Yesterday we drove down to Utah for the Thanksgiving Point Classic this weekend. The weather was perfect for a drive and we even had a nice tailwind most the way to help the gas mileage.

This race is another cross between a stage race and an omnium — what I affectionately call a stagium. This race follows stage race rules where a rider must complete each stage to continue on to the next one. But rather than basing overall results on time, it is based on points. The points go twenty deep for each stage. For the first four races the points go from 35, 30, 26, and so on down to 1 point for 20th. For the fifth and final stage, the time trial up South Mountain, the points go from 20 down to 1, in 1-point increments. This means the time trial is less of a factor, which is good for me since it is an entirely uphill time trial and I don’t climb as well as the best Cat 2S climbers.

With the points going twenty deep, it means that in the other stages, everyone will be sprinting even for 20th place. This will make pack finishes very hectic and extremely dangerous. In a normal timed stage race, only the top three riders get time bonuses while everyone else gets the same time. Here people will be duking it out for 18th place. So I have a feeling the sprints will be like a miss-n-out, where people in the back of the front group will be sprinting just as hard as the front group. Fortunately, I’ve got three teammates, Ted, Ben and Jim, who are driving down today so we can work together and hopefully stay out of trouble. I think if we race smart and stay safe, we each have the opportunity to do well.

For those of you in Utah, if you want to watch us race, the most exciting races to watch are the Provo criterium Thursday evening or the Thanksgiving Point criterium on Saturday. Here are the details:

Provo Downtown Criterium
Thursday, May 25, 250 West 100 South, Provo
6:45 PM Women Cat 1/2/3
7:45 PM Men Cat 2

Thanksgiving Point Criterium
Saturday, May 27, Thanksgiving Point
4:30 PM Women Cat 1/2/3
7:15 PM Men Cat 2