Washington, Oregon State teams Top Guns at Whitman Missionary Omnium

Men's A Road Race Breakaway. Photo by Katie Houck.

Race Report by Evan Schmitt, Rachel Hoar and James Bird. Photos by Katie Houck.

Week four of the Northwest calendar took racers to Walla Walla, Washington for the Whitman College Omnium. Saturday morning was the road race, Saturday afternoon was the team time trial and Sunday was the criterium.

As racers from the lower categories rolled past the finish line and back to their respective teams the riders preparing for the men’s A’s race tried to figure everything out they could from the teammates about the course and how their races unfolded in attempts to somehow predict the outcome of their own.  The men’s A’s race seemed to begin as all the others have this season, blistering pace with none other than the University of Washington sending three riders off the front who would not be seen for the remainder of the day.

The three riders, series leader Chris Daifuku, Davis Shepard, and Grant Boursaw, who placed 1^st,2^nd, and 3^rd respectively, left the field less than five miles into the 75 mile race on the only major climb on 15 mile course.  By the end of the first lap their gap was hovering at about 45 seconds but as the field dwindled due to windy conditions the gap ballooned.  That is not to say the break was not untested by the field, three riders from the University of Montana, Portland State University, and University of Oregon broke away and chased desperately for 50 miles, although they were never able to bridge the gap.

Nate Keck, from the University of Montana, said after the race, “That was freaking hard!  For 50 miles I was under threshold twice, I’m exhausted”.  It should be noted that Keck, a physiologist for Team Type 1 pro cycling team, had not raced in 3 years before the Whitman race and finished in 10^th place.

Tyrell (right) leads the Women's A race. Photo by Katie Houck.

The A Women raced 45 miles (3 laps). The first hill whittled the peloton down to six riders. On the second lap two more riders dropped; the pack of four rode the last lap and a half until the finishing sprint. Leia Tyrrell (Oregon State) won the sprint, followed by Kamila Gwiazda (Washington). Lindsay Campbell (Montana) took 3^rd, Chelsea Momany (Whitman) took 4^th, and Rachel Hoar (Whitman) soloed in for 5^th.

The TTT course was a 10-mile out-and-back which followed part of the road race course. It traveled gradually uphill during the first half, and downhill the second. Everyone raced in wicked winds, near-freezing temperatures, and pouring rain.

The University of Washington won the Men’s A TTT in 23:06. Oregon State followed with a time of 24:13, and Portland State took 3^rd with 25:10.

The University of Montana won the Women’s A TTT with a time of 28:08. Whitman College came in 9 seconds later at 28:17. The University of Washington followed in 3^rd with a time of 28:57.

Sunday morning’s criterium was a five-corner, pancake flat course near the Walla Walla County airport. The Men’s A race was dominated by Shepard and Boursaw (Washington) who lapped the field. Once they regained the field, Shepard attacked again with Daifuku. Shepard stayed out front alone to take the win, Boursaw second and Daifuku in third.

Leia Tyrell (Oregon State) sprinted from the get-go, setting the pace. The corners broke up the pack on the primes, but everyone generally regrouped on the backstretch. Leia Tyrell broke away on the final lap to win, Lindsay Campbell (University of Montana) followed in 2^nd, and two University of Washington riders, Kamila Gwiazada and Jesse Opp, respectively took 3^rd and 4^th just ahead of Rachel Hoar (Whitman), who took 5^th.

The Northwest teams travel to Boise, Idaho on April 2-3 for the fourth weekend hosted by Boise State University.

Team Standings after Missionary Omnium:

1)    University of Washington, 4249

2)    Whitman College, 1941

3)    Portland State University, 1723