Captain Austen Novis ’11 lead Andover Boys Varsity A Cycling in its first race of the season this week, finishing third by less than a second. Novis’ performance set the pace for a strong showing on Wednesday.

The first 15 miles of the course were relatively flat, so riders in the A division tried to save their energy for the steep hill at the finish.

“On a course like this, it really all comes down to climbing that last hill at full speed. It was an all out sprint finish...