Neil Shirley Mt. Hood Classic Diary – Stage 5
5/17/08 - II hate to start this journal by complaining but I have to say my legs are cooked! Today was the Queen Stage of the stage race and rightfully so. It was 100 miles with over 10,000 feet of climbing. The temperatures didn’t make things any easier; it was 95 degrees by midday. It was definitely cooler at the finish on Mt. Hood, but by then the damage was done.
I was more motivated than ever to make the break today. The problem is that this also becomes my downfall a lot of the time. You end up putting so much energy into the moves trying to make one stick that if you end up not making the move that stays away you have burnt a lot of matches just to end up back in the field. That’s what happened today. The first 50 k was super-fast. I tried my hand in countless moves but to no avail. Nothing was getting away so as the terrain got harder I began to attack hoping to take a small group with me. I finally got my way on a 1 k climb. Three of us broke away on the climb and started working well together. About 5 k later a group of 6 caught up to us. It was a welcomed sight since with only 3 it would have made for some tough going. The only problem was that Healthnet didn’t like Jonathan Garcia (BMC) being in the break since he was so high on GC. As Healthnet was about to shut down our move one of the riders in the break sat up causing five of us to get gapped off while the front part of the break kept the hammer down. With Garcia back in the pack Healthnet sat up and the remaining riders in the break got their gap. So, I went from attacking and starting the move to being back in the group watching the break ride away in a matter of only 5 miles, bummer!
Ivan Stevic (Toyota-United) and a La Grange rider take on the tough course.
photo © neilshirley.com
I tried to make the best of the situation and try to help out Ben Kneller since he was 12th overall coming into the day and was feeling great. I was also hoping to give it a go on the finishing climb to see what I could do. So, three hours and 70 miles later we were just about to start the final climb up to Mt Hood. On the last descent before the climb Evan had some excitement when he flatted at 50 mph in a sweeping corner. He showed his skills and kept it up. As the climb started I was pretty disappointed to find my legs were running on empty. I came off really early on the climb. I wish I could have made it another mile because Ben Kneller flatted on the climb as he was sitting comfortably at the front. He wasn’t able to make it back up to the front group since he didn’t have any help from us at that point. It ended up not being the greatest day for us but it was still an enjoyable day on the bike.
I have really had a good time at the race. The trip has been awesome with Cindy and Charlotte. It’s one we’ll remember for a long time. Camping out is probably not the most ideal way to recover day to day during a stage race but if I could go back and do it all over again I wouldn’t change a thing. The memories of this trip probably won’t have much to do with the race anyway but it will be the time I’ve been able to spend with my family this whole trip.
Tomorrow is the last shot at the podium for the week. It is a 75-minute crit in downtown Hood River. Last time I did an NRC stage race in Oregon I won the final stage (Cascade Classic Circuit Race) so I will try to keep the streak alive! Now I’m off to bed for some much needed sleep.
Check back tomorrow for the final stage report but most importantly all the reasons why you should NOT stay in an RV Park.
