Race Report: 2025 Sea Otter Gravel 90 Men
Date: April 11, 2025
AVRT racers: Andrew Ernst
Top Result: 2/149 Overall (and 2/36 in the 30-39 AG... but I’m 29)
Course: 3 laps of ~30 miles with ~3500’ per lap. Ended up being 88 miles and about 10,000’ of elevation. Course is ~70% gravel, not very technical, but numerous areas of deep sand and a steep climb at the end of each lap to Lookout Ridge.
Nutrition: I try to eat an extra 500-1000 calories per day in the two days prior to the race. Had a bowl of cereal and pot of half caffeinated coffee the morning of the race as well as four Pop-Tarts 60-90 minutes before the race (I don’t want to be hungry in the first hour). During the race I had 10 SiS gels, 2 bottles with 75g carb each, and a 2L hydration pack with plain water. Total 3700 calories between breakfast and nutrition during the race.
Bike: Diverge with Continental Terra Speed 45mm tires
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14149185546
Race Recap: My main goals for the day: stay upright and stay with the front group to follow the best lines through technical sections and descents.
I came into the first descent about 4th or 5th wheel which was right where I wanted to be to avoid chaos and keep the front of the race in sight. There were some sketchy sandy turns and washboard that sent bottles flying. It was so foggy that I couldn’t see much more than 50 feet ahead of me. By the end of the descent we had a group of five. I would find myself losing a few seconds on every loose turn but was able to catch back on each time at the cost of a match. I lost about 15 seconds in the singletrack section after getting stuck behind the 19-29 field, which meant another match spent before the big climb up Lookout which would mark the end of lap one. Ben Herken and Taylor Dawson easily dropped myself and the other two guys in our group up the climb.
I spent the next 10 minutes riding (and descending) at my limit and was able to catch Ben and Taylor at the bottom of the descent on lap two. We also caught the two leaders from the 19-29 race at this point and rode with them for most of the second lap. I was still getting gapped in loose corners and sandy sections which meant more matches burned, but I was able to follow more closely through the singletrack section this time. Again the climb up Lookout shattered our group. Taylor went solo for lap three to win the race by a landslide. Ben seemed to be about 1-2 minutes ahead of me. Knowing he was fast in the technical sections and I didn’t have a wheel to follow, I figured catching him would be out of the question. I settled into an easier tempo pace and didn’t take any risks. At the final feed zone, I caught Ben and we rode together to the base of Lookout. I could tell he was hurting from dehydration. I continued to ride steady the final time up Lookout, dropping Ben to finish second. I can thank my USWE hydration pack for that!
Overall I was very happy with the result. I will definitely need to practice cornering on gravel and riding through sand if I want to improve in the future. I think I may go with some bigger tires too.