Race Report: 2026 Regalado Road Race Men’s 4/5s

Race: Regalado Road Race Men’s 4/5s

Date: 05/30/2026

AVRT racers: Kyle Martin, Colin Vignon

Top Result: Colin (5th)

Course: 27km (17mi) loop (x3), 2hrs effort. Flat(-ish, not completely flat), very square. It would probably have been more tactical with some wind, but there wasn’t any. 2–3 mini gravel sections, unfortunately too far from the finish to have much impact. Their only impact is that they became a bottle cemetery & coyotes will find a lot of carbs there. After the gravel, one side of the square is a bit hilly (though still too far from the finish – nope, I am not frustrated). Then flat & finally slightly descending sprint that ends with a small bump.
Strava:/
Nutrition: 5am pasta before leaving (please tell my roommates I’m not crazy), 1 banana right before, 1 fruit bar during, some water. The heat demands salt, and the gravel demands strong bottle cages, unless you want to buy new bottles and/or carbon cages.

Recap (written by Colin):
The race took place in a pretty bucolic setting, and Kyle had also signed up for the 4s. So there was the prospect of racing alongside a teammate, and even though it was listed in the Excel sheet as “Flat RR,” I thought: why not? Around 20 riders—not too bad (they got the decency to regroup us with the 5s, the 5s being 3...).

For the purpose of this RR - and only for this - I have to explain that in the animal kingdom, I would classify myself as a shrimp. The shrimp's main characteristics being a lack of power on the flats – obviously – and a complete absence of tactical intelligence. But precisely because I have no brain, I figured something might still be possible. My idea: attack on the gravel section. Not sophisticated, but who knows. People might be less willing to take risks there. That idea didn't survive long after noticing there were 10 miles between the gravel and the finish line. Kyle's idea: he would attack with less than a kilometer to go and catch everyone by surprise. Either confusion gives him a chance, or he gets caught and I counter. Definitely the more sensible plan. And even though we never got to try it, I think it might actually have worked. But that required being as patient and cold-blooded as a sprinter. Do not move ‘til the very end.

Patience, unfortunately, is not one of the shrimp's defining traits.

Not really understanding why we'd race 50 miles just to do one effort on my side. And as it turned out, Kyle felt much the same. We wanted to have fun, attack, animate the race, do cyclist stuff… As a proof, refer to the picture below showcasing how well we would “stay hidden” with Kyle.

The first lap was very relaxed, however. Sometimes a bit too relaxed (as a proof, refer to the picture above highlighting that ppl would feel OK to take pictures). For those familiar with it, it occasionally resembled an Asterix banquet: people chatting, joking, and enjoying themselves. Just replace the wild boar with energy gels.
Some riders, however, took things more seriously. One rider took them VERY seriously. After losing his bottles in the first gravel section, he decided to attack every three or four minutes. Every time he was brought back after a minute or two. Then he would loudly announce, “Counter me! Counter me!”

What?
I'm convinced he'd just read some sort of Racing Rules Handbook and was eager to apply Chapter 5: “Repeated attacks eventually create a breakaway.” Unfortunately, he seemed to have skipped Chapter 1: “Keep your attacks secret.” I should mention that at this point we were still only halfway through the first lap. Still, it was entertaining. Seeing that nobody seemed interested, our hero eventually resorted to a desperate, admittedly original but somewhat inelegant tactic: he randomly pointed at a Dolce Vita rider who had done absolutely nothing and declared, “We need a breakaway—he's a sprint machine!”

Dolce Vita rider: “Shhhhh, maaaan.” To be fair, he did look suspiciously like a sprinter. And that's when the shrimp got fooled.

I decided that breaking away suddenly sounded both smarter and more fun. So I glued myself to the wheel of a rider I knew from the Cat 5 races—a man who generally preferred hills and attacking over sensible decision-making. Another shrimp ! The rest of the race consisted of short-lived attacks. The climbs were definitely too short to make much difference, but a few of us (~5/6) took turns trying. Kyle launched one move that looked promising, but nobody really committed to joining him.

Eventually our merry band reached the final lap. The last gravel section claimed one of my bottles, cut down in the prime of its life :(. That gravel section, by the way, was pretty bad, full of washboard bumps. Being lightweight, my rear wheel was doing whatever it wanted—about as stable as a flag in the wind, or a shrimp attempting an interpretive butt-dance.

Final climb: the longest of the day, roughly 30 seconds long, with 10 km to go. I briefly spoke with my old Cat 5 (now 4) acquaintance. We'd try one last attack there and see what happened. I told Kyle.

Uh-oh. He wasn't feeling it. In retrospect, that may have been a clue not to attack.

But we go anyway. We actually get a gap, with two more riders bridging across. Like 5’’. « Gap » is a bit optimistic. The move lasts about a kilometer, but nobody is willing to commit hard enough. Shame. We're now reeled back in by a group of around ten riders.

Three kilometers to go. A giant suddenly appears near the front. I don't think I'd seen him all race. Uh-oh. I should follow his wheel. Unfortunately, somebody else seems to have the exact same idea.

OH !

My old nemesis: the Masters 35 rider who beat me on the line at Winchester. I am not about to give you that wheel. What follows was one or two kilometers of two idiots on bicycles subtly shoulder-checking each other for position.

The shrimp lacking shoulders, the other guy finally gets this damn wheel. With 2 km to go I am not badly placed, maybe sixth or seventh wheel, but I'd have preferred to be further up. The road was narrow enough that passing anyone would be impossible.

One kilometer to go. The giant launches an acceleration.
Urf.
Everyone follows.
Why? Why? (legs speaking).
A blue rocket flies up the left side.
Waaaa.
Sprint.
The end.

I actually didn't finish too badly because I happened to be in the right place. Otherwise, I could just as easily have been last in that group. And unfortunately Kyle got ejected from the group because of my attack, so retrospectively not the best idea :/.

Main takeaway: I hope the few that will read this RR now want to eat seafood. I personnaly don’t like shrimps.