7th Pro Men/Overall
169km/105mi Gravel Race Race
My Patreon:   / justinmcquerry  
Race Info: https://rattlesnakegravelgrind.bike

This was my third year at the Rattlesnake Gravel Grind, and as last year's defending champ, I had my eyes set on standing on the top step at the end of the day. This year brought a new course which included more climbing, more gravel and an overall more dynamic course, combined with a start list of some high profile gravel/road/mtb pros. I was able to preride the first decisive climb, and I knew several of the other decisive sectors later on in the race, so I had a game plan that I was confident in executing to put myself in the best possible situation.

Our lead group of ~10 riders, including Joe Laverick, Chris Mehlam, Innokenty Zavyalov, Austin Whittington, Lauren & Mat Stephens, Tyler Pearce, Justin Bolde and a few more established after the first big climb of the day. Once this group was established, we rolled together for the next few hours, with the sporadic attack or ramp up in some crosswinds, but no separation within this group.

A relatively technical double track descent was the next decisive section of the race, occurring at about ~70km to go, and crucially just a short while ahead of the last big climb. Being in a group with some VERY strong climbers, I wanted to attack this descent and use my prior course knowledge and somewhat reckless downhill abandon to put pressure on the guys. I rode this descent fast, pulling the Strava KOM's on a few segments on the descent, but smacked a rock at the bottom and flatted pretty significantly. Unfortunately, I had to stop and plug this while I watched the now lead group of 4 riders, and then the rest of the lead group roll away.

I was fumbling to fix this flat, partly because of frustration on my own accord, and partly because of my sweaty fingers, so my stop was significantly longer than it should have been. I was able to get rolling, but the plug didn't initially hold, which resulted in having to stop a few more times to air up the tire before I got to an aid station where I was able to use a compressor from the Team Tracy aid vehicle.

I was able to catch a few of the riders in my long solo chase, and finished 7th on the day, just a few seconds behind 6th place but well off the pace of the lead duo and 3rd/4th place pair. Bummer result, but the legs were there and I executed my plan, just ran out of luck. Next time!

Additionally, this is by far my favorite weekend of bikes on the calendar. The whole Sweetwater and Rattlesnake Gravel Grind community come together to put on an awesome event over multiple days with music, food, multiple rides, the race and more. I am happy to have played my small part, and I am excited to see this event continue to grow! I hope to see you out there next year! https://rattlesnakegravelgrind.bike

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0:00 Start
27:00 First Climb
44:15 Lead Group Part 1
1:01:45 Second Climb
1:06:40 Lead Group Part 2
2:38:45 Technical Descent
2:41:25 FLAT
2:45:58 Chase Part 1
4:03:00 Feed Zone Air Up
4:05:00 Chase Part 2