Race Report: Baker City Cycling Classic, Stage Race - Men's Cat 3

Race: Baker City Cycling Classic, Stage Race - Men's Cat 3

Date: June 26-28, 2026

AVRT racers: Vasyl Stokolosa, Keegan Worcester

Top Result: Vasyl 3rd/19 (Stage 1), Vasyl 2nd/19 (Stage 2), Keegan 1st/19 (Stage 3), Vasyl 5th/14 (Stage 4), Vasyl 4th/19 in GC

Strava:

Stage 1 (Vasyl): https://www.strava.com/activities/19078790199

Stage 2 (Keegan): https://www.strava.com/activities/19088927995

Stage 3 (Keegan): https://www.strava.com/activities/19091351468

Stage 4 (Vasyl): https://www.strava.com/activities/19103713982

Nutrition: 2 water bottles, 100 g carbs each on Stage 1 and 4. Hydration mix on Stage 2 and 3

Race Recap:

Stage 1 - Catherine Creek Road Race

Written by Vasyl. Not a lot of riders registered—only 26 pre-registered for this stage in the race. The weather was the key factor, I believe, as it was supposed to be a rainy and cold weekend. We started on a miserable, rainy, and cold day—only 19 riders showed up; the rest moved their registration to next year. There weren't big team representatives—only the Apex team had five riders. We expected some work from them, but ultimately, only one rider was strong, and the others couldn’t keep up with the front group. So, we started super chill, just rotating, no big attacks. After about 30 minutes, two guys went into a breakaway. I tried to close the gap because I also wanted to be in the break—this course suited me. There were only two big climbs, around 4%, which I could sustain. So, I bridged up to them, and we rotated really well. Another six riders were chasing us. Unfortunately, Keegan missed the move and got stuck with the riders behind. So, the group of six joined us, and we were nine rotating really well. On the first climb, the stronger climber attacked. We let him go and kept our pace, and then we chased him down on the descent and flat section before the final climb. We caught him right before the last climb, and luckily for me, no one attacked on that climb. So, we stayed together, and there was about a three-mile flat section that suited me really well. I positioned myself for the sprint, covered a couple of short attacks, and then at the last 200-meter mark, I launched my sprint. But, unfortunately, it wasn’t 200 meters—it was 200 feet. The organizers messed up the signs, and I couldn’t pass the others in time. I finished second or third—it was a bike throw at the line—three of us were close. Then, I went back to the organizers and told them it wasn’t 200 meters. They checked and confirmed, but it didn’t help me. It was my mistake too—I should have focused on how far the finish tent is, but it wasn’t super visible from far away. Yeah, my fault—this should have been a good chance for me to win this stage and get the yellow jersey. But the craziest part was that I also got a 30-second penalty for crossing the center line. I’m not sure if it was for the sprint or something else on the road, but they gave no warnings. They’re supposed to warn riders if they cross the line, but no warning came. So, I was super upset, and I dropped down to seventh place after Stage 1, with a 30-second gap.

Stage 2 - Baker City Time Trial

Written by Keegan. Fast, flat, and non-technical 12 mile time trial with a very slight hill of 2-3% about halfway in. Road is in okay shape but not the best. Was quite windy on the day so I was pushing harder in headwind sections. For category 3 racers we had the option to ride a road bike or a time trial bike (but take a 90 second GC time penalty). I opted for the Road bike as bringing an extra bike 800 miles for a 30min ride didn’t really make sense. I didn’t sleep great the night before and the 78 mile road race the day before wasn’t easy either. My goal was to average around 320 watts staying as aero as possible and to follow my Garmin power plan for the course, which takes wind conditions, and grade into account. This meant a very polarized power between headwind and tailwind sections and I had to go out much harder the first half of the course. I was content to take 7th overall in the TT averaging 311 W and pass the 2 guys in front of me in GC from the group I had finished with the day before. I think in total I passed around 4 guys in front of me so that always feels good, as well as just staving off Vasyl from catching myself (haha).

Stage 3 - Baker City Downtown Criterium

Written by Keegan. This Course is a semi-technical, rough pavement, 6 corner, very short, .59 mile lap race. We raced 40 minutes which ended up being 37. It was quite cold on the day and even sprinkled a bit, with a tough right to left headwind on the long finishing straight. I got a solid warmup with my windbreaker on and tossed it just before the start. Just a little bit of drink mix in my bottle for drinking during the race. There were a few moves at the start by one or 2 riders but it was clear it was going to be tough to stay away. Staying in the top 5-10 riders was the best place to conserve the most energy. I rode at the back for a bit but the Peloton gets strung out through the sequential corners so you’re having to spike much harder to catch back on. There were a few primes of which one I half contested and came in second not wanting to go all out. We got a small gap for 1 lap but we’re chased back. Vasyl wasn’t feeling good so I knew it was up to me to just race for the best result possible. The race was clearly coming down to a group sprint so I stayed top 5 wheels best I could the last 3 laps. There were a few attacks but nothing stuck and we were all together with 3 corners to go and I was in 3rd position. I made sure to leave space to my left because I knew someone was going to jump to the inside for the 2nd to last corner with the pace being so slow so I was already ready when someone jumped. I spiked up to 1500 watts to get into his wheel and then ripped through the last two back to back corners in second wheel. I wasn’t sure if we had much of a gap to the riders behind us but I briefly stayed in draft of the rider in front of me for a few seconds but he was slowing down and I was coming with speed so I launched all the way to the left to avoid giving a draft as much as possible, kept my head down all the way to the finish and bike throw for the win (just incase haha). Very happy to get my first win 6 years after my first bike race, and to showcase how much Alto Velo has helped my grow as a racer.

Stage 4 - Dooley Mountain Road Race

Written by Vasyl. The last stage was an uphill finish—a long mountain climb, about 30 minutes, but not super steep, around 4%. I was 5th in GC for the last stage. We started in cold weather with a bit of rain, so not all riders showed up—about 16 started, and three didn’t. The total distance was 100 miles, with three small hills before the final mountain. My goal was to stay with the group and do my best on that last climb. We started slowly since everyone was tired after three stages, and it was cold. We agreed on a pee break after 40 minutes. On the first climb, we kept a good pace, but some riders had mechanical issues—this is why you’re supposed to check your bike before each race. Right before the climb, three riders had problems—one dropped a chain, two had mechanicals—and they stopped, blocking Keegan for a few seconds. Right before the finish, he missed the front group. The front group then went super fast on the downhill, much faster than a solo rider, so Keegan ended up staying with another group that was chasing. I kept a good pace on the smaller climbs and stayed with the front group. When we reached the last climb, it started raining again, and it was super cold. The strong climbers attacked, and I tried to follow for a moment, but I decided not to. The fourth rider in GC who was in front of me also dropped, so I started chasing. When I caught him, I immediately attacked and kept my tempo. I finished fifth in the stage and fourth overall in GC. Overall, a great result—Keegan and I had planned to win stages, and it was a quite hilly races for us to fight for a GC podium. A great experience, and my first stage race.