After finishing second in his first triathlon in the eighth grade, Anthony Minickiello ’20, a two-year Lower from Swanzey, N.H., decided to join the cycling team at Andover. Minickiello, who is also a member of Boys Varsity Cross Country and Boys Varsity Swimming, has proven to be a vital asset to Andover Cycling, winning many races in his division.
Minickiello said, “Growing up, my two main sports were swimming and [cross country] running. The summer before coming to Andover I decided to enter a local triathlon and placed second overall riding my dad’s 1980s mountain bike. At that moment I was hooked and knew that I would join the cycling team at Andover.”
Minickiello has learned about the technical aspects of the sport from his coaches and teammates at Andover.
“I learned so much about riding from Coach [Thayer] Zaeder and Coach [Ben] Duclos. I learned it was more than just switching my bike into top gear and crushing it. They taught me about pacing, proper gearing changing and drafting. I learned from Jess Wang [’18], five minutes too late, to not inflate my tires to 120 psi as one might burst and I’ll end up in a ditch on the side of the road miles from campus.”
Minickiello credits the team dynamic as an important source of motivation.
Minickiello said, “What I like about the cycling team the most is the great team camaraderie. Maybe because it is a smaller group of athletes compared to the other sports I do. Maybe it is because it is the only coed sport I am a member of. Maybe it is because we never have home meets and we only have each other encouraging, consoling, helping and cheering for us, but it has a very different vibe than most sports at Andover.”
