Race Report: 2026 Cat’s Hill Classic - Men’s Open 5, Open 4 & Open Collegiate 4/5
Race: 2026 Cat’s Hill Classic - Men’s Open 5, Open 4 & Open Collegiate 4/5
Date: March 21, 2026
AVRT racers: Adam Beliveau, Sam Moskal, Suhith Rajesh
Top Result: Adam Beliveau (4/21 Cat 4 & 4/50 overall)
Course: 30 minutes of a 0.90 mile 6-corner lap with a short but punchy 10% climb followed by a sweeping descent to the finish.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17806978064
Nutrition: None
Recap (written by Sam):
This race started with a bang. Unfortunately, that bang was the sound of ~5 riders hitting the pavement really hard no more than 3 seconds after the start whistle. Riders lined up about 15-wide at the start line, which was way too many as the road narrowed slightly right after the start line. We intentionally lined up on the far right-hand side to avoid any early race chaos, which sadly was prescient (hopefully everyone was okay). The field was pretty skittish for the next few minutes.
Coming into this race, both Adam and I were both feeling good. Adam came off of a 2nd place result at Land Park the prior week and continues to be in peak form (thank you Egan ride). There were no large teams represented with lots of solo riders and duos. Our strategy was to stay in the front 5-10 wheels at all times because we wanted the ability to take choice lines, especially the run-in to the hill. We executed that strategy to perfection, perhaps a little too well at times. Adam found himself on the front early & often but smartly rode within himself, allegedly at tempo on the straights and spiking up on the climbs. We kept the race at a brisk pace to keep it strung out as much as possible to avoid sketchy bunch-ups. Also, a reduced sprint favored both of us (well, maybe that’s just me, Adam can uncork a powerful sprint no matter how big the field).
Since everyone is probably wondering, I opted to small-ring the hill each lap except the last, down-shifting right before the turn to avoid dropping my chain. It worked well for me and I felt in control the whole time. Adam went for the big ring because he’s a beast. There’s no right answer, but either way, it’s key to be in a good position to carry your momentum into the climb.
With two laps to go, Adam was back on the front and trying to conserve energy. The field started to bunch up with everyone looking at each other, so I took the opportunity to attack to give Adam some relief. With the race end in sight, I was marked shortly after and brought back within 30 seconds, but it gave Adam some much needed rest. This is a race to the last turn. Adam was in good position and sprinted for 4th, and I rolled in for 6th with a sizable gap behind me as our lead group formed a split on the last hill. Overall, we were super happy with the result and had a fun, safe, and very active race. This proved to be a great warm up for Santa Cruz the following day for at least one rider (to be continued…). Thanks for reading!