Thursday, August 2, 2012

Top 10 Reasons Why I Enjoyed the Rapha Northwest Classic Stage Race
















10.  Got to spend over two weeks RVing in the North Pacific with my parents, teammate Jonathan Christenson, and my two dogs, “Stinky” and “Foxy”. By week two, Stinky and Foxy owned him! 



9.  Racing in the Cascade Classic Stage Race was a great primer for the Northwest Classic Junior Stage Race. Between races we had a great time white water rafting and inner tubing in the Deutsch River, fishing, and just plain relaxing. 


8.  Racing in the small town of Elma, Washington, which is located 30 miles west of Olympia. Unlike many races that take place in generic industrial parks or bleak deserted roads, the location of this event was awesome! Beautiful open roads, steep challenging climbs, green towering trees, and two gigantic nuclear towers that could be seen from miles away! 


7.  Meeting race promoters Eric Anderson and Jim Brown, two stand up guys for putting on the first all exclusive junior stage race on the West Coast. Over 90 juniors, including several national champions in road, track, and cyclocross came from California, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Canada to compete.  


6.  Racing under the shadows of the ominous nuclear power plant cooling towers from the never completed nuclear plant. Kinda eerie... 



5.  The Rapha Espresso Bus. Need I say more?  


4.  A great prize list including- Mavic wheels, Schwalbe tires, Giro shoes, Oakley Radars, Rapha swag, great primes, and cash for stage and GC wins.  Plus, a hefty travel incentive for out of state teams. 


3.  Having Jonathan, a great teammate, that sacrificed for me, and who gave it his all for a Team Specialized VICTORY! That’s what you call teamwork! Thanks again, Jonathan! 



2.  Great podium atmosphere, including flowers, prizes, cash, and sparkling apple cider so the winners could shake the bottles and spray the crowds in celebration. 


1.     Winning the 15/16 GC for Team Specialized Junior Racing!

Thanks for reading.
Diego Binatena, Team Specialized Junior Racing

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