Jessica Wang ’18 paced herself throughout the course to exert a final push and secured second place in the Girls A race. Co-Captain David Shamritsky ’17 remained mentally and physically strong throughout his race, sealing a second place in Boys B with a time of 21:53.
On Wednesday, the Andover Cycling team rode a four-mile individual time trial at the Killington Mountain School Hill Climb. The first two miles of the course involved extensive steep hills that required physical and mental strength. The second half of the race consisted of rolling hills with especially steep uphills.
Shamritsky said, “The entire thing is uphill and brutal, and you have a moment when you think that you have gone too hard and are going to blow up at one point. It’s as much a mental challenge as a physical one, and the entire course is a test of how far you can push your body and keep going.”
The team stood at a disadvantage due to the lack of steep roads to practice at in Andover. Yet, Andover had been working on hill repeats during practices which aided their ability to climb at Killington.
Wang utilized her mental determination to improve to a second place finish in Girls A. Wang said, “I had a fluid cadence through the steep hills, keeping a steady rhythm in my legs. A huge part of this race was the mental factor. I tried to remain calm, concentrating on the road directly in front of me, rather than the gigantic hill as a whole.”
Since last year, Shamritsky improved from tenth to second place. Leah Adelman ’17 said, “David is an incredibly hardworking guy and deserves the great result he earned today. I’m so lucky to get to ride with him. It pushes me to work harder.”
Co-Captain Meg Davis ’17 and Adelman placed thirteenth and fourteenth respectively in Girls A. The two riders went at a steady pace throughout the whole race and received times of 29:06 and 29:42 respectively.
Isaac Newell ’18 who placed eighth in Boys B said, “My most difficult moment from the race came at some point in the second mile. The first two miles are the most difficult, steepest part of the climb. At that point I’d gotten passed twice, which lowered my morale. But I found a second wind in the second half and passed back one person.”
Andover Cycling looks ahead to racing at Phillips Exeter Academy’s time trial this Saturday in hopes of seeing even more improvement.
