Last weekend PCC athlete Brenna Pauly competed in the last race of the Vancouver Island Gravel Series, the Burnt Bridge Classic. Here is her race report.
I have done a lot of gravel riding where the Burnt Bridge Classic is located but had never done a couple of the climbs there. Five kilometres into the race we hit the first major climb and I decided to ride tempo up the climb. I ended up riding away from the group and kept the momentum over the climb.
The course offered lots of variety of terrain and beautiful scenery which I was able to take in. I set a steady pace, passing riders that started in the earlier categories. With 15 kilometres to go there was a steep loose climb and rocky decent that was the last technical part of the race before six kilometres of rail trail to finish. After 70 kilometres of solo riding, I crossed the finish line winning the women’s race. It was a great day of racing for all, with many smiling faces crossing the finishing line!