Women's cat 1-2
Erin Attwell had just finished a large training block for junior track worlds before going, but gamely stepped up to do battle with Team Red Truck and the US racers. Her tt was subpar (her opinion, not mine), she made the front group of the crit but was unsure what to do with the tactics played out there, and rode strongly in the road race, just losing touch with the front group at the top 200 m of the fourth 3.5 km climb, finishing only 3 minutes down on the best of the best. The winner was national team rider Leah Gouloin of red truck. If that's what she can do tired, watch out for Switzerland in July.
Women's cat 3
Sarah Van Dam won a competitive women's cat 3 race, 3rd in the stage 1 tt, winning all the time bonuses and the finish in the criterium, as well as the stage win sprint with time bonus in the road race, to win by 4 seconds. She almost dropped the yellow jersey on the final climb, but hesitated at the top, not having the confidence to attack with only flat and downhill to the finish in junior gears.
Men's cat 3
Riley Pickrell also had a strong showing in the cat 3 men's race, with 4th in the tt, dominating the time bonus sprints in the crit before a last lap crash took him out of contention, and then second in the final road race, to end up 4th overall. The crit was a remarkable display of determination; he crashed in corner 2 of the last lap, but got up and caught all but 13 riders at the front of the bunch in the remaining 6 corners, around 900m, finishing in the same time as the winner. and in the RR, had a rear brake cable on his aero brakes pop out and rub loudly all race, dampening his confidence. When it all goes well, look out.
Also looking strong in the crit was Adam Attwell, in the top 10 for the first 1/2-2/3 of the race, moving around like a seasoned pro instead of a guy with about 3 crits to his name. Maybe a bit too strong, taking flyers and not waiting much to recover before going again. "I didn't have much jump". (No kidding; you were flogging your legs from the gun like a, ....well,.... like an Attwell.
)Ethan had a tougher day, starting well but finding the wet comers hard to move up on, losing traction, and fighting on the hard end of the front pack, until he finally cracked near the end and got pulled. (Well within the time cut for the rr though, only 1:24 down.). In the road race he flatted before the first climb, had a super slow wheel change, and dnf'd a lap later.
Boys and girls U13-u15
Boys and girls u13 and u15 rode together, to give a surprisingly large bunch. Megan Barnes (13) won the u15 girls overall with a strong tt win. Team mate Toria Kalyniuk (13) finishing third in the tt, and strong races in the crit and rr for second overall. Aedan Crocker however had a disastrous tt,,a flat on the family car putting him too late for an official result (he did ride, his estimated time showing him to be competitive.), but mercifully they gave him the time of the last placed rider. In the stage 2 crit, he showed he was in it , breaking away with one other rider and staying clear for the stage 2 crit win.
But cooler than the wins was the master class in race tactics these young riders gave in stage 3. The girls cooked up a plan to get Aedan away to make up some time. Which he did, while they soft pedalled the front of the bunch and subtly got in the way of the chase. With his break partner also strong and committed, they took 7 minutes out of the u15 boys race leader, and Aedan was vaulted into second overall, his break mate with the better tt time taking the overall.
And it didn't end there. The girls also planned to move Toria up to 2nd, by sending her clear near the top of the final climb while second overall was behind Megan. Megan gave an academy award performance of fatigue pretending to chase, allowing Toria to get enough seconds at the finish to move into 2nd. Megan took third on the stage to keep her overall lead.
Men's cat 4
Really, really great racing in men's cat 4 crit. In the crit, Ryan Wakelin attacked from the gun, spent 2 laps off the front while the bunch sorted itself out, a smart move as the field was big and fast on the wet 8 cornered course. Taro and Tomas rode the race the hard way, just at the back of the front pack, getting rubber banded every lap. They fought super hard, but eventually the braking and sprinting every one of the eight corners each lap detached them, and they lost a handful of seconds. Not representative of their huge effort. Meanwhile Ryan surfed the front 10, dodging crashes and finishing 7th. Three times riders fell directly in front of him, but his Dh MTB skills let him thread the needle. Once via a 30 metre detour into a field before jumping back on the pack.
He went on to finished 9th in the road race, for a 14th overall placing. Pretty good considering it's his second real road ace and he was a downhill mtbr until last year.
Tomas Kalyniuk rode super well, a small guy against adult cat 4 riders. In the crit in particular he clung to the front pack for lap after lap, as gaps opened in front of him and he struggled to close them. He had some revenge in the road race, staying with the lead group for all bu the last climb (3.5 km each), and finishing not far off the main group.
Taro had some confidence issues, breaking away on the first climb, deciding he didn't belong there, dropping back, then got caught behind a crash, and had to ride alone for lost of the race. When he figures out he didn't just accidentally break away on a long climb, he'll be good.
Other notes:
Thanks to the parents who drove and supported riders, including an adventurous bunch who camped through the pouring rain Friday night and Saturday, cooked, handed up water bottles, and cleaned up scrapes. Great company for Saturday dinner out too.
The organizer seems committed to women's racing. He offered separate races and/or classifications for girls and women in u13, u15, cat 4, cat 3, and cat 1-2. All had three stages, tt, crit and rr. The cat 4 field was small, but well within the reach of many on the TS women's clinic. One rider had her son (who won u13 I think) cheering for her every lap. Road trip next year?
Beautiful courses: rural, smooth flat tt course, with Mt Ranier majestically overlooking (when you can see it), a downtown crit with atmosphere and restaurants and cafes nearby (the "Mint" and "Pie Goddess" recommended), and a picturesque road course with a winding, treed, multipitch 3.5 km climb.
http://gcracingllc.com/2016-mutual-of-e ... tage-race/
