again reminded myself of the serious competition, both local and international, some of these women have achieved so far this year and remind myself to focus on my personal goals: racing smart, keeping it rubber side down, sticking to the nutrition, and having fun!

The race was underway and I got to remember what that feeling of being redlined, breathing through a straw-feeling is like as we ripped up the first climb. My approach the first several laps was to get to the front of the group early on the climbs so that when I inevitably got swarmed, I could still be mid pack by the time we reached the top and started the descent. This approach worked well… at first. Then Chloe on Monarch Racing team attacked hard midway up the climb. It was everything I could do to hang on and then when she did it again on the next lap the group was severed.

There were some words of encouragement between myself and Hannah on Super Spinkles as well as a few other riders as we work together and rotated, trying to close it down to the main group. With a few laps to go, and some encouraging wooing from the sidelines, I catapulted ahead and almost shut it down only for the women in front of me to look back and give another dig up the climb, driving the pace harder, and shutting down my attempt.

I retreated back to my pack that had been rotating together well and decided I’d settled for a bit of friendly competition among our group as we narrowed towards the end of a final lap. I skipped my last few rotations, and as soon as the other ladies started to jump for the final sprint, I snuck into their slipstream before really opening it up and letting it fly to see what the legs had left. I enjoyed a cheeky field sprint finish for ninth.

Lots of smiles and laughs afterwards, beers and exploring the expo, and a fun time spectating for the rest of the weekend. It was the perfect way to kick off racing for 2024 after an exciting start to the year.

Race Report: 2024 Davis Flatlands Circuit Race - Men's P123

Race: 2024 Davis Flatlands Circuit Race - Men's P123

Date: April 7th, 2024

AVRT racers: Flo Costa, Jon Wells

Top Results: Flo (5/36)

Course: 90 min circuit race (11 laps) next to UC Davis. Pretty flat loop with one bumpy “roubaix” section with tons of potholes. The rest of the course has pretty good pavement. Main factor here is the wind; on this day it was a fast tailwind finish with some crosswind on the northern part of the course.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11131287085

Youtube: Cool video by teammate Jon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWZaXSfxjAA

Nutrition: Drink mix in the bottles and a couple gels.

Race: This was a pretty cool venue set up by the UC Davis bike team and I was excited to race this course. Obviously it was pretty flat, which meant a sprint was likely, but there weren’t a lot of teams represented which could lead to interesting dynamics. My plan for this race was to feel out the field and conserve energy in the first ⅓ before committing to a game plan. In hindsight, the lack of big teams meant I could have been more aggressive at the beginning. Speaking of teams, the main teams represented here were Dolce Vita and Voler. The main guy to watch out for was Alex Akins, who surely was the best sprinter here.

At the very start of the race, a Voler rider attacked and was followed by a Dolce rider. They managed to get a pretty good initial separation, but I wasn’t immediately concerned because we were a decent sized field and everyone was fresh. Over this first lap, the gap got bigger and bigger and was quickly over 30 seconds. No one in the field seemed super alarmed - shit.

Over the next couple laps I tried to rally people to chase, but couldn’t organize a chase. This meant the only option was to try to bridge across, hopefully with some help. So for the next few laps I would attack in the crosswind and get a small gap, only to be caught by Alex with the entire field chasing him. It was actually kind of funny, because every time Alex would attack the entire field sprinted all out to follow and otherwise would do zero work to chase the breakaway. It must’ve been tough for Alex to be so marked, but good tactics by Voler and Dolce.

Alex and I were the main protagonists, but nothing was sticking very long, and meanwhile the two breakaway riders were smoothly rotating. At some point, Jon had a really nice counter attack and nearly caught up to the leaders. Unfortunately he was chased back and I tried to counter, but the entire field kept following.

With 2 laps to go, another solo rider put in a mini attack and rolled off. This time no one chased. The field was allergic to the wind. Super frustrating. At this point, with nearly 1 lap left it looked like the break would stay away, so I reluctantly got ready to sprint. I was still feeling good, so Jon kindly agreed to help in a leadout.

A couple flyers went on the backside straightaway and Jon did a nice job keeping the pace high to not let them get away. I tried staying in the top 10 wheels, sheltered from the wind. With about 800 meters to go, Alex launched an attack into the final turns before the finish. This was the move to follow, so I put in a big dig to get on that train. At this point I was slotted in third behind a Dolce rider, who was directly behind Alex. With the tailwind finish, we took the final corners very quickly and opened up our sprints pretty far out. I managed to pass the Dolce guy and came up right behind Alex to secure 5th.

A decent result in the end, but a really frustrating race with the group dynamics. I felt really good on the day so it was tough to see the original breakaway stay away with another guy easily rolling off the front. That’s bike racing I guess. Still a fun day playing bikes, I’d definitely recommend this race.

Thanks for reading!

Race Report: 2024 Santa Cruz Classic Criterium - Men’s Cat 3

Race: Santa Cruz Classic Criterium – Men’s Cat 3

Date: March 25, 2024

AVRT racers: George Wehner

Top Result: George DNP/29

Course: 45 minutes of clockwise laps of a 3/4 mile technical course. The course begins with a tight, downhill hairpin about 150m after the start which leads into a long straight that starts narrow but gets wider. Then, there are two wide 90 degree right turns in immediate succession leading into a narrow, slightly uphill section. After this, there is an off-camber right turn with a few drain covers in it, then a 400m climb that starts at around 5% but gradually levels off going back to the start/finish. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11030417386 

Nutrition: I had a gel about 20 minutes before the race and another gel on the start line. During the race I just drank water.

Recap: I also have a YouTube video about this race which goes into a bit more detail, if people are interested: https://youtu.be/eVOH8_XVz_k?si=sx02Afx5GJOczkLG

It was actively raining in the lead-up to the race, and I was shivering on the start line. I knew this meant that this would likely lead to more separations in the field and a more attritional race. Also, I knew to be careful in the difficult corners (hairpin + final right hander) as a crash seemed likely. In hindsight, I probably should’ve backed out of this race, but this is a course that suits me quite well and my legs felt good despite racing Cat’s Hill the day before.

There were a few teams with 3 riders, but no team was big enough to take control of the race, so I wasn’t too concerned about other teams’ tactics. I didn’t have any teammates in this race, so I adopted a strategy of sitting in and conserving as much energy as possible, making sure to stay in front of any splits, and wait for the sprint against a hopefully reduced field. To do so, I tried to move up where I could do so for little energy – the easiest spot was the wide part of the straight before the two 90 degree right turns – so I could start the climb far enough up to safely sag. 

For the first 30 minutes or so, this strategy worked quite well. Aside from my own suffering due to the cold, wet weather, and a couple riders crashing in the hairpin about 20 minutes into the race, nothing too notable happened. Going into the final 8 or so laps, I felt really good, and honestly thought I could win the race if it came down to a sprint. The race was getting harder, but I still had no trouble keeping up on the climb.

With 5 laps to go, a small split opened up a few wheels ahead of me going through the start-finish line. The gap started to grow pretty quickly, so I got to the front going into the two 90 degree right-handers and started pulling them back. In the narrow section, I let two Big Orange riders (one of the 3-person teams in the race) in front of me so they would help chase, and I slotted back in. 

Immediately after this, the rider I had just slotted behind took a bad line through the off-camber right turn, slid out on a drain cover, and left me with nowhere to go but into his bike. I went over the bars and landed pretty hard on my right arm. I got up and thought about getting back in the race, but my arm was in pain so I decided against it. Free laps had just ended, so this ended my race.

Fortunately, I was unhurt aside from some scrapes and bruises. My bike seemed intact at first, then later I found a small defect inside the frame, but after Summit thoroughly checked my bike they declared it was safe to ride. My helmet took some minor damage, so I replaced it immediately. Honestly, the part of this that felt the worst wasn’t the road rash or the helmet damage, it was the fact that I had to DNF a race I honestly thought I could’ve won or at least podiumed. But that’s bike racing, I suppose.

Race Report: 2024 Sea Otter Circuit Race - Men’s A

Race: 2024 Sea Otter Circuit Race - Men’s A

Date: April 20th, 2024

AVRT racers: Flo Costa

Top Results Flo (8/43)

Course: 

45 min race (9 laps) around the Laguna Seca racing track. Each lap was 2.2 miles, featuring a 1-2 minute climb. The second half of the climb is the real kicker, with an average gradient over 8% for 1/4 mile. The corkscrew descent after the climb is incredibly fast. The wide grippy race track allowed us to consistently rip the corners above 45 mph without brakes. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11227096324/

Nutrition: Relatively short race so 1 bottle with drink mix was enough.

Race: After the race not being held in 2023 due to track repairs, I was stoked to be back on Laguna Seca for 2024. The last (and only) time I had raced this was 2022, back when I had just begun racing as a Cat 4. Now in the Elite A field, I was eager to see how I would do against this strong field who 2 years ago seemed mind-bogglingly fast.

This course suits me pretty well with a short but not too punchy climb to tired out the pure sprinters. I enjoy these repeated efforts and thought I could put together a decent sprint in the end. So, my plan was simple: stay with the group on the climb and conserve as much energy as possible for the final lap. There were a few really strong solo riders but the main teams here were Mikes Bikes, Red Truck, and Project 149.

Over the first few laps there were a lot of attacks with riders trying to breakaway. I was feeling pretty good, but I’m sure so was everyone else. This race is pretty attritional, so I stuck to my original plan to ride as steady as possible until the end. Luckily these early breaks weren’t lasting more than a lap, but once caught, they were immediately countered which made for a pretty fast race.

About midway through there were a few laps with really strong attacks on the climb that strung out and split the group. Here there was no hiding, and I had to go all out to follow the wheels while still trying not to spike my power too much. With two laps to go, it surely looked like it was going to end in a sprint as none of the breakaways were sticking. With that said, a lot of the Mikes guys were starting to look tired after attacking and chasing all day.

Entering the final lap a strong solo rider got away. Another solo guy nuked the climb and managed the bridge to the first guy, making them two up the road. The rest of the field tried to follow as we hammered up the climb in single file. This was the sprint before the sprint, and I went all out to crest the hill in the top 5 wheels.

We ripped the descent but weren’t making up a lot of ground on the guys ahead. A lot of guys were completely gassed and didn’t have many teammates left, so people were hesitant on eating wind with 1k to go. This meant it was now a race for third. I continued to surf wheels to stay in the top 5. From here it was a pretty standard sprint, with things opening up around 300 meters from the finish. I sprinted with what I had left and finished 8th overall.

I was pretty happy with the effort and result against the strong competition. Without teammates I raced pretty conservatively. It was a gamble, but this allowed me to feel pretty good in the final lap. This is one of my favorite races on the calendar and it definitely delivered.

Thanks for reading!

Race Report: Sea Otter Circuit Race – Men’s B Race Report 2024

Race: Sea Otter Circuit Race – Men’s B Race Report 2024

Date: April 20, 2024

AVRT Racers: Matt C, Maxime, Henry, Drew, Brad

Top result: 5th in men’s B general division

https://www.athlinks.com/event/36141/results/Event/1062752/Course/2407478/Division/2340424/Results

Course: Turn the burners on high for this exciting race on the famous Laguna Seca Raceway. Experience the thrill of descending the “corkscrew”, and the grind of the climb from Turn 5 to top of corkscrew. The racetrack is 2.238 mi (3.602 km) long, with a 180 ft (55 m) elevation change. This is a multiple lap event covering the time assigned to the category you are racing – categories race from 30 mins. – 60 mins.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11226554152/overview

Report written by Brad Lovegren

Nutrition: two bottles with Gatorade mix

Recap:

It was a cool, cloudy Monterey morning. I knew it would it would warm up and eventually clear, but the early parts of the race were characterized by mashed potato fog. I spotted the teammates before the start. We pinned numbers on each other and did a few minutes of warm-up. Having never done the race before, I didn’t have much of an idea of how to strategize. Thankfully Matt C provided some insight as he had done the race prior. He indicated a good spot to “send it” if you could hang in the front. I think our general strategy going in was to just survive in the front group until it was time to break it.

After getting the legs warm, we gathered at the start line only to realize we had all pinned our numbers on the wrong side. Cue the human centipede of frantic re-pinning!  With anxiety already high, this snafu just added gasoline to the fire. We were already at the back of the field which doesn’t bode well for a smooth start. It should be noted that the field combined general Men’s B, collegiate men’s, as well as some masters men’s. Altogether, there were probably over 70 people on the start line.

When the gun went off, the racers hit the gas and we were off to a swift, heart-pumping start. It was a short race, only 45 minutes in length. And because of this, it was full gas from the gun. Due to the size of the field, I knew that getting close to the front would be imperative as the field was likely to break up. And I was right. I, along with a couple other AVRT guys, made way towards to the front of the field. Max, Matt and Henry seemed to all be along for the ride. The first portion of the lap served to be the perfect spot for making up positions as it was a brutal, one-two punch ramp that seemed to separate the men from the boys.

Having never done the course before, I was in for a thrilling (albeit somewhat terrifying) experience. After the climb at the beginning of the lap came a descent that practically made my eyes bleed. It was awesome – screechingly fast, yet so smooth and controllable. After the descent came a series of hairpin turns that required some technique and trust in the bike. Racers accelerated out of the turns like bandits on the loose. This served to be a real “match-burning” series of events.

The field (although strung-out) appeared to stay together for the first lap or two.  I believe one guy broke off the front towards the beginning but he was later caught. For the rest of us, it seemed that we were just trying to survive and feel out the course and our competitors. It was full gas, stem-chewing from the get-go. Slowly but surely, the steep climb and hairpin turns started creating some separation. Guys started falling off the back.

And then something major happened midway through the race. The field completely broke apart into two halves. Someone gave it the gas at the front and a large portion of the back half got left behind. Unfortunately for fellow comrades Henry and Drew, they were part of the back half. Henry recalls missing the group by a mere 5 seconds. Max, Matt, and myself were still in contention for a decent placing.

We bobbed and weaved through the course maintaining sight of the leaders. In my mind, I was just watching the minutes slowly slip away thinking when should I pounce.

It was one lap to go. Matt gave me a look and uttered some words. I knew that the time to punch it was at the steep ramp at the beginning of the lap. I gave it the beans and did 460 watts for two minutes (which after 40 minutes of full throttle racing definitely hurt). Guys fell off and the field was completely busted open.

After the climb and descent, I found myself in the front group with maybe another 10-15 guys. I was hurting after the climb and just trying to save something for the final sprint. The accelerations out of the final hairpins practically broke me, but I managed to hold a wheel. I held on to dear life and gave it all I could at the end. But by that point, I was practically dead and just had enough to hold the wheel in front of me.  Max and Matt finished shortly behind me while Henry and Drew came in after them.

It was not exactly the most organized effort team-wise, but as with a lot of these races, chaos ensues and improvisation is required.

I knew I did ok considering the size of the field was massive and I thought I was top 15 (or maybe 10 if I was lucky). But when I checked the race results, I really surprised myself. Because they scored collegiate, masters and general men’s b separately, I took 5th in the general division (out of 39)!  Max was 9th, Matt was 18th, Henry was 23rd, and Drew was 26th.

It was a thrilling, exciting endeavor and I will definitely be back next year for this one. I think with a little more organization and better number pinning, we could have optimized results. It was fun nevertheless and we all wound up doing some miles in Monterey afterwards smiling and chatting all the while.

Brad Lovegren

Race: 2024 Dash for Cash Crit - Women 3/4

Race: 2024 Dash for Cash Crit - Women 3/4

Date: June 1, 2024

AVRT racers: Steph Hart, Hannah Chen, Katie Monaghan, Rina Fujieda (guest rider)

Top Result: Steph 2/15; Hannah 4/15

Course: 0.8 mile loop through an office park in Pleasanton. The rectangle course manages to have just 3 corners (barely) with the last one a gentle sweeping bend (copied from the Men’s 2/3 recap)

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11550979366

Nutrition: Pre race coffee (Kicking Horse’s Kick Ass blend, pour over brewed at 90 degrees C with 800um grind setting)

Race Recap:

[Steph’s perspective] With a relatively few teams represented, the plan was to make the race hard from the start, and hopefully orchestrate some sort of leadout in a reduced field. For better or worse, the race got moving from the gun, with Shantalle Tupaz attacking from the start line. Helena Merck (Super Sprinkles) went with her, and by the second corner of the first lap I realized that I should probably follow the move, as Helena was by far the strongest rider in the field. We held a strong pace the first 5 minutes of the break, but realizing that Alto Velo and Super Sprinkles teammates behind were unlikely to chase, we settled into a 3 person rotation line for the remaining 35 minutes of the race. In hindsight, I probably put out a little too much effort here as I kind of wanted to save my legs for the 1/2/3 race, but riding in a break on a fast flat course is basically my favorite thing. 

With 1.5 laps to go we caught the main chase group with Hannah and Katie, and after Helena rotated off the front, I attacked hoping for some chaos with the chase group that would slow down Helena and Shantalle. My 1 minute power only got me so far, and with half a lap to go, she and the rest of the lapped chase group caught me. Hannah offered to lead me out, but we were all a little confused on what the rules were for lapped riders, so Helena and I kind of just rolled into the finish line where she outsprinted me for first. 

After this, chaos kind of ensued as it was unclear if Katie, Hannah, and the other 5 or so lapped riders had another lap to go. Hannah and Katie cranked out another fast lap, but the results were pulled from when Helena and I finished. Lessons learned- if the race organizer incentivizes lapping the field, we should probably figure out the rules before hand.