Race Report: 2024 Copperopolis Road Race - Men’s P/1/2

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

Date: 3/30/24

AVRT Racers: Grant Miller, Nathan Martin

Top Result: 6th - Nathan

Course: 5 laps of this. Very poor pavement throughout the climb and descents on the course.

Nutrition: 4 bottles of 60g malto+20g gatorade, 3 gels

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11072056992/

Race Recep (written by Nathan): 

Our plan going in was basically to have Grant and I sit in and let the course take its toll on people. We figured we’d have decent endurance and be able to put in some attacks late to break things up further.

Lap 1 I went to the front on the climb and started doing just below threshold, mostly because the pavement was bad and I wanted to be at the front to see anything. Unfortunately, right at the top of the climb, I got a puncture, so I had to stop to plug it.

I caught back on quickly, but my tire still felt low, so I stopped again and then had to do about ten minutes at tempo since people were attacking after I stopped. A break of about 5 or 6 went during this time, Tobin Ortenblad was probably the biggest threat in the group.

The descent was fast and very bumpy. I was running 32s, but still took it quite cautiously, having to burn a bit of a match to catch back on at the bottom.

Lap 2 was more of the same, with the pace pushed on the climb a bit. Grant also suffered a puncture and stopped to grab a quick pump in the feed zone.

At the bottom of the descent and start of lap 3, Tim McBirney from Mike’s Bikes attacked, so I went with him. I just sat on his wheel, since I knew he had a teammate in the break, so me doing any work would be silly since I would be basically giving Mike’s a perfect breakaway.

On the climb, we were joined by Ryan, Gavin, and two more Mike’s riders. We rolled turns the rest of the lap.

On the lap 4 climb, Gavin started putting in some digs, which I was able to follow but my legs were definitely starting to feel it. At the top of the climb, the group was reduced to Tim, Ryan, me, and Gavin. After the climb, we started to catch some members from the original breakaway.

After the lap 4 descent and start of lap 5, Ryan started to put in some digs and I was unable to follow. I got shelled from the group as did James Yang from Dolce Vita, who was in the original break, so we worked together for the rest of the climb and on the flats at the top. He would drop me at one point on the flats, and I worked solo for the rest of the race.

Overall it was just a super grueling race. It was a good test of endurance, nutrition planning, ability to conserve energy, and mental toughness. Ultimately us each getting flats and having to chase back on didn’t help, but I think we learned a lot.

Golden State Crit and Circuit Races 2024

Race: 2024 Golden State Series Criterium - Women’s 40+ P123

Date: May 4, 2024

AVRT racers: Chris Davis

Top Result: Chris Davis (4/4 for 40+)

Course: Clockwise 0.9mi office park loop. Flat, smooth, 3+ lane road with five wide, gentle turns. Rain had stopped by the time we raced, but the roads were still very wet with puddles.

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11334665129 

Nutrition: Fluid Performance and Beet Elite Powder

Race Summary:
I signed up for this weekend a month early in hopes that it would be well attended as it usually is. The rain put a kabash on that. Turn out was super low and those that did sign up shifted back and forth from P123 to 40+. There were eight of us total, split evenly between the two fields offered (P123 and 40+). The race started out with a bang since Shannon Gaffney has plenty of bullets to shoot. Every lap or so she would attack the field with Karen from Chico quickly following. They both had signed up in the P123 so I was sure to jump on that train, hoping for a break. After about eight attacks and the last of the primes, the pack settled into conserving for the sprint since nobody could get away. My derailleur was making my chain jump in the back cogs when I applied pressure so I was nervous about standing up to sprint the whole race. Therefore, I did not even sprint for the finish and came in 8 out of 8. After the race I took my bike to VeloFix to have a look. The mechanic tried a couple of adjustments, but was obviously limited in what he could with my DI2 shifting given he was working out of a van. I took a couple of sprints afterward to see if it was better and the chain did not jump so I thought I would be good to go for Sunday’s Circuit.

Photo Credit: Greg Beliera

Race: 2024 Golden State Series Circuit - Women’s 40+ P123

Date: May 5, 2024

AVRT racers: Chris Davis

Top Result: Chris Davis (4/4 for 40+)

Course: Counter Clockwise 2.9 mi office park loop. Flat, smooth, 3+ lane road with ten wide, gentle turns and a chicane. Bright sunny day, but chilly!

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11334665129 

Nutrition: Fluid Performance and Beet Elite Powder

Yeah this was pretty much Groundhog’s Day! Same people, same time, but different course. The circuit course is fun because there are about 10 turns with a chicane. I thought it would go better for me since my bike was not skipping. I sat in and decided to try something after Shannon fired off all her shots. With just one and half laps to go, I decided to motivate Shannon while some of the Masters were having a conference. I was able to get a jump, but was chased down and my chain jumped AGAIN! So no sprinting for this race either. Therefore I came in last again, but was able to stay with the pack until the last KM. Yes, my bike is with my mechanic now. It was great seeing Hannah Chen there racing like champion!