Race Report: 2026 Mt Diablo Challenge - Women

Race: 2026 Mt Diablo Challenge

Date: Sunday, October 4, 2026

AVRT racers: Louise Thomas, Sandy Veillette

Top results:

• Alto Velo: 1st co-ed team

• Louise: 1:00:35 - 6/126 female, 2/29 age group (top step of the age group podium, since the age group winner took 3rd overall)

• Sandy: 01:06:52 - 14/126 female, 2/18 age group

Course: 11 miles, ~3300 ft hill climb. Some chaotic rollers to start with, a draftable section in the middle, and finishing with a 15-20% wall. Unpleasantly hot at the top. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/20450913040

Nutrition: 1 bottle of malto/fructose mix before the climb and 1 during it

Recap: 

[Louise]: This was my third time doing the Diablo Challenge, and I thought this would finally be the year I’d get sub-hour. With Claude’s help, I’d worked out a pacing strategy for the climb, split into five sections, and was feeling pretty good about it. But as with any race, things don’t always go to plan.

The first section had some rollers that I probably went too hard on in the initial excitement (rookie TT mistake), but after that things settled down. For the first half of the climb, it was mostly just me and AV club member Martin working together. He pulled me through the flat middle section (much appreciated!), but eased off a bit after the junction, leaving me on my own for the top part of the climb.

By that point, the heat and wind were picking up, and I was struggling to hit the power numbers I’d been aiming for. Still, one hour seemed within reach. Going into the final mile, I knew it was going to be close, but I was also pretty much at my limit, with my heart rate pushing 200 bpm. In the end, I couldn’t quite get there, finishing in 1:00:35. I guess that just means I’ll have to come back and try again next year!

Missed goal aside, it was a great day out. The event is really well run, and it’s a rare chance to ride Diablo with no cars. It was also nice to see so many Alto Velo members out there, with special mentions to Simon for climbing on a Brompton, Jack and Gina for riding a tandem, and Dirk for taking lots of photos. To top it off, AV took home the fastest co-ed team award!