2013_05_19 Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race

Author:  Conor Collins

Mutual of Enumclaw stage race was great. I had a great TT finish of 2nd place. My Crit was good as well… finished at the rear of the lead pack, getting the same time. phew, job done… Maintaining my GC placing of 2nd.

          The most interesting was the Road Race.  I started at 9:45, 15 Minutes after the CAT 4's, and about 7 minutes after the Masters 35+. It wasn't raining, and fairly warm outside, so with a quick warm up, and signing in, it was time to ride. While lining up at the start line I was looking out for the rider with the faster GC time than me…. turns out he was a Triathlete, with very little road experience…. just somewhat fast at TT's. Once the race began, the 5's were taking their time. I'm guessing they were trying to save energy for the climb…? ha! yeah right. I took the lead right away in the Climb, and stayed like that all the way to the top, once past the turn at the top came a 1.5 - 2 mile false flat. I didn't bother to look back until that point, and I noticed it was only me, and 3 other riders that worked their butts off to catch up. Turns out it was the guy with 1st overall in the GC, the guy behind me (3rd in the GC) and another strongish climber. 

          We managed to hold our own through the decent, and through lap 2. I think at one point we had over a 4 minute lead over the rest of the "Pack." Since we knew we gained a gap significant enough to hold for the rest of the race, the pressure began to build… who was going to win?? Well… thankfully, we had the climb to come. Before then I didn't really have a tactic in mind, but one came to me right before the climb. I decided to get to the front, and push the pace… all the way up the climb. My legs were feeling great, so I kept increasing the tensions. At one point, the one sprinter of the group told me to "Hold up" or "Slow down" haha!! This is a road race pal, not a group ride. 

          At the top of the climb, I could tell my plan was working, their legs were cooked. And so were their mindsets. They kept asking me how my legs felt after pushing up the entire length of the climb… little did they know. We managed to catch the entire Master 35+ pack, and maybe even

some of the CAT 4's that were far off the back. After a rapid decent on 410, we had a fast turn and with only about 2 KM to go, everyone began looking at each other. I knew they were tired, especially when i began my own attack with 1 KM to go. They didn't even bother to respond. after the final turn, the sprinter attempted to catch me, but I managed to cross the line 1st for the Cat 5's. Overall in the GC 2nd place, and very pleased with the result.