Since I have had a couple set backs this year I wanted to take advantage of improving some of my disciplines while others had to be put on the way side. I have spent extra time on the bike and doing some pro racing and stage racing. The most recent was the Cascade Classic Pro Stage Race in Bend Oregon. I chose to go up to Bend to visit my brothers who just moved up there a couple months ago, and take advantage of the racing that was going on up there and improve my fitness at the same time.

What a great opportunity I had to race with some of the best riders and teams in the United States. Healthnet, Navigators, Seasilver, Jittery Joes, as well as other top teams were up in bend to compete. I was picked up by a California team Cal Giant for the week. It was great to ride with a team with all there support during the event with a team car and other riders to help, as well as the opportunity I had to work for them. Being a domestique and go back to the car and get bottles and food for the team etc.

The race was 5 days and 6 stages. We started out with a tough 115 mile day with lots of climbing and lots of wind. It was a tough day for me and a day I learned a lot about racing and conserving energy while you can. I ended up finishing 1:30 behind the leaders in the top 30. The second day, which was 95 miles and 5k feet of climbing reaching up to an elevation of 7,000 ft., I was a little more confident and comfortable racing with these top riders. I was more aggressive and mixed it up by attacking and chasing down attacks. I ended up being in the front with the last 6 mile climb to the finish. I missed a small break towards the end but finished in the front of the chase group just 1 minute behind. I finished 10th overall that day and was moving up in the GC. Then we had the TT and the Crit the following day were I finished well in the TT and had to pull out of the Crit because of the rain. I didn’t want to risk a crash and set myself back again so I chose to fall back in the wet twilight Crit. The 4th day was a Circuit race which was a 6 lap course with a total of 85 miles. Very challenging day but fun at the same time. It was not as eventful, but we finished as a large group together with a sprint finish which one of my team mates won. The last day was a Crit in the old Mill district of Bend. A little more than an hour of riding all out. This whole event was a huge help in my fitness. I can tell I got a huge improvement in my fitness both in cycling and running. I will take this new strength and endurance and use it to my advantage to compete well in my upcoming shorter events and Ironman Canada in the end of August.