Finally Getting To The Front

5th place may not be winning the race, but it sure feels like it to me. I love the analogy of racing commonly being referred to as a puzzle. That is exactly what racing feels like, especially in gravel.

Riders get to choose their own equipment, feed zones become a part of tactics, the courses can greatly vary in terrain, and generally, it’s every person for themselves. A gravel racer has to have the tactical mind of a road racer but the technical skills of a mountain biker. Trying to put together a good result at a gravel race calls upon your ability to put together all of the pieces of the puzzle on the day of the race. 

To continue this analogy, during this first year of gravel racing, I’ve figured out most of these puzzle pieces fairly quickly, such as how to utilize feed zones, bike setup, and nutrition.

The biggest piece I’ve been missing has been positioning during the neutral rollout. After reflecting on my previous races this year, I realized I lacked comfort in racing in a pack, aggression to force my way up, understanding of how the “ washing machine effect” works, and confidence that I belong up front.

With all of this racing experience this year, I felt much more confident going into Truckee. My overarching goal was to just make it into the front group because, this time, I felt like I could actually do it.  

I got to the start line early and lined up at the front, which was key in getting in a good position. The first selection point was 7 miles up the road at the first turn off into dirt. The rollout was pretty relaxed, but I made it a point to stay far to the right so I could move up at any moment.

I paid attention to everyone to see when they were starting to move up, and when they did, I did, too. On the last short climb before the dirt, I came out from 20th and made it up to 10th on the turn-off.

Once we hit the dirt, it was pure chaos for 30 minutes. We were bombing down double track with so much dust that you were practically blind, and I was riding completely out of my sea-level skin. Once we hit a flat section and the group slowed, I looked around and found myself in the front group. It felt amazing to finally make the selection for the front group after all of my other races this year. 

Shortly after, the pace quickly picked up, and over the span of an hour, our group whittled down to six people. About 1:30 hours into the race, Alex Wild attacked on the first sustained climb, and none of us could follow.

After getting blown apart on that climb, the five of us regrouped and began to work together. At that point, the adrenaline from the start of the race was beginning to wear off, and I started to feel those big efforts. Halfway through the race, we went down a long descent leading into the flat road section. I was hopeful I could regroup myself for the 2nd half of the race. However, three hours into the race, when I was taking my turns on the front, I knew I was pretty cooked by that point.

Shortly after, we returned to the dirt and began the second sustained climb. Griffin Hoppin attacked on the climb, dropping the fifth guy in our group, and then I got dropped because I had nothing left to follow. With my strategy of racing the front group at altitude, I knew one massive explosion was bound to happen. 

From there, I switched to damage control and paid attention to the power that was sustainable for the last two hours. The top of my endurance zone was all I had left, but I was so determined to get on the podium that I was willing to dig deep and keep it pinned at what I had left.

Surprisingly, I never saw 6th place until I looked over my shoulder, getting on the last bit of road two miles from the finish. I saw him about 15 seconds behind me and put in a final dig to ensure he didn’t catch me. I looked over my shoulder afterward, and he was nowhere in sight. I looked back in front of me and crossed the finish line in 5th. 

For this race, I ran my usual crux set-up, but this time with 47 Pathfinder tires and road pedals. Most of the course was on gravel, so I wanted to try running the biggest tires I could fit on my crux. These are now my new default tires! They offer much better handling, comfort, and resistance against flats.

I also started with all of my carbohydrates on me and decided to pick up water at the aid stations. I didn’t want to start with a pack, and the aid stations were handing out water bottles to the top 25 men and women, so I figured it was a safe bet that I would be able to grab water. I’m glad I did. It helped to be a bit lighter in the beginning, and I had no problem getting water.

My first year of racing has been an incredibly steep learning curve. Most of this year has been getting my teeth kicked in as I learn how to race my bike at the professional level. It’s been difficult, and there have been times when I felt like I wouldn’t be able to figure it out. Finally, putting together a good result means everything to me. It was the reassurance I needed to keep chasing this dream of mine.