A Junior Journal: Dean Haas preps body and mind

In this second entry in his Junior Journal, Black Sheep Junior Cycling rider Dean Haas details his trip to Bend, Oregon, for the USA Cycling Juniors, U23 and Elite Road National Championships.

Haas will be racing in the Men 15-16 age group in Bend and is chasing his first national title in six tries.

Haas traveled to Boise, Idaho, en route to Bend to make his final preparations at the Elkhorn Classic Stage Race. Brother Stephen and he arrived in Bend Monday to begin their week of racing.

Haas will check in with journals for VeloNews all week.

June 18, 2010 (Elkhorn Classic)
The first stage of the Elkhorn Classic was awesome! The course was about 70 miles, mostly flat but very picturesque. It started with about 20 miles through farmland — probably what Belgium is like even though I’ve never been there. Then it started to get into rollers and the wind. After the rollers there were some very winding descents that were extremely fun to ride even with the peloton.

The first climb, with 30 miles to go, was so much fun. It was in a National Forest; I forget which one. There was an attack at the top of the climb in the feed zone and I went with the move for about a mile until it was caught. Then the course went into some extremely windy valleys where a draft was essential. The course finished with a long climb in the high desert hills of Eastern Oregon. It was windy there as well and was full of false summits.

I got to the front to test the peloton and to try and shell riders. The last climb ended around 10km to go until the finish and I made the selection, whittling down the front group to 15 riders. The finish was fast and I came in fifth in the sprint. I felt
awesome during the race and hardly expended any energy. I worked on my tactics during the race, but I tried not to dwell on my race at nationals because this race is its own private entity.

The race finish was not marked very well and it affected my sprint. I was stuck in no man’s land between the four riders who made the early jumps in the sprint and the rest of the peloton. Those four riders got lucky because the finish was closer than it seemed. I was strong the whole race and I was hoping to sprint better. The finish was totally straight and flat — a little difficult on junior gears but nothing that I couldn’t handle.

I was strong in the sprint things, but it just didn’t seem to go right for me to win, which was actually OK. That is because I realized I didn’t want to be in the leader’s jersey and that basically puts a big a target on your back, as I learned at the Tour of the Gila.

Tomorrow is a time trial and criterium; I hope all goes well. I’m feeling great about the time trial, mostly because I am not tired from today. Also, I have my new Zipp 900 disc wheel to use because the tire is glued. My bike feels fast and so do I.

6/20/10 (Last day in Boise)
Today was stage 4 of the Elkhorn Classic. I actually ended up not racing the 102-mile mountain stage. I figured that doing my longest race ever less than a week from a very important race was not a good idea. So instead I decided to sleep in past the 8:00 a.m. start. It had been raining all night and was probably around 40 degrees F outside, which would’ve not been good since I didn’t bring many cold weather clothes. I’m wondering how many racers took the start because the weather was just atrocious, especially for late June.

This meant that my rocking time trial on Saturday was my last race before nationals. I am very pleased about this because my morale is high for next week. This next week will give me a lot of time to contemplate and think about the races coming up. Today was a
day just to chill and listen to some good music and get my head in the zone. Also, today is my last night in Boise, which I have to say is a pretty cool place. I didn’t get to see very much of the city but I did get to see something extremely cool, the Boise State University football stadium. This is cool because the grass is blue! If in some way I played football instead of raced my bike I would want to play there.

I did a lap of the Hidden Springs Loop with my Dad. I decided to ride my time trial bike and I felt amazing. It may have been the best I have felt on a training ride while riding in my aero bars. It started to rain about five minutes into the ride and I just got soaked. We only rode for about an hour but it felt longer because of how wet it was.

I felt so fast in my aero position. It wasn’t uncomfortable or anything and even though that ride is super hilly I stayed in my aero position. I was staying focused and trying to replicate my time trial at nationals. Tomorrow I will be leaving to finish the drive to Bend, Oregon. It’s time to taper and get ready to race nationals! I have big expectations for next week and I sure feel ready for what’s to come. Let’s see what happens!

June 21, 2010 (Day one in Bend)
Finally I got a rest day today. I finished my travel to Bend, which was the final leg of my trip. We took US 20 from Ontario, Oregon, after leaving from my house in Boise. It took about five hours due to construction, so arriving in Bend was a huge relief. I did a lot of sitting and lying down today, which I have gotten very good at. I’m staying at a house here in Bend with my team, but we didn’t rent it for tonight, so I’ve been hanging at the hotel.

I spent the whole day thinking more and more about my races at nationals. I’ve been thinking about how I can win and what I need to do to accomplish this. I’m contemplating how the race will play out and how difficult it will be. I’m keeping in my mind what
time my races are, prepping myself as much as possible. Getting the coveted stars and stripes is as much mental as it is physical. I need to train and prepare my mind as much as possible. Getting my head in the game is more important than anything because my legs will always be there, but my head might not.

I spent a lot of my day just kind of chilling in the warm summer air here in Bend. I lay on the bed in the hotel and watched some Wayne’s World and listened to Biggie drop the beats. What I have really noticed this time around in Bend is the weather. It gets warm, or I should say hot, back in Lakewood. But the heat here in Bend last July and August was just unbearable. The weather this year is much more pleasant.

Actually, the weather last time I was here wasn’t great either. Cyclocross nationals last December were some of the coldest temperatures I have ever raced in. But this trip the weather is just perfect. I had an awesome meal for dinner tonight, probably one of my favorites. I ate angel hair pasta with Alfredo sauce topped off with some shrimp. I also had some delicious sourdough bread.

I’m getting prepped for another race Tuesday, but not my own. My brother Stephen is racing his Junior Men 13-14 road race Tuesday, so I will be out cheering for him. I’m also going to ride my racecourses tomorrow, which will probably be my last training rides before the big races. I’m really excited for my road race because the course looks like a total blast and will be very fast. This is the start of a great week of racing and an awesome atmosphere. I hope all goes well because I have given it my all in training and racing this whole year. It should be fun!

June 23, 2010 (Eve of the Time Trial)
Today was a day for time trialing. Since I have one of the biggest time trials of my life Thursday, I figured that’s what I should be preparing for. I went out to go ride the time trial course. The first thing I did is practice the start. I did a clipped in start and figured out what gear I need to start in. I decided on a 52-19 for the start.

Then I rode the course and figured out if I should use a big ring or small ring on the climb. I have raced this course so I have experience with what gears I need to use. I decided on shifting between chain rings on the climb because the beginning is not very steep. I was watching the mile markers so I know where the top is instead of just using landmarks. The course I practiced is much steeper than the actual racecourse and I could stay in bars on the practice course, so I definitely can on the nationals course.

I then practiced riding the downhill, which means spinning out my junior gears. For the race, I have a Zipp 1080 front and a Zipp disc rear. So I needed to practice riding those in the crosswinds, which are a little bit treacherous near the bottom of the course. I feel fast for this race and my bike definitely feels fast. I’ve got my head in the game and I’m ready to give it my all.

On Wednesday I went and watched the younger junior criteriums, which were just ridiculous. My brother’s 13-14 race had a breakaway from the gun and the two riders ended up lapping the field. The breakaway had one small chase group it didn’t lap and on the last lap the second place finisher was tangled up in a crash with them. But due to his lead of almost a full lap he held off the field while sprinting on foot to the line. It was some very exciting racing. The course was super technical and looked super sketchy. I am glad to be racing the downtown course and not that course.

(Related: Previous Dean Haas journal)

FILED UNDER: News / Rider Diaries / Road TAGS: Dean Haas / USA Cycling elite national road championships