Category: 4/5
Result: 16 of 80

As you may or may not know, the E.C. Stage Race is a two-day event held near Bishop that covers 100 miles and 15,000+ of climbing on day one and a mere 65 miles and 13,000+ feet on day two. The grand total for the weekend is 29,035' of climbing, the height of Mt. Everest and hence the name.

The Cat 4/5 field was by far the largest with 80 racers from all over California, the majority from Southern California. Our field rolled out Saturday morning for a nice neutralized 10 mile flat stretch that brought us to the begining of the first climb. This climb is really more like two climbs, the first part climbs the Sherwin grade from 4000' to 7000'. Then a brief downhill and some road changes bring us to the second part, which climbs from Tom's Place at 7000' to Mosquito Flat at over 10,000'.

So within 2 minutes on the first climb, the pack is strung out and people are hammering. My plan was to conserve my energy as it's a long,long race and I wasn't about to go into a hole so early in the race. So I rode my own comfortable pace up the first climb. On the second part, I put in more of an effort and reeled in some folks in my category, but still kept it below LT. The descent was FREEZING, as it was probably 35 degrees at the summit. All of the descents in the race are screaming fast with straightish roads with good line of vision and good pavement. Many of us had sketchy looking speed wobbles on the descent due to uncontrollable shivering, but we all made it down safely. At the bottom we had a 5 man pace line that worked nicely together to cover the 5 flat miles to the next climb.

Climb two is not too bad, about 9 miles to 8000' elevation. I put in a good effort here and passed some more people. Again, I kept the effort under control in anticipation of the final climb of the day. So on to the third climb...again, we had a little pace line to cover the few flat miles to the start of the final climb. This one is a real mother, going from 4000' to just under 10,000' with some evil 17% grade in the last mile. This climb is a two-parter also: the first section is a continous slog up Highway 168 until a turn-off to the more undulating section that leads to South Lake. The first section was my personal low point in the race. That section just goes for miles at about 8% and I felt really disheartened that I was going so slow. Finally, the turn-off to South Lake appeared which brought the spirits up knowing that the end is getting close. Finally, the 10K sign appears. Then 5K. Then the last stretch with it's 17% grade, which wasn't too bad because I was mentally prepared for it. I finished in 7:27 (about 15th) and 40 minutes back from the leaders.

After the first day, it was obvious that I wasn't going to get a good placing, so I just focused on finishing strong on day two and holding my position. I was unsure how I'd feel after that first day effort.

Day two starts with a climb to Glacier Lodge, about 9 miles of climbing. Again the pack took off on the first climb and again I rode my own pace, but I wasn't too far back at the summit. This descent is one of the best anywhere, very fast with great views and big drop offs on the side of the road. The second climb is a gift up Wacouba Canyon that just turns around at a random point in the road to get the total climbing to the 29,035' mark. I was feeling great and riding behind a couple of guys in my category, keeping the effort well below max but always keeping them within 20 seconds or so. I was biding my time for the final climb...

So the final climb is fiendish. 21 miles long, with average grade of 6%, max grade of 15% and long stretches over 10% in the final 10K. I still felt quite good at the beginning of the climb. My plan was to hold back until about 7000', then give it everything to the summit. According to plan, I began to up the pace around 7000' and I was making good time. At about 8K to go my left hamstring warned of impending cramp, so I had to ease up a bit. I took it easy for a few kilometers, mostly climbing out of the saddle which allowed me to stretch out the hamstring a bit.

Finally with about 3K to go I spotted a 4/5 rider ahead by about 45 seconds. I had a couple of minutes on him from the day before, so it was a great mental boost to know if I at least kept him in my sights I would stay ahead in GC. I worked on reeling him in and within a kilometer we were together. We chatted and rode together, it was nice to have some company after so many miles alone. Neither of us wanted to sprint at the finish and we rode across the line together. Day two was 5:36 and 18th place, and 13:03 total for 16th GC.

Overall, I had hoped to do better, but I'm pleased with my effort. I paced myself well and finished strong. I'd need to take off 1 hour total to be competitive in this race. Maybe next year.

Some other interesting details:

• The 1st and 2nd place in 4/5 were Cat 5 riders!
• The 8th place GC in 4/5 broke his chain w/5k to go on day two. He borrowed the race directors running shoes (3 sizes too big I'm sure) and ran with his bike to the summit.
• Cat 4/5 had 46 finishers.