Enumclaw Cat 3 Stage Race

Enumclaw Stage Race as a Cat 3

The Enumclaw Stage Race is major race on the cycling calendar and my first Cat 3 experience. I was pretty stoked to travel and race with teammate Patrick Means for the weekend before his inevitable departure to the Cat ½ category…

Saturday Morning Time Trial: We left Bham and 5:30 am to drive South to Enumclaw where 40 degrees of wet darkness awaited us. I put down 3 cups of coffee before the start of the race just to stay alert and warm. This was a 10K course which is the shortest TT course I’ve raced all year. Short courses suit me just fine as my $100 clip-on bars, aero helmet and stock wheels don’t to seem to perform quite as well as the $5000+ TT machines you see out there. No matter how hard you whip the donkey it’s not going to defeat a stallion in a drag race. However, I whipped my donkey hard over the 10K course to finish 17th out of 80…Not too bad and just 30 seconds behind the leaders. Patrick was snoozing in his time management and hit the line 30 seconds late and then got held up by the official for another 10 seconds…not a great way to start a stage race where you win a lose by a few seconds.

Saturday Evening Crit: A flat 8 corner crit in downtown Enumclaw. Imagine 2 rectangles connected at a corner. Patrick was looking for the win and after crushing the field at the Walla Walla Crit, there was little doubt that he could snag it. He was the rider to follow…

Gun goes off and we both start out in great position within the top 7 – 15 riders. The corners are going smooth and the pace is fast but not gut-wrenching. 2 laps in is the first Preem (mid race prize) of $20…Patrick nails it and I’m not too far behind. Then the storm hits. We get totally pounded by rain…POUNDED. It seemed like within a couple laps there was standing water on several of the corners and everything started to get real tense. This suited cyclocross/MTB/shitty weather rider Patrick just fine as he charged the course but for a relative newbie like myself, a wet corner causes enough angst to really destroy any shot at competing for the sprint.

I was strung out towards the back half of the field when a multi rider crash occurred just in front of me. I steered through the carnage as numerous riders picked themselves up off the ground. The front of the group was now going to be very difficult to catch. After just a couple more turns another crash on corner 8 further slowed our chase group and condemned the remaining 20 minutes to chasing. Crossing the line 41st, I was wet, cold and pretty exhausted and many riders dropped out or crashed out of the race. Patrick steamrolled to a 5th place finish and had a good shot at the win… Really wish I could have been up there but even in the nastiest conditions and with a lousy performance it was a blast to be out there.

Sunday Afternoon Road Race: 4 long laps with a good climb to shake things up. I knew Patrick and I could both do some damage on this course and was amped from the start. As usual I spent the first 2 laps jerking around in the back 1/3 of the field while the experienced rode smoothly and efficiently at the front.

There was a 3 man break up to road but nobody seemed too concerned as we started the climb which started with a steep pitch and then a false flat before a final steep portion. The pelaton stretched out in a hurry as we worked our way up. Patrick and I were among the front riders as a steady and smooth pace took us up the initial part of the climb. Once the road started to flatten out I went to the front and picked up the pace to test the strength of those around us and knowing that Patrick and I might be able to create an opportunity for ourselves. Glancing back, this was working great as a gap formed between about 10 riders and the rest of the field. Another rider, launched an attack that was tough to follow but we were both pretty determined to make this break.

The 10 of us worked hard to make the break stick and eventually got within eyeshot of the front 3 riders. Shit happens in bike racing far too often and Patrick’s weekend seemed to be filled with these moments as he was hampered by a busted a spoke. It was a brake rubbing mess but still functional and with no wheel car near us, there wasn’t a lot of choice but to ride it out and hope the friction from the rubbing didn’t increase.

Somehow, the peloton caught up to us as we hit the base of the 4th time up the hill and I was hoping they used some serious energy to do it. I drove the pace on the false flat once again as hard and steady as I could without maxing out and heard a couple guys yell “we’ve got a gap!” Soon we were right behind the 3 leaders and as we crested I looked around to find just 3 of us chasing down the lead group. Unfortunately Patrick’s wheel took a toll on his climbing and he didn’t make the break. We were inching closer to the front riders and I was pretty assed out but eventually we came together forming a strong 6 for the descent.

We absolutely charged the descent back into town for the finishing stretch. The 6 of us included the overall race leader who opted not to get tied up in a sprint. With excitement and confidence building I liked my chances for a win as we approached the final turn at full speed. I was 5th wheel and had a good line into the turn when all of a sudden the rider in front of me went down really hard and skidded across my path. The moment made me feel sick to my stomach because I wanted to fight for the win so bad but as I cruised through the line for a 4th place* finish, there was a silent satisfaction that this result was a very hard fought battle and much more of a victory then it was a defeat.

*I was actually given a 5th place finish behind the crashed rider perhaps because I should have clarified my position in the crash to the official. The road race result helped achieve 10th overall for the GC and another cycling goal accomplished!