Going fast & having fun

Written by: Nick Gillock

Date – May 2-4, 2025

Race – 2025 Tour de Bloom Stage Race

Category – Master Men’s B 50+ (raced with MM 40+ & 60+ scored separately)

805 Race Team – Nick Gillock

Intro- This past weekend I participated in the Tour de Bloom Stage Race. Headquartered in Wenatchee, WA (around 2.5hrs East of Seattle) the event consists of four races over three days – a rolling 59-mile Road Race on Friday, a mass-start 4.25-mile Hillclimb on Saturday morning, a 4-Corner Criterium in downtown Wenatchee on Saturday afternoon, and a rolling 51-mile road race with a stiA finishing climb. I signed up for the Men’s Masters B category with included my Cat 3/4/5 50+ Group, a Cat 4/5 40+ Group, and an Open 60+ Group. The combined field of about 50 rider raced together (mostly) and was scored separately. There was also a Masters A (35+ and 50+ Cat 1/2 Groups) and a variety of other Pro and Amateur categories. My original race schedule for the Spring had me heading out to the Tour of the Gila but as it worked out my S2C/Bosch pb Eliel pal Michael Spangler convinced me to go the Bloom instead and agreed to pick me up at the SEA-TAC airport. Mike raced the Masters A 50+. Tour de Bloom SR is a competitive event drawing motivated riders mostly from WA, OR, ID, and Canada/BC. The Masters B raced under am Omnium format with points assigned for each stage rather than timed finishes like many stage races.

This was the first time I’ve ever flown to a Stage Race and with all the airline size and weight restrictions it definitely made packing challenging. Usually when I go to events like Valley of Sun or Tour of the Gila I drive and there is really no reason not to take everything you can imagine you might need. For the Bloom I was limited to one bike, one helmet, one extra set of wheels (so I’d have both Crit and climbing wheels and have a set to put in the wheels in/wheels out follow vehicle.), and the minimum in terms of clothing, nutrition and tools. Both the flight from LAX to Seattle, and the drive from Seattle to Wenatchee were smooth. Arriving I go checked into the Motel6, picked up my rental car, registered/got my number at the local bikeshop, and had a quick dinner. Stage 1 started at 9:15am about 1hr from Wenatchee so I hustled back to the hotel to re-assemble my bike and get ready for an early morning departure.

Stage 01 – Friday 5/2/25. Waterville RR, Waterville, WA. Was a bit chilly when we arrived at the race parking at around 7:15am, and started to get ready for the race. The format was two laps of a 30mile figure-8 course. Some bumpy chipseal roads, lots of rolling terrain, and a long gradual climb through a feed-zone and up and over the Pro’s KOM/QOM. The last mile or so was a long uphill drag to the finish.

This was my first time doing this Stage Race and of all the courses this was the one that worried me the most. The Omnium format meant that it was very possible to stick with the group, finish with the pack, and still end up way behind on points. Not being a sprinter and not having any teammates for help and support I was really worried about having my GC hopes get dashed on Day 1. Also, other than one of the 60+ masters Frank Winters I knew on one and really had no idea who was a threat and who needed to be covered if they went up the road in a break. Finally this was really three races at once (40+, 50+ and 60+) so keeping track of who was actually in your race by their numbers was diAicult. Mike Spangler (who won the GC and all the Masters B stages in 2023, and a stage win/GC podium in the Masters A in 2024) gave me one important tip pre-race … the finishing stretch before the finish is a straight gradual uphill and you see the finishing banner from very far away. His advice was to sit-in, sit-in, sit-in, jump on anyone passing, and hold the sprint for the last 100-200m.

Since we had a neutralized start and rolling terrain I kept my warm-up brief and I rolled over to the start that was about 1-mile away from the parking lot. One decision I questioned preparing for the start was my gearing … I was racing on my Zipp 404 crit wheels with an 11×21 cassette. I did have time to recon the run into the finish … for that gearing would be fine but with some big-ring shifting required. I also took note of the bib numbers … as far as I could tell: the 40+ racers had numbers in the low-600’s, 50+ were the mid-600’s, and 60+ were the high600’s.

The neutral start was bumpy (chip-seal paving) and that continued after the first 5 miles as we started racing. With two laps I was happy to ride the first one as attentively as possible and figure out as much as I could for lap 2. My first big take away was unlike here in SoCal where I generally know who is who, here I was racing blind. My theory here was to observe the dynamics and reactions in the local teams and assume they would react if there were any local threats they would react to them. The second observation was that our field of 50 or so racers was racing 5-6 across (yellow line to gutter) so moving up would be a process and I know I wanted to stay near the front. Finally as we hit a stair stepped climb through the feed zone and continuing up and over the KOM/QOM climb for the Pro’s it was clear to me that on lap 2 there would be aggressive pace and selections/splits as we climbed and crested.

Lap 1 done and rolling into lap two I was surprised to feel one of my weaknesses popping up … I felt slight cramping in my calves. I was concerned but I’d also gotten better at managing cramps over the years. I ate some salted ShotBloks, drank a flask of EmergenC and PreRace, and kept on racing. Around this time one racer rolled oA the front, then a second and a third bridged up to him. I had no idea who they were (or which groups they were in) but the teams were not chasing and I was managing cramps so I resigned myself to sitting in and making it to the finish. The climb did prove to be decisive with a stiA pace, and separations. My gearing proved to be just barely adequate (though with the cramps I would have liked to be able to spin more) and cresting a group of around 8-riders had gapped me slightly. Fortunately I was able with a few other riders and a hard eAort able to bridge … the break of 3 was still up the road.

I managed to stay near the front of the main group as we entered the 9-mile finish part of the figure-8 course. I was still saving matches as much as possible. One of the three breakaway riders drifted back to our group. We could see the two-man break but as me continued to hurdle towards the finish it was obvious that we would not catch them. This was a critical moment for both the race and the Stage Race standings as a whole. In a timed Stage Race I knew that if I finished with the group I’d get the same time, loose a little time to the break (assuming there was a 50+ rider there) and stay in the hunt on the GC. With the points-based Omnium though everything was diAerent. I really need a high placing (with the max possible points). Points for the Road Races went 20-places deep with 30pts for 1st, 27pts for 2nd, 24pts for 3rd … etc.

As Mike had advised I was super-patient and with 500m to go I was maybe 20th place … I went into diesel mode and started passing riders who’d went to early and died. I’d passed nearly everyone by the finish and noting the bib numbers I could only see one (mid-600) 50+ rider ahead of me. Honestly I was shocked and super psyched by this result. Had I actually podiumed? Chatting with one of the break at the f inish (Tom Cole who is 60+) I determined that the break was composed of him and one 50+ racer. This meant I had somehow pulled oA a 3rd place so I headed to back to my car to grab my phone and my 805 Race Team podium hat:

The cramping remains a bit of a mystery … should not have been cramping so early with so little load. Wondering if I responded badly to the airline flight but hoping not to see this again at Bloom.

Stage 02 – Saturday 5/3/25 (Morning). Mission Ridge Mass Start Hillclimb, Mission Ridge Ski Area, WA. As a new Stage for the Tour de Bloom this one would be a discovery for everyone. Located in a local state park about 30mins east of Wenatchee with a finish at a Ski Slope parking area on paper this one seemed to be more in my wheelhouse as a better than average climber. Since I had a little time before dinner on Friday I had driven out and reconned the course. I drove up and down, parked near the start and rode my bike up the hill about 1-mile or so. This was partly to get a feel for it, partly to make certain that the bike with the climbing wheels was shifting well. All was well but my take away was that this was a real climb … 4.1 miles of steady climbing averaging around 7.9%.

Since both the Masters A and Masters B starts were around the same time on Friday morning Mike and I drove out to the Hillclimb start together. That day we were the Bronze mobile … Mike had taken 3rd in the Masters A 50+ on Stage 1 to match my 3rd in Masters B.

As a mass start event I assumed there would be tactics and drafting to be considered. The Omnium-points format was also in play … all that mattered was the order at the finish. For this one event the 40+, 50+ and 60+ fields would all race separately. That said I did not really know who were the strong climbers, who to mark, etc. Starting the pace was brisk, but not insane, and the group reduced quickly. One rider dressed in all black had jumped oA the front while I rode in 2nd at a pace I thought was sustainable. For the first 10mins or so I stayed there and had not seen the pink leader’s jersey in the 50+ group. Then Sean passed me with one other rider and soon after that distanced his companion. That left me in 4th but I reeled in the rider in 3rd (red jersey from the Mercedes Benz team) and it was mano a mano to the top. At this point the climb got a bit steeper and I wished I had an additional gear or two. Unfortunately he jumped me near the top and I could not respond. For me it would be a 4th place for the day but since I placed well ahead of George Romer on the day I moved up to 2nd on the points totals. Crunching the numbers it was not my best day. I averaged around 315w for the 25mins. Would have really expected at least 5% more. As it turned out 50+ Race Leader Sean Rando had bear the guy in black (Joel Jones) at the top picking up the maximum 20pts for the day and 50pts total. My 4th on the day gave me 14pts bringing me to 38pts and placing me 12pts behind in 2nd.

Stage 03 – Saturday 5/3/25 (Afternoon). Wenatchee Twilight Criterium, Downtown Wenatchee, WA.

Information is king and I had picked up an interesting piece of it at the Stage 2 summit. I was chatting with Sean Rando’s mom and as we discussed Sean and his recent forays into bike racing she mentioned to me that he had never in his life raced in a criterium. I’m not the best crit racer on the planet but remembering that I did not need to win as much as I needed to pickup more point than my GC competitors I became excited that the crit might actually be a GC opportunity for me.

I felt OK after the hillclimb but this was a “no rest for the weary” sort of day with our crit starting in the afternoon at 2:30pm, only 5hrs after the Stage2 start. I also assumed that the self-styled crit riders (and many who were just out of GC contention) had most likely soft-pedaled their way up the morning climb. But regardless I had a mission so Mike dropped me back at my hotel, I had a quick lunch of leftover Chipotle from the day before, and I got my bike setup with my crit racing wheels. The nice thing about the crit race is that it was only about 1/2mile from the Motel 6 so around 1:30pm I rolled out ready to find the sign-in and race. My goal was basically to finish the crit ahead of the 50+ race leader, #652 in 3rd, and #653 (aka the man in black) in 4th.

The crit like the Hillclimb had a maximum of 20pts on oAer and I really wanted to close the gap to the leader. The 1K course was a short 4-corner format with a short-steep hill between turns 1 and 2. There was also a strong headwind up the hill and on the backstretch. Oh, and we only raced for 25mins so I assumed it would be fast and aggressive with the crit specialists and local teams looking to shine. It was also the first day that we saw all three group GC leaders sporting their pink Tour de Bloom jerseys in the race. We got underway and the racing was fast but an amply wide course made moving up as needed not too diAicult. I was staying near the front, out of trouble, feeling comfortable and making sure none of my “marked men” were getting into any breaks (none would get close to sticking), but then suddenly I saw my race nearly come to an end. Coming up the short hill with momentum someone bumped shoulders with me pushing me abruptly oA my line. Right at the same time the guy ahead of me swerved my way and the side of my front wheel brushed his rear. It felt like the makings of a certain crash but somehow I disengaged and stayed upright. I had however lost both a bunch of spots and some measure of focus and nerve. With about 10-laps left I resolved to settle down and finish the race.

Coming through the last corner cleanly I cold see that I had put all my marks behind me and crossed the line (in the combined field) in the top 15. As it turns out my placing would become a point of confusion and stress. I knew I had finished just ahead of the 3rd placed GC rider (Frank Colich with Apex Racing) and based on a video of my finish from Mike Spangler it looked like I had finished 13th out of the combined f ield. 50+ Race leader Sean Rando, and the 4th placed rider had finished behind me.

These were my results but unfortunately when I went to bed that evening the oAicial results still had not been posted. Sunday Morning Epilog: Waking at 5AM I saw a text from Mike. They messed up the crit results and I was listed as having finished dead last … no points. Reading the Race Bible over my bowl of cereal said that the protest period for results would end 1hr prior to the start of the next race.

Stage 04 – Sunday 5/4/25. Plain Road Race, Plain, WA.

With the zero points for the crit I had dropped to 4th overall in the GC. As soon as I arrived at the start I went over to the staging are and made my case with one of the USAC oAicials. He took notes about my account of the finish order and promised to get the info to the chief referee. About 45mins later I returned, found him and the chief ref and we walked over to the timing company’s car. I was relieved when they told me I was correct and that the results had already been corrected. I had come in 8th and retained my 2nd in the GC. I was relieved and ready to race and I was probably the only one in our race who knew I was in 2nd.

The race course was a rolling loop with an out and back section along a river in the middle. On the last of the two laps we would make a right instead of left near the start area and soon after that head up the finishing climb. Again I knew there were only a few riders I needed to mark … in this case the GC guys plus the racer in black Joel and my Hillclimb companion from Stage 2. There was also rider #668 who had placed 3rd in the Crit. Barring needing to chase any of these guys if they tried to get in a break my plan was to conserve until the end. This plan worked well and as I sat in I was happy to see the leader’s jersey sitting on the front while I sat in and conserved.

Just missing the Win. In the end the final climb I was positioned decently at the bottom and I paced myself well catching everyone except the race leader who I was still gaining on at the finish but ended up staying clear of me by 3secs. I did manage to pass and hold oA Joel Jones (man in black) at the f inish and was pleased with 2nd place and another podium. My stats for the final 1.14miles at 6.9% average was 372W for 5:29 … just over 5w/kilo.