Fitchburg - Women's 3/4, Sally Annis, 7-2
Over the past four days, I realized how instrumental a team can be in the final results of a race. Thanks to all the support, advice, equipment, tips and cheers that the NEBC team offered up to me as I went into Fitchburg for the first time, I am happy to say that I was able to bring home the orange jersey for the team. This would not have been possible without all the support I received from NEBC. So, a big THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!
Here are the stats:
Number starters: 82
NEBC rider: Sally Annis
Results:
Time Trial: 3rd
Circuit Race: 38th
Road Race: 1st
Crit: 2nd
Overall: 1st
Much of my success was due to Jess Truslow and all the advice, tips, and equipment she lent me. I won the overall title by around 14 seconds, and if Jess hadn’t lent me her TT bike and trainer and clued me into the fact that a time trial bike is very important along with using a trainer to warm up and cool down, there is no way I would have been successful. So Jess thanks for everything, you were instrumental in this win!
Erin, Cris and Tami also helped me out a ton when I realized that the little 23 cog I had on rear wheel just wasn’t going to cut it on the mountain. So, thanks for all the advice and info. I settled on using a 27 and that made the road race much easier.
Aiyana offered me a place to stay, drove the lead car in the road race, in addition to telling anyone with any sort of NEBC attire to yell ‘go sally’ as we went by. So, I heard cheers all along the course which was great.
Steve Weller, our esteemed coach, offered some critical advice on the road race that worked perfectly in addition to helping me with the final tapering going into the race.
Kathy Martin and Ross Kennedy came through with people to feed me. During the road race it was great to pass the NEBC tent full of people offering up feeds and cheering me on.
And during the Crit, there was quite a few NEBCers out there cheering me on. It was awesome to hear “go sally†all the way around the course. So, thank you to everyone for coming out to cheer!
Ok, here is a brief description of the riding:
Time Trial – use a TT bike and ride fast
Circuit Race – I got a bit antsy and decided to make a break on the hill as we went into the last lap. It worked great, and I got away for about ¾ of the lap, but got caught at the bottom of the hill leading to the finish line. Lesson learned – solo breakaways on the second to last lap of the circuit race may not be the best of ideas. By the time I got caught, I was spent and just wanted to get across the finish line.
Road Race – Using the nifty 27 cog, I was able to spin the entire 4 laps, resting near the front of the pack and staying hydrated and eating, saving up my energy for the final hill climb. On the climb, I felt good and was able stay strong all the way up the mountain with enough energy for a final finish line sprint giving me the win and the overall lead.
Crit – I just sat in the front of the pack the entire race as the rain poured down and people were sliding on the corners that had paint on them so there were a few crashes. Fortunately I was able to stay out of the crashes by staying in the front. On the final sprint I was edged out in a photo finish at the line. So, I have to continue to work on my sprinting skills.
Overall, I thought it was a fun race and had a great time. Thanks again for all the support, gear, advice, and cheers that the NEBCers offered up. This was a great team victory.
-sally