Race Report: Henleyville Road Race (Men's Masters 35+ 1/2/3)
Race: Henleyville Road Race - Men's Masters 35+ 1/2/3
Date: September 20, 2025
AVRT racers: Michael Matthews
Top Result: 6th Place
Course: 18 mile rectangular-ish course done four times just outside of Corning CA. Not too hot or windy. Small hill (~250 ft elevation) before the feed zone (halfway point of the lap) and otherwise flat. Rough roads in places and loose gravel in corners, but not in any critical locations.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15880105808
Nutrition: ~300g of carbs in two bottles and a gel pack. Normal breakfast and a Clif bar on the road before the race.
Event Recap: Masters 50+ 1/2/3 joined us for a field of ~15 (a small field). The 35+ field included Mark Tucker (a current Masters TT National Champ). I wish I had known that and factored it into my plan. No teammates for me, but Dolce Vita, Meteor and LaMorinda each had two. My first, and last, road race of the year. I’d spent my season doing criteriums and mountain bike racing so I had a different kind of fitness. One would think I played it conservative and saved it for a sprint in the end… I didn’t. Pace was light for the first half of lap one and then attacks started to fly but were shut down quickly. I found myself positioned well to launch one and went for it. I ended up enticing a Dolce Vita rider to join and we held a ~1 min gap at times for about a lap before Meteor and LaMorinda shut us down. I settled in and committed to following any big threats, but otherwise not forcing an attacking agenda, which I tend to do :). A few riders ended up getting dropped in the first half of the race. After Mark (Meteor) attacked and was brought back, out of a messy pack a rider attacked and I was caught out. Meteor (Mark), Dolce Vita and LaMorinda represented. PANIC, I’m alone to bridge this! Laid it all on the line to bridge that move before it got too far away but I couldn’t match the firepower and get it done. Fast forward to the end. Cramping started creeping in in the lead up to the sprint as the pace ramped and I was getting nervous that I was going to blow up. I wheel surfed until about 200m from the finish. With a metered sprint (such as to not cramp and blow it) I came in 2nd in the bunch sprint. I wish that attack hadn't gotten away without me!