Oregon club cycling team members Zach Winter and Dave Johnson are taking on one of the most grueling stage races on the North American race calendar: the Tour of Willamette.
Along with extended climbing and twisting descents, the harsh nature of the Northwest climate contributes to the race’s reputation. Wet conditions frequently add trouble to the obvious fatigue from climbing. Last year, 40 riders piled up in the bottom of a wet descent that ended on a bridge where the river ran as much on top of the bridge as under it.
“Today was sort of hard,” Johnson said after Wednesday’s road stage. “I got tired and just rode it in.”
On Thursday the race moved from smooth roads to hilly, cruddy BLM roads. Johnson said those roads scare him.
“But I try not to think about it,” he said.
Johnson, who also races for team Netzero, is sporting a Duck uniform in the pro 1/2 category — his fourth time on the Tour. This category features the finest American road racers.
Winter, in his first attempt on the Tour, is defending Oregon in the category 3/4/5 and masters.
“I should finish in the top 10,” said Winter, who started mountain biking in 1999. He is competing in the Tour despite a broken arm sustained in a race earlier this season.
“I have trained with the Tour in mind. I would be crushed if I couldn’t race it now,” he said.
The six-day stage race started Tuesday with a one-kilometer prologue that had riders sprint up Skinner Butte as fast as their legs, lungs and equipment would allow. Then came the 82-mile, 3,000-foot-climb road race Wednesday. Thursday’s stage had riders tackle a road race with 8,000 feet of climbing that covered 94 miles of poorly maintained BLM roads with mossy, slick descents in wet conditions.
Today’s action will take riders along for 109 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing, leading up to Saturday’s time trial at Dorena Lake, and later that day a criterium in Cottage Grove. The final stage of the race allows riders to compare their strength and stamina over 106 miles and another 8,000 feet of climbing.
In return, the overall winner gets next to nothing: a symbolic $500 for a week of pain and agony. But the fame, glory and respect for conquering the nation’s hardest stage race remains a motivator to bring out the best of the professionals for a week in the rain.
Additionally, the race is a National Race Calendar event, which means that points earned on the Tour count toward the season series.
For both Ducks, the fitness and experience components of the Tour are the most important at this point in the season.
“I’m not coming in to place but to gain speed work,” Johnson said. “The best way to get fast is to race with the pros. Just a certain amount of the guys are here to win.”
Johnson’s goal is to peak in August in time for the Under-23 national championships.
“After graduation, I want to race for awhile,” he said. “I want to go to Belgium to race. It’s hard racing there.”