The weather forecast for the Shasta Gravel Hugger was heavy snowfall, however I remained optimistic since I drove south for ten hours to California for the race. The morning of the race around six inches of snow accumulated on the ground and that kicked up the pre-race nerves and made me regret my decision of running gravel slicks.
The race got going on a very wet road with heavy snowfall coming down, but these wet and cold conditions felt like home after lots of winter riding in Vancouver. I was riding in with the lead group of men with a few other women in the group. As soon as we hit the first gravel section attacks started going one after another and it was a bit of a shock to the legs being the first race of the season for me.
I stuck with the lead group and soon was the only women left in the group. Around 1.5 hours my decision to run slicks and a lack of experience with off road events caused me to get gapped on a slippery snowy descent and the group rolled away from me. I dug deep to get back on but the gap kept on growing, but I didn’t see anyone behind me so I settled into a comfortable low tempo pace that I could sustain for the next three-ish hours of racing.
I focused on pushing a little on the climbs, staying steady on the flats, and just trying to stay up right in the many slippery descents. The course had deep mud, snow, hail, sunshine, and some crazy headwinds which made for a super great day on the bike. I also got to enjoy some of the beautiful snowy scenery around during my many solo miles. I ended up holding my lead and winning by around 10 minutes. It felt great starting off the race season on the top step and I’m excited to keep the ball rolling!
