Redemption at Sea Otter Classic: Alexey Vermuelen
By Carson Beckett
Writer, Pro Cyclist
HPT Athlete Alexey Vermeulen came to Sea Otter with a bone to pick. After a less-than-desirable result in 2023, he claimed a commanding 2nd place in the first LifeTime Grand Prix event: the Fuego XL.
After giving everyone a few days to cool off after the Sea Otter circus, Alexey wanted to share a quick recap about his event this year. Sea Otter –being the first big event and LTGP race of the season– is the event that seemingly kickstarts a season of racing and general bike industry stoke for the year.
Alexey: Sea Otter truly kicks off the racing season in my mind. From seeing friends to racing some of the best athletes in the world – as exhausting as the weekend is, I will always try to be in Monterey in April!
After two years of finishing 2nd overall in the Lifetime Grand Prix to Keegan, I want to try and put some pressure on him, but that is much easier said than done. The goal going into the Fuego XL was to win every little battle and then see what was left.
After 2023's Sea Otter Classic, I told myself it was do or die to be top 5 into the single track 1/2 a mile into the race, after that the race would begin for real.
I managed to sneak into the single track in 2nd behind Keegan and from there I focused on executing each step of my race.
As we finished up lap one I went to the front up Lookout Ridge and kept the pace up as a hard race is usually a good race for me. I stayed on top of my fueling plan and managed to get all of my bottle hand-ups.
On lap two it was more of the same, until about 10 miles to go. Keegan attacked with Matt Beers on his wheel up a sandy climb and the gaps started to open quickly. Over the top, I pulled through to solidify the gap with the three of us on a gravel road before we descended down to finish the climb up through the 2nd feed zone with about 8 miles to go. On our way up this climb, we distanced Matt Beers before dropping into singletrack which took us down to the start of the final climb. Keegan opened up a small gap that felt like it grew slowly all the way to the finish line. The final 15 minutes was an agonizing time trial backup Lookout Ridge and into Laguna Seca. I managed to keep Matt behind me to finish 2nd overall about 45 seconds back from Keegan.
Happy to walk away with a podium place and learn a lot during this marathon effort! 4 hours and 323 NP!
Alexey's Fueling Plan:
Alexey followed an intentional fueling plan for the ~4hr Fuego XL mountain bike race.
Sea Otter is probably the simplest and toughest to fuel for.
He had a lot of calories in his big "start bottle" – the bottle you get on the bike with and use in a warm-up + start the race with.
From there, the goal was 100g of carbs an hour. Starting with 1 x bottle of Skratch Labs Super High Carb drink mix and picking up another at the third feed zone. Oh yeah, and about "10 NEVERSECOND C30 gels", spaced out accordingly.
More Stats on Alexey's Ride:
Race Time: 4:01
Distance: 68 MI
Avg HR: 164
Max HR: 184
Avg Power: 256
NP: 323
Max Power: 1098
Avg Speed: 16.96 MPH
Max Speed: 51.7 MPH
Photo Credit: Avery Stumm