Race Report: 2025 Pine Flat Road Race - Men’s P/1/2

Race: Pine Flat Road Race - Men’s P/1/2

Date: February 16th, 2025

AVRT racers: Greg McCullough, Devin Wilson, Nathan Martin, and Henry Mallon

Top Results: Henry (4/25), Nathan (5/25)

Course: The 62-mile course has about 4,500 ft of elevation gain. It starts with a rolling 26-mile out-and-back stretch overlooking Pine Flat Lake, followed by a 2-mile descent into a flat 16-mile valley. Next is an 11-mile climb that starts gradually before steepening into a key 3-mile section at 6%, with a final mile nearing 10%. A fast, non-technical 6-mile descent (interrupted by a few cattle guards) leads into the final 1-mile climb, which starts at 6% and steepens toward the finish.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/13645927827 

Nutrition: I fueled with two large bottles (1.75 L total) of homemade malto/fructose mix and two gels, totaling around 250g of carbs (~100g/hr).

Race Recap: Written by Henry. This one had a stacked startlist. CycleSport had a squad of five, including Quinn Felton, Mattheus Johnson, and Ryan Gorman. VFR brought six, with Bradley Wiggs and Victor Perez-Abela Maldonado as their top climbers. Plus, there were strong solo riders like Chaz Turmon, who’s won this race before and is now on Skyline, a UCI Continental team.

Our plan was simple: shut down early moves and set up Nathan and me to follow the big hitters on the main Wildcat climb.

The race started spicier than I expected, with teams rolling attacks on the out-and-back section. I stayed patient, trusting my teammates to cover the dangerous moves. Just before the turnaround, a strong break got away with representation from all the major teams—including Nathan for us. But our goal was to keep things together for the final climb so I’d be in contention for the finish and some upgrade points.

Right after the turnaround, Devin hit the front to keep the gap in check. He was on his gravel bike (not exactly optimal for a 30mph chase), but he put in a big pull. I took a turn, then Greg pulled through hard. Even so, no one else in our group wanted to help, and the break was packed with motivated guys who were likely gaining time. I knew I had to jump across. I wanted to wait for a slight uphill to avoid dragging passengers, but when Greg finished his pull, I couldn’t afford to wait. The bridge effort was about two to three minutes full gas—and, unfortunately, I towed a couple of riders with me. Still, I was glad I recognized the danger and made the move. Plus, it was a nice “opener” for the harder efforts to come.

Once I got across, the pace settled slightly, and it was clear this was the early selection. After the fast descent, things calmed down in the valley. One or two dangled off the front, but Nathan controlled the pace with some long pulls, keeping everything manageable. With the final climb approaching, I was feeling good.

As soon as we hit the climb, CycleSport started a leadout for Mattheus and Quinn. Nathan told me to stick right on Quinn’s wheel. There was a small battle for that spot, and eventually, I let Bradley Wiggs in rather than fight for it. Even on the relatively shallow 4% section, their pace was dropping riders. I was sitting in at around 5.5 w/kg, which felt quite hard.

Then the road pitched up to 9%, and Quinn launched. I followed, along with Bradley and Mattheus. After a couple of minutes, I knew the pace was beyond what I could sustain to the top, and when Quinn kicked again, I let the wheel go and settled in. Mattheus dropped too. By the top, I had clawed back to him, and Nathan—who had paced the climb more evenly—was rejoining us. He barely hesitated before blowing past and yelling at me to get on.

Despite briefly getting stuck behind a truck, Nathan was flying down the descent. He singlehandedly reeled in Quinn and Bradley, giving me a shot at the win instead of just going for third.

Quinn and Bradley had already dropped me once, and Mattheus is way punchier than I am in a finish like this. I still gave it everything, especially after Nathan’s massive effort, but I crossed the line fourth, with Nathan right behind in fifth.

I was a little disappointed not to capitalize on his work, but looking back, I set an all-time best power for the final two minutes. I just got beaten by stronger guys.

Still, it was fun to race with new (and old) teammates and grab my first wide P/1/2 podium. Can’t wait to come back next year and try to do one better. And in the meantime, I owe Nathan some wicked pulls in an upcoming race.

Thanks for reading!

—Henry