Race Report: 2026 Cal Aggie Crit - Men’s Cat 5
Race: Cal Aggie Crit – Men’s Cat 5
Date: January 31, 2026
AVRT Racers: Nicolas Delecroix
Top Result: 12th / 35
Course: 40 minutes of a flat 1.09 mile loop with a chicane
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17241529772
Nutrition: A Clif Bar 45 mins before the race
Recap: Race morning was foggy and cold, and the sun showed up 10 minutes before the start. The race started slower than I expected, but the pace picked up quickly. I focused on staying in the top 10 wheels to keep safe from the accordion effect at the back and to avoid crashes.
On lap 4, right after we exited the north chicane, three riders crashed. They were right next to me, and I saw bikes flying in the air. I think a rider went into the gutter and pushed the others when trying to get out. By the next lap, doctors were already there taking care of people, and everyone looked relatively okay. I avoided contact when the crash happened, but it reminded me never to overlap wheels, just like we were taught in the Early Bird series.
I was able to stay in the top 10 and conserve energy whenever possible. As the race progressed, I started to get a good sense of when surges were typically happening. The biggest one always occurred when we hit the main straightaway going south, after the second turn past the north chicane. I felt that I had the legs to stay with them without burning matches.
Towards the middle of the race, a Super Sprinklers rider launched a solo attack. That team had two other riders stay back while it happened. I thought it was a smart way of forcing the rest of us to burn energy. Fortunately, we caught him fairly easily.
With four laps to go, I was still in the front pack. Suddenly, two Cal Poly riders attacked pretty hard. I was right behind them and didn’t see a reason to let them go, so I took the initiative to chase, with the rest of the front pack right on my wheel. After a little while, I signaled for others to take a turn, which they did. It was a nice, improvised chase alliance, and we managed to close the gap.
With two laps to go, the pace increased significantly. When we hit the final straight, I was in 5th position as the sprint started. I went as hard as possible but still got passed by seven riders to finish 12th.
Looking back, the Cal Poly chase was probably a tactical mistake on my part. I had the pack on my wheel when I initiated the chase, so I acted as the worker bee for the heavy sprinters sitting behind me. I pulled them up to the attackers, which kept them fresh. It’s not like I was protecting a teammate, being the only Alto Velo rider there. At the same time, it drained my battery quite a bit. That is probably what allowed them to swarm me in the final 200-meter sprint.
In conclusion, I had fun, didn’t crash, and learned a lot. I’ll put some focus on anaerobic capacity work to improve my sprint capabilities, and I’m looking forward to many more races with AVRT this year.