Last weekend Andover hopped over to the neighboring Exeter campus for a thrilling Team Time Trial. The Mens A-division completed ten laps, with eleven paired teams contesting in the race. Captain Thatcher Clay ’04 and teammate Dave Morse ’04 powered their way to a decisive victory, completing the course 34 seconds faster than the second place pair. Coach Thayer Zaeder said, “From a coaches perspective [Saturday’s] win was a marvelous thing to watch…. like clockwork; fluid, powerful, unbeatable.” Anthony Roldan ’04 paired up with B rider Nick Bowen ’06 and racked up impressive results. Despite Bowen’s move up from the B division to race with Roldan, the pair still pedaled their way to a respectable sixth place. In the men’s B division, newcomers Alex Hugon ’07 and James Krendal-Clark ’07 worked well together and finished in 8th place. In the womens race, Arielle Filiberti ’07 and Lily Stein ’07 hoped to race the best of them. Stein took a spill on a sharp turn, further setting back the duo. Still pressing on, the two girls finished seventh. Up-and-coming riders Clarissa Deng ’05 and Isabel Ritchie ’05 rode efficiently through the turns tocome in sixth place. This past Wednesday was the New England Prep League Championships, hosted by Proctor School in Loudon, NH. The criterium style race is particularly exciting, as it takes place at the Loudon NASCAR International Speedway. In the men’s A race, the pack stayed together to the sprint finish. There were a few breakaway attempts, and Morse’s two-lap breakaway was the largest margin gained that day. In the final sprint, Morse was beaten by a bike’s length to take second overall, closely followed by teammates Clay and Roldan, in eighth and tenth, respectively. In the men’s B race, Hugon had a strong showing at the front until his chain dropped and he fell off the back of the pack. Krendal-Clark and Bowen both pushed hard and finished with the pack. In the women’s A-pack Filiberti had her strongest showing yet, working with two other girls to catch speedy Exeter racer Stebbins ’05 in a breakaway. In the final stretch, Filiberti bid her pursuit cohorts adieu and finished ahead of them in second place. Stein, the other PA woman rider in the women’s A race, finished well in the pack. The women’s B race had equal success, with Ritchie and Deng placing first and third, respectively. Murphy and Morissa Sobelson ’05 followed moments behind in the pack. With just three races left in the season, the men’s A team is well in first place for league points. Currently, Clay is placed second for individual rider league points, with Morse creeping behind in third.
