You are receiving this email because you mean a lot of me and to the team. I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you an indepth look at the weekend's events in the Mens Pro category so you could all be a part of the excitement. I hope you enjoy the reading below and again, thank you for helping the team and myself reach this milestone.
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This past weekend the Whitman team put on a great show at the 15th annual Tour of Walla Walla despite facing some of the Northwest's stiffest competition in what has grown into the most prestigious stage race of the year in Washington state. In the Mens Pro category, the field was stacked with the 110 of the best riders from the Northwest and British Columbia, plus the Bulgarian National Road and Time Trial champion and the regional elite Team LandRover Orbea (Pro team '09) which featured two New Zealand national champions.
All the Whitman riders (20 riders spanning all 8 categories) who competed and volunteered, put in their best effort racing with heart and sportsmanship to bring home some huge results. Although I do not know all the results at this time, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on the success of our team in the Pro.1.2 men's field. Using a composite team of current students and alumni, we fielded one of the strongest teams in the race and brought home the goods.
My teammates, Alan Schmitz '03, Nick Littman '09, Colin Gibson '10 and team supporter Alan Adams worked tirelessly for my general classification bid, culminating in a 4th place overall. Whitman has never placed a rider so high in the general classification in the Pro.1.2 mens field at this event and as we reflect more and more about the firepower we were up against, we realize just how special this weekend has been.
Friday:
The weekend began with a challenging road race course north of Waitsburg late on Friday afternoon. After Red Truck Racing (Vancouver, CA) worked hard to bring back a small breakaway composed of Hagens Berman Team leader Soren Peterson in the final 15km, Colin Gibson helped me stay safe as the stage came to a bunch sprint finish. He delivered me to the top 5 at 500 metres to go. The sprint began early, at 350 metres and after my initial jump, I was able to dig extra deep at 150m, finding another gear and took the bunch sprint by a wheel. Amazing. All our of 5 riders finished in the bunch (same time) so the next day's time trial would decide our GC contender.
Saturday:
Thanks to the support of my coach David Youngblood and all my housemates and close friends, who covered the road with chalk and waved the flag of flanders at the top of five 5mile hill (approximately half way through the 9.3 mile event), I did a perfect individual time trial, finishing 10th, 50 seconds faster than last year race. After the event I sat 10th in GC, only 20 seconds out of 2nd place.
The criterium in downtown Walla Walla, featuring a section of the Whitman College campus, was great fun. It was a wet and treacherous race with numerous crashes at the top of the circuit (at the Apex store corner), however Colin and Nick did an amazing job of covering moves and staying close to me, protecting me from the wind. In the end colin and I were cornering exceptionally well and although I messed up the final lap (though there was still 1 lap to go) he finished 7th and I rolled over in 9th. Safe, muddy, and accidently completely rested for Sunday's 100 mile road race. Due to separations in the field, I moved up to 5th in the GC, only 55 seconds out of 1st and 11 seconds out of 2nd.
Sunday:
The classic Waitsburg road race features two climbs per lap plus a short feed hill, 90 minutes per lap and at 2.5 laps, the total time of the race was over 3.5 hrs. Colin unfortunately flatted, and although he chased his heart out for 45 minutes, he was unable to catch back on. Alan Adams monitored the front throughout the first half of the race and survived through to the end to help protect me during the final 20km. Alan Schmitz used with big frame to keep me protected in the cross winds through the first lap. Nick Littman pulled back a late (ultimately the race winning move) breakaway in unbelievable style (that guy is so strong), echeloning the whole field for twenty minutes as we drove off the penultimate climb, through waitsburg and into the final 3km, 10 minute climb of the day, leaving the lead group only 30 seconds up the road. Up the final climb I used my knowledge of the climb and partitioned my effort for the best result. Although 7th and 9th in GC attacked at 1.6 km, I let them drift 10 metres ahead. The remnants of the breakaway appeared within closing distance and although the fight for the stage win was out of reach, I targeted the majority of that breakaway group as my goal to ensure my top 5 GC position. Going for the best time, we dropped the yellow jersey and I followed Kevin Rowe (a very talented Team Exergy rider currently 4th in GC) out of the group at 1.4km to go. Over the smooth pavement left hand corner, 7th & 9th powered up the climb just ahead, and as the road tilted an extra 2-3% degrees, I followed Rowe's wheel back up to the two riders at 1km to go. As soon as I passed the 1km to go we rounded a right hand corner, the gradient dropped a few degrees and Colin Gibson, waving the flag of flanders like a madman at the finish, was within my sights. Like every other training ride, now it was time to increase the pace all the way to the line. Up the inside, on the left, 7th& 9th attacked again, and after Kevin (pasted to the right side of the road) moved left just enough for my wheels to get out of the gravel, I surged past, veering left and bridged the 10 metre gap, attacking immediately over the right hand side and opened up the sprint of the line. Moving past the 10-15 riders of the breakaway group (with Sam Johnson '07 of Hagens Berman- ultimately finished 10th in the stage- cheering me on as I blew by) at 300 metres and moved on, powering past Colin at 150 metres, taking it all the way to the line for the best time possible. Finishing 7th on the stage and only 53 seconds back of Hagens Berman's veteran rider Soren Peterson, I moved up to 4th in the GC.
This weekend has been an amazing experience and I am absolutely blown away at the quality of our team and our ability to execute with only a 5 man group (most teams fielded 8 riders). I wanted to thank all our our sponsors and supporters by sharing with you my take on the most successful weekend of racing the Mens team has ever had. I have heard great things about the women's racing this weekend and I look forward to hearing those stories as well.
Without your support, our success would not be possible. I am not going to try to name names because I would miss someone - everyone's tireless effort is what makes our team an important part of the Walla Walla community.
Thank You,
Sincerely,
Ben Chaddock '10
Whitman Cycling
Stage 1: Kellogg Hollow Road Race: 1st
Stage 2: Individual 5Mile Road Time Trial: 10th
(Snagged the yellow for my warmup)
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