This past weekend the Andover Cycling team traveled to New Hampton School in Bristol, NH to compete for the League Championships. For a change of pace, the riders completed one and a half laps around Newfound Lake, a flat course of 24 miles. The flatness of the course led to faster times, and once again, the Girls A finished victorious. As is tradition, Captain Arielle Filiberti ’07 won gold. Berol Dewdney ’09 had an outstanding race, finishing as the 2nd Andover rider and placing 3rd overall. As this is her first season racing, every race is a learning experience. In this race, Dewdney trailed Captain Filiberti for the first eight miles before Captain Filiberti broke away. Since this was the longest race thus far this year, Dewdney noted that her confidence was a major factor in the success she experienced. Without the mental component, she stated, it is virtually impossible to complete 24 miles of racing. Dave Heighington ’06 won the Boys B race, recapturing his title as champion from last year. Going into the race, Will Hunckler ’08 revised his strategy. In previous races, Hunckler trailed the leading pack, steadily letting them get farther and farther away as the race progressed. This time however, Hunckler forced himself to cycle at the same speeds of the lead riders, even though a group of ten broke away at the very beginning of the race. The Boys A race was disappointing. Andrew Clay ’08 placed third overall, before the team was notified that he had been disqualified. For safety purposes, cycling races have a rule that the riders are not allowed to cross the yellow dividing line in the middle of the road. After the race a judge claimed that he had spotted Clay’s bike swerve over the line a few times, consequently leading to a disqualification. James Krendall-Clark ’07 finished within the top ten of riders. Colin Touhey ’06 started off strong, breaking away early, but was unable to maintain his pace. Remnants of the week’s rain showers were apparent, making portions of the course dangerous. At a few points, the riders were restricted from sprinting because of major puddles spread across the course. Also, though the hills were few in number, they were extremely steep, leading to downhill speeds of 40 mph. The finish line stood behind a short yet unbelievably steep hill, causing the front pack to split. Consequently, the finishes were not close at all.
