Columbia Plateau race report

http://www.columbiaplateau.org/


Well I might as well get this all out while it''s still fresh and I''m still revved... Alex Wrubleski, Robin Baillie, Dan Tomczak, Brad Kerr, and Myself just recently arrived home from competing in the 3-day Columbia Plateau stage race in Oregon. Alex raced in the women''s category and the rest of us all raced PRO/1/2. The race consists of three point-to-point road races and one short uphill time trial. This race is set up and organized phenomenally with everything you can imagine being taken care of from accommodations in local schools to food, mechanics, neutral wheels and locals handing out bottles in the feed zones. I don''t think I can guess how many volunteers this race must have had but there were A LOT. Now for the parcours……

The race starts in Heppner the first day with a 120km road race ending in the small town of Ione, the day has three significant climbs ranging from 2-10 miles in length but nothing really over 5%. The second day sees 3km uphill TT in the morning followed by a tougher yet 120km road stage with twice as much climbing finishing with a FAST downhill before a couple tight turns into the finish in the town of fossil. The third and final day is defiantly the toughest course as it covers 140 km with one significant climb with 20km of switchbacks and something like a 4000ft. elevation gain. The rest of the stage consisted of a lot of downhill with a few other significant shorter climbs ending back in Heppner with a short uphill finish. Now as tough as this race seems, it is the people in attendance that usual make the race. This race has a history of being popular with the top North American mountain bike pros and this year''s event saw Roland Green (2 time world champ), Ricky Federau (Can. National champ), Chris Sheppard, Barry Wicks and Kris Sneddon in attendance. This year''s event also saw Broadmark Capital, Symmetrics, and Coastal (with Derek McMaster and Rob Britton) with strong teams, among many others.

Stage 1:

After way too much driving this first stage proved to be VERY tough on everyone. Unfortunately team Sask had some bad luck during the day but everyone worked hard and realized that it was going to be a tough tough weekend. The day started out fairly easily with the group staying intact over the first short climb before it would be shattered over the toughest climb of the day, which was 4-5 km in length and exposed to the wind. At the base of I climb I had myself positioned properly but dropped my chain shifting to my 39 and lost a lot of positions as robin pushed me as I got my chain back on. I then somehow pulled off the chase of my life and slowly climbed my way back through the blown off riders to the front group. Brad broke his chain making it over the top and would be forced to wait for the car to help him out so he could finish the stage. Robin and Dan would make it over the top in various chase groups and would work hard for the rest of the day trying to reel the lead group in. unfortunately Robin flatted just as he was about to latch back on and in turn would also have to wait for the wheel car and would have a tough day of chasing on his hands. In the lead group it settled down after the big climb, as the leaders seemed content with the damage they did. We really wouldn''t start racing hard again until the next and last climb of the day. It was completely windblown and proved to be very mentally and physically tough for me as Roland and various others really strung things out in the cross wind and it really never ended until the finish. I somehow managed to find the right wheels and positioned myself
properly so as to not get shelled and hung on in the tough winds to the finish. This was defiantly the hardest 30 minutes of racing I''ve ever done.
Near the end Roland got off the front with Dustin Mcburnie of Broadmark and they managed to stay away to the finish. The finish was after two 90 degree bends heading into town and I was able to finish 15th. Alex had a strong race with the pro women finishing 10th and really showed herself how strong she really is, as everyone else from Saskatchewan already knew what she was capable of. After we all showered and recovered we had a meal prepared for us and rested up for the next day.

Stage 2:
The uphill time trial went OK for team sask with everyone alittle bit leery of giving it too much gas with so much racing still to come. Although it was short, it was very hard and took a lot out of you. The winner for the day was Chris Sheppard who really showed his early season form. Derek had a really strong time trial placing 4th and moved himself up in the GC. Alex also performed well again holding onto her GC placing.

Stage 3:

Stage three for me was the best stage of them all as I had my dreams come true racing with robin at the front for a good portion of the day. After a tough first day his legs obviously came around and he was able to help me out and was really able to show me what to do in tactical situations. At one point I watched him counter attack after a points sprint taking Rob Britton, Derek McMaster, and a Symmetrics rider along. I waited and eventually bridged the gap taking Barry Wicks across with me. This was by far my best experience of the weekend as I really got to stick my nose out and learn more from the savviest of the savvy. We did however get brought back pretty quickly as I''m sure they were scared of our move. The race then descended down a Tour De France worthy decent with switchbacks and super high speeds. I think my max speed was over 80,,,, I''m VERY thankful that I have Scott to glue my tubulars as visions of Beloki in the 2003 Tour flashed through my head. In the final decent we also saw some more Sask action as Dan did some SERIOUS pace setting downhill and really cranked up the pace. Sadly Robin Dan and Brad didn''t make it over the top of the final climb and were forced to chase hard downhill into the finish. The final decent saw some more high speeds and also saw Rob launch off the front with a Broadmark guy in the final km. It was totally a tour type finish as we just barely gobbled them up as we reached the finish line. It was defiantly a heated sprint with high speeds and some super sketchy corners coming into town. I was lucky enough to even be with the main pack and settled for 20th or so as I really didn''t stand a chance drag racing those guys anyway.

Stage 4:

This stage would prove to be the real deciding factor in the race as Roland had let the leaders jersey slip and defiantly wanted it back. With the climb up the mountain it was obvious that that would be where the race would be decided and you would need to be with the leaders over the top to have a chance. As I was sitting pretty decent in the GC Robin and Dan both took it upon themselves to get me where I needed to be before the climb. Even with all the help in the world I didn''t stand a chance. I made it probably 1/3 of the way to the top with the leaders and remember finally popping when Roland Green surged and held tempo around 27kph up a steep section!!! As disappointing as it was for me I guess its no surprise that they chewed me up and spit me out the back. I eventually recovered and kept climbing at a MUCH slower pace until a huge chase group came up behind me containing Brad and Robin. We continued to work hard into the finish and ended up not finishing too far back of the leaders. The ride of the day defiantly goes to Rob Britton as he made it over the top with a select group of leaders containing Marsh Cooper, Roland, Ricky, and a few others. He ended up finishing 8th or so on the stage which moved him into the top ten in the GC. Rob has been at this for a long time and he really deserved this one, I can''t imagine how tough he is to be able to climb with some of the best athletes in the world. It''s obvious that he impressed more than just team Sask and hopefully he sees more doors opening for him in the near future. Alex also had a break through ride placing 4th on the stage, which followed the exact same course as the pro men. It is obvious that all she needs is to do race more and keep challenging herself and she will succeed.


All in all this was by far one of the most beneficial experiences that I'' ve had in racing. In order to succeed in this sport you need to be extremely fit but more importantly you''ve got to be smart. The opportunity to race along side of Robin and Dan and Derek was really beneficial and in 3 days I learned more than I could''ve imagined. I''m very happy that the HiPerf. Committee made this opportunity a reality for me. Even though Saskatchewan isn''t considered a major province in the cycling community, our athletes probably get some of the best treatment and more importantly, the best attention out of any province.