Chasing Clint

Went up to the Methow Valley this weekend to race my first stage race of the year. It was an omnium format - a points race rather than based on overall time - which was OK. Staying in a cabin by the lake at the Sun Mountain Lodge it was going to be a fine weekend no matter what.

Stage 1 - TT
The profile on the opening 10 mile TT in Mazama looked like like a sawtooth and not suitable for the pure TT bike - so it stayed in the garage. Not having too much (read zero) TT specific training at all this year I thought it was also unlikely that I'd place in the points (top 10 or within 10% of the winning time), so I just rode a tempo pace for a decent warm up to the afternoons crit. - I took top 20 or so on the TT and even passed some poor guy (might've been the same guy I saw on the Trek on my fixie the other day?). Clint Chase makes the opening salvo with a 21+ minute effort for maximum points. TT results have me as dead last with some unexplained note (whatthe? #1), when I should be mid-pack.

Stage 2 - Crit
The mid-afternoon crit in downtown Twisp was a standard 4-corner affair with a slight rise out of turn 3 to turn 4 on pretty crappy pavement (maintenance crew take note that last winter has made its mark). I got called up last and was sort of nervous that I'd get gapped before I could make up ground to the front of the group. Race started with about 50+ racers scrambling for position. Lots of testosterone showing early but things settled down into a good rhythm after a few laps. Several good attacks and counter-attacks finally saw Clint Chase get away as I was mid-way up the field. Clint has go-away stay-away power and it was soon apparent that after several unorganized chase attempts that we no longer Chasing Clint & we're all racing for 2nd place. Only a couple of guys really were working to keep the group moving - most seemed to be pretty content to settle in and not do any work. A couple of guys seemed too complacent to just enough to keep their butts in the top 5 or so without doing ever putting their face into the wind to do any work - I hate those guys! Especially when they end up just being in the way during the final sprint.

The field thinned out considerably and in the field sprint I took 7th 0r 8th (though the race results have me as 11th (whatthe? #2) for a whopping 3 points. I was very satisfied with my efforts and should've placed higher but got out of a good position on the final lap. Clint makes it 2 for 2 with maximum points for the day.

Stage 3 - RR
12:30 start for a Master's field is pretty rare and most welcome. 44 mile road race was short by comparison of all the other categories except the Women's Cat 4's (whatthe? #3). Very strong west wind on an otherwise mild afternoon. Pace was very slow early on with only a few minor attack attempts to get up the road early. These were brought back without too much effort as it was a strong power-sapping wind all by yourself. Going up the Chewuch river valley saw the wind turn into a direct cross, and some nice tactical racing was on display. Darren Pollard went up the road to give it a shot, and when the field didn't show any interest I attempted to bridge. A crash at the top of the valley climb thinned the field somewhat and shortly after that on the way down the valley I was caught with Darren dangling just ahead. The turn around came up much more quickly than expected - not at the prescribed point at the River Run Inn - and several guys overran the turnaround (whatthe? #4).

The pace picked up after the turn back up the valley road. Guys figuring the wind might be starting to take it's toll. I got gapped once but fought back on. After the turn back down the valley Clint & and a few others got away, and I thought that'd be the winning break. I fought like hell to bridge the gap and made it just prior to a short hill. Thankfully the pace slowed just a bit, but as it turned out, too slowly as we got caught by the chasing main pack. Coming back into Winthrop the road turned easterly and we had the wind at our backs for the final 10+ miles back to Twisp.

2 racers got up away and that was that. Despite a strong chase by me and a few others, the wind played in their favor. I felt pretty strong and got a gap a few times on the field but they weren't going to give me any gifts. Before I knew it the 1K to go sign came and even more quickly we were at the 200 meters sign, and I finished in the bunch, probably out of the points. Clint finished in the main pack as well and it'll be close as to the points overall as one of the guys in the break had some high standings after the TT & Crit.

For me the points ended up not being much of a........point. I was hoping to place higher in the crit. & RR but the end result doesn't have to justify my just having a fun experience. Racing in nice weather with some strong guys made for a decent weekend. My form isn't at its peak but not too shabby either - maybe just what I'm looking for if I can get back to Master's Nationals in 3 weeks. Those muscle-tension workouts with the fixie & my eldest seem to be paying dividends.

Great result for Axley teammate Shawn Ongers for taking the Men's 1/2 road race on a solo flyer for a much deserved win after working selflessly for much of the Spring races.

I think the family had a good time getting out for the weekend (first road trip for the twins), topped off by a fine Italian dinner in Leavenworth. What could be better?