Race Report: 2026 Bariani Road Race - 50+ 3/4
Race: 2026 Bariani Road Race - 50+ 3/4
Date: March 15, 2026
AVRT racers: Shai Traister
Top Result: Shai Traister, 3rd of 26
Course: 20 mile lap up in YOLO county starting at the Bariani Olive Oil facility. Flat to rolling course with decent pavement throughout (especially for a NorCal RR). Main feature of the day was sustained high winds with some crazy gusts during the day which made for some gnarly crosswind sections every lap on the northern most part of the loop heading east. This resulted on a lot of time riding in the gutter…
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17737111518
Nutrition: 2 frozen bottles with skratch, 1 protein cookie, 1 SIS gel
Race Recap:
The race started fairly actively with two riders rolling off the front on the tailwind section. Nothing too dangerous, and they were quickly brought back as the group settled into a steady rhythm.
Shortly after, a Sierra Nevada rider—ranked #1 on the race predictor—launched a solo move. That definitely caught my attention, and I stayed alert expecting a reaction from the group. But it was too early, he never fully committed, no one bridged, and eventually he sat up and rejoined the field. A few more attacks followed, but nothing stuck through the rest of the first lap. Even though the pace was controlled, my legs didn’t feel great early on, so I focused on staying smooth and even tried stretching a bit on the bike to keep things loose.
Lap 2 is where things started to get interesting. A Dolce Vita rider attacked with another rider, quickly dropped him, and continued solo. At first, I thought the move came too early—especially with the brutal wind—but he kept pushing and eventually went out of sight. The group hesitated, and the gap grew.
As we came through the lap and hit the tailwind section toward the finish, the pace lulled a bit as riders took advantage of the wind to recover. I decided to attack—either to bridge or at least to lift the pace and bring the gap down. I didn’t get separation, but I did manage to string the field out and keep things moving (see picture).
Lap 3 became a chase. I tried to organize the group, yelling for people to rotate and stop attacking so we could bring the break back efficiently. It worked to some extent, but there were still riders sitting in, and others unwilling to pull because of it. It took some effort, but eventually, we closed the gap to a Dolce Vita rider—only to realize it wasn’t the rider from our field which was still ahead. We kept working and brought him back as well.
With about 10 miles to go, the race really picked up. Every climb was ridden at full gas, and the group started thinning out. I made a point to stay near the front to avoid getting caught behind splits. At one point, Adam (former AltoVelo, now SJBC) asked if I had a gel, and I handed him one—small moment, but cool to still help out mid-race.
Another rider got a small gap, but we never let him out of sight and brought him back on one of the climbs. From there, it was clear the race would be decided on the final climbs and the sprint.
Finale
On the final climbs, Adam launched a strong move, but the group responded quickly and stayed together. Heading into the final turn onto the tailwind finishing straight, the Sierra Nevada rider was first, and I was in a great position in 2nd wheel.
As we approached the turn, there was a car coming from the finish direction, which disrupted things slightly. Whether it was that or just a lapse in focus, I lost the wheel coming through the turn and opened a small gap.
I launched my sprint, but after 60 miles battling the wind, there wasn’t much left. The gap stayed just out of reach. With about 50 feet to go, I realized I wouldn’t close it and glanced back over my left shoulder—right as another rider came up on my right and passed me. Tried to react but it was too late.
I rolled in for 3rd place.
Takeaways:
Strong positioning throughout the final lap kept me in contention
Need sharper focus in the final moments - Stay fully locked in during the finishing sprint
Don’t look back—ride all the way through the line
