Straight from the source, this is your exclusive look into what it really feels like to race a gravel bike at the elite level. In the second installment of our series, “From Matthew’s Eyes,” Argonaut Factory Racing privateer Matthew Wiebe takes us deep inside his experience at the Sea Otter Classic—where every line choice, gear shift, and ounce of grit mattered.

From Matthew’s Eyes:
Sea Otter Gravel

Bike - Argonaut GR3
Tires - 45mm Schwalbe G-One R. Should have put an RX in front.
Gearing - SRAM XPLR Transmission. 48T front, 10/46 rear.
Nutrition- MNSTRY powder and gels. The plan was to take two bottles at the start/finish and then take a dump water bottle at Feed One to cool myself off every lap.

The Sea Otter course was always going to be hard. This year we were doing three ~30 mile laps, heading back to the start /finish on the race track each time. After a quick climb out of the track we get sent down a very fast and loose ~5 mile descent, then fly out around Fort Ord on a rolling track that switches between tarmac and dirt fairly often. We hit a small single track section a few miles before the final climb up to Lookout Ridge. The Lookout Ridge climb is a big one ~3 miles with an 18% kicker to start it off. The race would be decided on this climb but only if you make it there first.

For the whole week leading up to the race I was pretty nervous about the first descent. I’m not a terrible descender but I wouldn’t classify myself as great either and the entire elite field screaming down a fast loose descent, elbow to elbow is about the worst way I could imagine starting a race. It got into my head and I let it stay there. Then I made another critical mistake before we even started - I planned my tire choice for the rest of the course thinking that I needed a fast tire over one with more grip that would have made the opening descent easier.

Race

I get lined up at the start in about the third row and am pretty happy with that. They do the call ups then send us off with a bang. The start isn’t as crazy as I was expecting, I don’t ever go full sprint, and manage to stay easily in the top third of riders heading off the track into the descent. Then it gets fast, and dusty real quick. Riders are flying around each other everywhere and you could barely see with the cloud of dust in the air. I find myself mindlessly grabbing the brakes and letting people pass - wtf is wrong - I can’t find the confidence to send it. Every time the road bent or if I felt a little slip I’d hit the brakes and let people by. I was riding scared at the worst moment and it cost me. I must have got to the bottom of the descent in 100+ place. I looked up ahead as the courses bent around the green hills and saw a lot of groups, but couldn’t even see the leaders.

I curse myself a bit and then settle in for the punishment. It was gonna be a long effort to make the front but I had confidence I could do it before the single track section in about 12 miles. I catch one group and then find an ally in Paul Voss who is also much further back than expected. We start taking turns and immediately scoop up riders, some help us, but a lot of people fall off. The whole race is a blur now - we passed a lot of people, found some more that helped us a bit and then miraculously came out of a dirt section and saw the media ATV with the lead group. We catch the back of the lead group but get stuck behind some riders that fall off the pace. Another hard effort from both of us into a big headwind and then we’re back on the front group. Paul turns to me and says “fuck, that was a long way”. 

Then we turn onto some pavement and we start sprinting down the hill toward the single track section. I give the group a small gap knowing everyone is gonna have to slam on their brakes at the entrance. That happens - I slow down a bit but then go wide around about half the group in the grass and get into a good position. The congo line starts and I’m trying to look several riders ahead to see when people are braking as we keep almost running into each other. Then all the sudden I’m on the ground hard, I slammed my hip and shoulder into the dirt, got ran over by a rider behind me and turned my bars 90 degrees. To add insult to injury my multitool also ejected itself into the bushes somewhere. After I get up and take a moment to make sure everything is OK I realize I can’t fix my bars. So I ride them like that to the end of the single track until a photographer lets me borrow a tool to straighten them. 

I’ve lost ~10 minutes at this point, my race is effectively over. My hip hurts (the one I broke last year) but it’s still working alright. I tell myself I’ll give it one more lap as hard as I can go and see if I can catch some sort of group. I do that, pass a lot of people but then get stuck in no man's land by the time I hit the single track for the second time.  The adrenaline starts to wear off after that and my hip really begins to hurt. With two big races still coming up in the next three weeks I decided to end my race.

Not the weekend I imagined or trained for and I made some mistakes before the race even started - mentally I wasn’t there for that first descent and I need to make the equipment choices that keep me confident and upright. The only good thing from the day is the legs felt pretty good before the crash - I don’t think I’ve ever made it back to the front from such a long way down before. I’ll try to think about that this week as I prepare for the Growler next weekend.