Race Report: Cat’s Hill Criterium - Men’s Masters 35+ 1/2/3

Race: Cat’s Hill Criterium - Men’s Masters 35+ 1/2/3

Date: March 21, 2026

AVRT racers: Paul Levy

Top Result: Paul Levy 7th/26 and two primes

Course: 50 minutes of a 0.90 mile 6-corner lap with a short but punchy 10% climb followed by a sweeping descent to the finish

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/17808890337

Nutrition: Fruit snacks before the race, opted not to carry any water bottles for the race.

Recap (written by Paul Levy): I tried to race a bit aggressively today, going for a handful of primes and spending some time off the front.  Early on I went for a prime and was joined by Brian Schuster of Thirsty Bear. He let me take the prime as he was more interested in getting a break going, but we were caught shortly after that. I tried to follow a few moves over the top of the hill throughout the race but none got very far. Late in the race I went for another prime pushing up and over the hill and to my surprise by the time I got to the finish the group had all let me go and given me a several second gap. It was 6 laps to go at that point and the gap was large enough that it seemed worth committing to. I tried to meter my effort from there making sure to stay on the gas on the flats and over the top of the climb. I was spurred on by friends and AV teammates cheering me on from all around the course. For a few laps my lead grew and was up to 20 seconds or so at its peak. But once the group decided to close the gap it disappeared quickly. First one rider appeared next to me at the finish line going into the final lap. We worked together briefly, splitting a few pulls before we were caught by most of the rest of the group at the top of the hill. I was caught and passed by several riders over the top and while I was pretty gassed from my 5-lap solo effort, I had enough fight left to sprint for 7th.