Race Report: 2024 Lake Sonoma MTB – Women’s Pro

Race: Lake Sonoma MTB – Women’s Pro

Date: April 27, 2024

AVRT racers: Kelly Brennan, Rachel Hwang

Top Result: Rachel 5th/8, Kelly 6th/8

Course: starts on a road for ~2.5 miles, then two loops in the mountains.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11278392485

Race Recap: (Rachel Hwang’s perspective)

The race was a mass start, with a 2.5 mile road climb to stretch out the herd, before bottlenecking onto the single track.  The first third of the loop was just brutal.  The climbs were insanely steep, and singletrack.  With so many people competing to get up the hill, and as it was singletrack, if one person got off their bike, most of the people following had to get off.  I was trying so hard to keep up to the people in front of me in the first two thirds of the first lap that I wasn’t even mad about getting off and walking to catch my breath. 

Anyways, it was a madhouse in the beginning of the ride and everyone was gunning up the hill on the pavement.  We hit a bottleneck as we hit the single track, and because it was so steep in many areas, we got off and walked a lot because so many people were also getting off causing a traffic jam.  I was trying to keep up with a girl and was yo-yoing for a good bit before she dropped off near the end of the first lap.  The second lap was a lot more tame as people had spread out.  It was still hard because of how punchy the climbs were.  At some point over half way past the second lap I hear “Go Rachel!” and realize Kelly is right behind me! We finish within a few minutes of each other.

This was fun but the hills were really punchy and I went too hard at the beginning and did not pace well at all.  The downhill was singletrack and had lots of brake bumps at times.

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.