POV Podium Finish at Sea Otter Gravel Race 2022 | La Gravilla M 30 -39

Описание: One of my goals for 2022 was to participate in more cycling events and races. The peak event for me was the 2022 Sea Otter Classic "La Gravilla" Gravel race hosted by Life Time Events. I had spent the leading months training as hard as I could in-between work to be mentally and physically prepared for this race. The previous year, I finished in 6th place, which was a major surprise to me as it was my first cycling race ever. So, this year my goal was to break into the top 5.

I have ridden these trails a bit and I knew the key to being successful is to not get bottlenecked on the single track. So I used all of my power off the start to try and get to the trails first. I feel like my descending skills far outweigh my climbing and and flat pace, so I made up my time on the downhills.

I am riding a OPEN U.P. Gravel bike with SRAM Force 1 group, rolling on Vittoria Terrano Wets. That tire proved to be very good in the loose sand of Fort Ord...not so great on the paved sections though.

I maintained my lead in class for almost half the race, only to be passed by my local riding buddy Pancho. I lost 2nd place on the very last climb to someonbody racing on a XC bike, which doesn't seem the most fair, but with loose rules what are you going to do.

Ultimately, I finished in P3 on the podium which was a major win for me. All of the training paid off and I got to enjoy my moment on the main stage with my friend.

We'll see if I make it back out again this year as I'm still recovering from a broken leg.