Race Report: 2026 Winchester Circuit Race Men’s 4/5

Race: Winchester Circuit Race - Men's Cat 4/5 & Masters 35+ Cat 4/5

Date: 05/09/2026

AVRT racers: Suhith Rajesh, Nicolas Delecroix, Colin Vignon

Top Result: Colin Vignon (4th), Suhith (13th), Nicolas (11th Masters)

Course: 7km loop (x4), 45’ effort. Some elevation with multiple mini-hills (rolling) + 1 long hill (2-3’ long, ~1km, with two 7 % sections).

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/18443022787

Nutrition: 1 fruit bar before, some water during

Recap (written by Colin):

Well, I did forget something else.

And yet, after the Berkeley shoes-gate, I thought I had taken the proper precautions. Put everything together in a box the day before. Mwahaha, nothing can happen to me now, did I think. I’ll call my mom, she’ll be proud. Well, my bike pump doesn’t fit in the box.

So I forgot it.

It doesn’t matter much, right? But it broke my pre-race routine (can it be a routine after 3 races?) of quickly pumping up my tires that are always a bit soft (I’m not generous with sealant), and trying to fix this damn derailleur, because since I’ve been incapable of adjusting it properly for months, obviously doing it one hour before the race is always a great idea.

Quick side note: for the lucky folks already planning to do the race next year, don’t book the motel closest to the race, because it’s also the one closest to the highway. And, as I discovered, a motel can be very close to a highway, and highways are apparently used at night here too.

End of the French-guy-complaining-about-everything segment. The race was fun!

Field of ~30 people, half Cat 4/5s and half Masters 4/5. The road surface is immaculate, not a single pothole. Better than in a cyclist’s dream. Pure perfection. Except for the golf carts that occasionally appear on the course. The first 6 km are rolling and fast, with little hills. Since they’re always followed by a descent or a flat section, nobody really wants to attack there. The last kilometer is made of one long climb, with two 7% gradient sections separated by a short flat.

We do the first lap at a relatively chill pace. Six or seven Dolce Vita riders in the peloton. Well well well, I think, interesting, maybe they’ll try something. They must have a plan, a strategy like the pros, and they seem to as they quickly move to the front. I should follow their good wheels.

Well, after half a lap, they disappear from the front, and I only see one here and there afterward. How disappointing.

The second lap gets interesting. On the final climb, I’m on the verge of getting dropped, let a 10–15 meter gap open, sit back down, and think: well, I’ll DNF and save energy for the 3/4s race right afterward. I think at this point Nicolas and Suhith get dropped too. But being very stubborn, I decide this isn’t right and claw my way back.

Third lap is slightly less intense now that the selection has been made and we’re only about a dozen left. I vaguely try to start the 1km climb at the front of the group, to impose my pace for a bit and gradually slide backward afterward. Legs aren’t great at all, they feel full of lactate. The rollers are very short, but their accumulation must have taken a toll. I’m sad.

Everything goes smoothly enough, a few small attacks here and there, and I only follow when it’s more than three riders. Until the last climb. Then things go WILD, as they sometimes do in Cat 4/5, I guess.

So here we are: 1 km to go, bottom of the final climb, still around 12 riders left. Suddenly, a guy in purple (his jersey is) must think Pogačar has reincarnated himself into each one of his legs, and launches some kind of 1000-watt sprint. My instant reactions are: 1) dude, what the hell, 2) naaah, no way this works, and 3) let’s pace this progressively. But four other guys disagree and follow him. After about 30 meters (not much more), purple guy (his face is, now – yes, that’s not nice, but that’s my legs talking, and they aren’t happy right now) explodes and starts zigzagging in slow motion. This must be what it feels like to be temporarily touched by grace. But real life had other plans. And the other guys actually keep the pace. Uh-oh, I start thinking, maybe I should have tried to bridge.

The first four guys (including a Masters rider) fly away on the flat section and sprint for the win. I’m 20–30 meters behind with a bunch of other folks. 200 meters to go, end of the flat, now we can reasonably start sprinting. One guy is ahead by a few bike lengths. 50 meters to go, I catch up. 20 meters to go, I pass him. Then I sit up. Well, there’s the Cat 3/4 race right afterward, so if I can avoid pushing too hard...

Suddenly, a piercing scream cuts through the air.

It takes me two or three seconds to realize it’s his partner cheering him on. Aware that she may have slightly underestimated her own screaming power, she keeps going, half laughing, half cheering. One meter to go, and there we are: a rocket flies past me on the right and beats me on the line. Well, second time in a row. I’m okay with that, since it’s also one of the specialties of Alaphilippe the Great. But man, next time I’m putting my mom on FaceTime at the finish line, and then we’ll see.

I guess it didn’t matter anyway, because the guy had a beard. Which, in my mind, means there’s a high probability he’s not one of the enthusiastic young Cat 4/5s, but rather a worthy Masters 35+. Which he actually was. Theory yet to be disproven.

Conclusion: I need to find a bigger box. And Winchester circuit race is fun.