Race Report: 2026 Calaveras TT Mens Elite P/1/2

Race: 2026 Calaveras TT Mens Elite P/1/2

Date: 8/30/2026

AVRT racers: Andrew Ernst (others in Merckx category)

Top Result: Andrew Ernst – 1st 

Course: 10 mile out and back. Course heads south for 4 miles of small rollers with winds out of the west. The main climb is 1.1 miles at 4%. After the turnaround the descent is a bit twisty but safe. You then finish with the same 4 miles of light rolling hills

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/19968330303

Nutrition: Nutrition was the usual. 1000 kcal of cereal plus a pot of half-caf coffee. Pop-tarts and caffeine on the ride over to the TT. Nothing during the 20 minute effort

Recap: Who knew we should be writing reports for time trials? Apparently everyone except me. Apologies for the delays!

I’ve always loved Calaveras but I’ve historically been busy the weekend of the TT. This year I was in town and thrilled to have the opportunity to get out my TT bike and ride to a race rather than drive.

I used the ride over as a warm-up with a few threshold type efforts. The plan for the race was to start controlled, go a bit over threshold on the climb, recover on the descent, and then hold on to the finish.

Conditions were pretty decent and I thought I was feeling well. A few minutes into the effort I quickly realized I was not feeling particularly great and I would instead be focusing on staying aerodynamic using momentum. The 20 minute effort felt more like 30 but I held a good aero position which was enough to secure the win. Fortunately the big names from previous years were off in Europe.

I can’t recommend this race enough. Beautiful course, nice roads, and you can still be home for lunch.