This was the first race in the Flagstaff Omnium, the Snowbowl Hillclimb. The total length is about 6.4 miles with an average grade of 5.4% for a total of 1800 feet of elevation gain.

The Cat 5s started with around 25 people and the race started out with 2 guys heading out fast. I wasn't certain who they were but went to the front to make sure we pulled them back. I did a bit of work and then pulled off and let somebody else reel them in the rest of the way while I sat about 5-7 wheels back. Sure enough, the others brought them back and one of the two feisty riders was happy to set the pace at the front for awhile.

We were still a big group so when I got rotated to the front, I upped the pace a bit to see what would happen. After about a minute, I pulled off and checked the result and we were down to 6 or 7. Excellent.

After that trick, another guy went to the front and set a good tempo and didn't force somebody else to pull through. So I sat on wheels for the next 2.5 miles or so. The guy setting tempo was working and one-by-one people kept dropping off. Except for me... and I don't think he realized that it had come down to just the two of us.

About 2 km from the finish on a steeper ramp, I dropped down two gears and attacked. The guy who had done all the work up until this point tried to respond but when I looked back he was sitting down again and about 150 feet back. Sweet! I just needed to hold it to the end, which I did! My first win!