Race Report: Regalado Road Race Cat 3

Date: May 30, 2026

AVRT racers: Vasyl Stokolosa, Drew Mathews

Top Result: Vasyl Stokolosa 4th

Course: 17-mile (27km) loop with mostly flat and rolling hills, featuring two railroad track crossings and punchy "gravel-ish" sections. 72 miles total

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/18719966144

Nutrition: 2 bottles with 90g carbs each, 1 caffeine gel, 4 SiS beta fuel gels (40g carbs)

Recap (written by Vasyl Stokolosa):

Small group, only 14 riders, probably because of the gravel sections. The course was mostly flat with a few rolling hills. There weren't many big teams, just Dolce Vita and Team California with three riders each.

My plan with Drew was simple: cover any breakaways and then finish with a sprint. Right from the start, a Moonshine rider attacked, and Drew followed. Then my friend Roman (who is strong on flat courses) jumped across, and I decided to go with him. I also knew the Moonshine rider was strong, and the three of us could work well together. Drew smartly dropped back to stay with the group. We rotated hard and quickly built a solid gap.

Unfortunately, on the last gravel section, the Moonshine rider dropped his chain. Despite my efforts to push him back up to speed, he couldn't continue and had to stop. Roman and I kept pushing, but eventually the group reeled us in. We decided to sit in, recover a bit, and wait for the next opportunity. The following two laps were pretty uneventful, with a few short attacks that were shut down immediately.

Before the final lap, a Team California rider attacked. It was great to see some team tactics from the young guys. We let him go, and surprisingly, no one chased. I stayed calm because I hadn't seen that rider make any significant moves this season, so I assumed he wouldn't last. That turned out to be a mistake.

As the gap grew and nobody seemed interested in chasing, my competitive ego got the better of me. I told Roman I'd work for him so he could stay sheltered and save his legs. I started chasing and, with about 20 minutes to go, finally caught the breakaway rider. We rolled toward the finish together. I had enough time to recover and was ready to give Roman a proper lead-out.

With around 300 meters to go, a Dolce Vita rider launched the sprint. I followed him, then delivered a good lead-out for Roman, who went on to win the race. I finished fourth.

Maybe I could have placed higher if I had stayed in the pack and waited for the sprint, but that's just not the kind of rider I am. I also did a bit of recruitment work, and hopefully Roman will be my teammate next season :)