San Ardo Road Race W4/5
Race: San Ardo Road Race W 4/5
Date: August 15th, 2026
AVRT racers: Kathay Tousant
Top Result: 3/4
Course: 2 laps of a 23mi flat (mostly) course through the head of the Salinas Valley in southern Monterey Country. Front half of the course features most of the rolling hills to be found with a slight headwind, before coming south for the flattest tailwind return to San Ardo before finishing on a ~0.5mi slight hill. Road pavement is extremely terrible.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/19757621804
Nutrition: 2 bottles with Formula 369 carb mix
Recap:
This race was a proper test of tactics, patience, and pure grit. With only four of us in our field, we were merged at the start with the Women’s Masters group. Going into a race outnumbered 3-to-1 against a single team is always a tactical puzzle, and this one proved to be no exception!
Lap 1: The Setup & The Move Early on, the field agreed to form a double paceline to keep the tempo high. However, right after crossing the line to complete Lap 1 (of a 2-lap race), the opposition team made their move. They launched a hard attack off the front. Being on the right side of the paceline, I got boxed in on the inside and had to fight to get clear before I could even begin the chase.
Once clear, I launched a hard sprint to bridge the gap. Two of their riders immediately Latched onto my wheel. One counter-attacked, while the other stayed glued to my rear wheel to anchor any chase attempt. I spent the next 10 minutes riding at threshold trying to close down the lead rider, but doing 100% of the work while carrying a passenger isn't a sustainable formula for a finish. Knowing I’d burn all my matches, I backed off the pace to lower tempo.
Lap 2: Team Dynamics & The Rejoin With one rider off the front, the rider on my wheel naturally refused to take a single pull—classic team tactics. I tried slowing the pace right down (at one point coasting at 80 watts) to force a rotation, but she stayed firmly on my wheel. Eventually, after a few attempts to shake her, the dropped teammate and the Masters group came back up from behind to form a small group heading into the final run-in.
The Final 5 Miles & Sprint Entering the last 5 miles, it was down to myself and two riders from the same team. Having already dragged their third teammate for over 80% of the second lap, I refused to burn more matches pulling them to the line, so we played a high-stakes waiting game into the final section.
The finish kicked up on a short hill with a tight turn, my best window to make a decisive move. I launched an early attack at the base to get a head start into the climb. The move succeeded in dropping one of their riders, but the teammate who had sat on my wheel throughout the second lap managed to hold on through the turn and just came around me at the line.
Crossed the line for 3rd overall. While navigating 3-on-1 tactics and some chaotic moments in the field was frustrating, I’m proud of how I fought, trusted my instincts, and left everything on the road!