Race Report: 2026 Cantua Creek Road Race - Men’s Cat 3

Date: February 14, 2026

AVRT racers: Vasyl Stokolosa, Jack Lund, Keegan Worcester, Kevin Ash, Drew Mathews

Top Result: Vasyl Stokolosa 3rd, Jack Lund 6th

Course: 24 miles out and back on mostly flat roads with two U-turns. 78 miles total

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17399226038

Nutrition: 2 bottles 500ml (90g carbs), 2 caffeine SiS gels, 2 SiS Beta Fuel gels

Recap (written by Vasyl Stokolosa):

We came into the race expecting a chill start, everyone said it would be like a coffee ride until the final kilometer. But as soon as we hit the neutral zone, three guys attacked: one CycleSport rider and two Moonshine riders. We started rotating and kept them on a leash at about a minute. We didn’t want to catch them too soon, our plan was to keep Jack fresh for the last kilometer.

On the second lap, when some riders started skipping pulls, I stepped up with Kevin, Keegan, and Drew to keep the pace high. At the start of the third lap, Gavin from CycleSport attacked on a climb, dropping the Moonshine guys. I tried to bridge, thinking either I’d make it across or the group would come with me. After about 10 minutes, the group caught me, and we kept working. We caught one of the Moonshine riders, but the other was still two minutes up the road.

I pushed our group to pass the Cat 1–2 field, but then they passed us again, and we got neutralized. That was a mistake, since it allowed the breakaway to extend its gap. On the final U-turn, we caught one Moonshine rider, but the other was still ahead. I knew we couldn’t catch Gavin, so I focused on bringing back the second Moonshine rider. We passed another group (I believe it was the 50+ field), then they passed us, and we passed them again. An official wanted to neutralize us. I told her we had a rider up the road (he was about 20–30 seconds ahead). She said we either had to commit to the chase or slow down. I decided to chase, and we bridged across to him, leaving only Gavin ahead.

After that, I dropped back to recover, and we rode together into the final kilometer. Jack was in a good position and kept the pace high. No attacks came until the last 200 meters. With 50 meters to go, I felt good and launched my sprint, but an Everyday Heroes rider passed me near the line. I ended up second in our group and third overall.

Lesson learned: If you don’t have a strong, committed rotating group, leaving a breakaway out there too long is risky. You end up passing other categories, and the officials might neutralize you. If we were neutralized again, we would have been stuck, and the break would have finished far ahead, leaving us fighting for fourth. Looking back, we should have caught the break on the second lap when we had the chance. It’s better to catch them early, just not too early 🙂