Race Report: 2026 Santa Barbara County Road Race - Men’s E3

Race Report: 2026 Santa Barbara County Road Race - Men’s E3

Date: January 23, 2026

AVRT racers: Wil Gibb, Levi Ritter

Top Result: Wil Gibb (19/40) 

Course: A downhill neutral rollout leads to four laps of a 14-mile rectangular course (57 mi, 2,800 ft.). Rolling country roads throughout, including a short climb of about 500 feet halfway through the lap (averages about 5%, kicks up to 8%). The course ends by turning right onto a final punch - a short segment almost identical in profile to the Sand Hill Stinger (https://www.strava.com/segments/19606498).

The pavement is in good condition for all but the western road, about a five-mile stretch that is beat up and has sporadic shallow pot holes which were easily traversed on 32mm tires. The final side of the course, the eastern side, is a bit more exposed and crosswinds could be felt over the road. None of the descents are technical. 

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17165150010

Nutrition: Two bottles with 120g carbs, one gel with 50g  

Recap: Written by Wil 

The start list for this race was really strong – full of large junior and collegiate teams, as well as the recently crowned king of Old La Honda, Gavin Sherry. With just me and Levi in the race, we planned on seeing how the race would unfold. The immediate pace was very relaxed, similar to the year before. Bored and foolish, I launched an attack during a particularly slow moment. My hope was that these college kids would be kind to an older rider such as myself, and initially my gap did grow to ~2 minutes. I was able to stay away for exactly one lap, whereafter I tucked myself neatly into the back to recover and think about my questionable decision. 

The rest of the race was dictated primarily by Gavin, who clearly was trying to break apart the group on the main, short climb. Surprisingly, almost no one got dropped during these efforts, despite Gavin setting the KOM on the third out of four laps. Clearly these college students didn’t take an extended off season. 

Going into the final climb, I took the front and set a not-so-impossible pace since I almost got popped on the KOM pace of the prior lap. This worked for the first half, and then I was able to sag climb and stay in the group comfortably to finish the climb. After this, I worked my way back towards the front, because the group always got strung out during the turn to the final 4 mile stretch. I decided that, given the strength of the group, I didn’t stand a great chance going into the 90 second final finishing climb. Instead, I attacked coming out of the corner, bringing two riders with me this time. We worked well together, and quickly had enough of a gap that I was already writing the race report in my head. However, a half mile from the finish, Gavin had started to drag the peloton back, and they swarmed us right after we made the turn to the finishing climb – less than 90 seconds from glory. 

Overall, I learned a lot this race – saving my energy early could have made the final attack stick. Looking forward to see where this season takes us!

(Levi, pictured below)