Ella Sadler-Andrews:
Ella; “To be perfectly honest, I was pretty scared when I woke up yesterday morning. Not only was it my first race this season, I was also riding my new Kona (as beautiful as it is, I had only ridden it once and could just imagine having a mechanical half way into the race). After a troubled nights sleep (not helped by my kitten attacking my toes as I attempted to sleep), I tried to focus and think of the job the team had to do. I had heard pretty negative things about the race in Twickenham the week before. I was not looking forward to a race full of choppers...”
When arriving at the race HQ, it was great to be greeted with smiles and comfort from my team mates Sarah, Annie and Hannah. Immediately I felt reassured I wasn't alone. We talked through our team plan – simple yet effective.”
The race started fast with Sarah drilling it on the front (seriously,she is a machine!) By is being so fast to start with, it dropped many riders making the race inevitably safer making me feel much more comfortable. Going up the climb was the most important part for positioning. I tried to start at the bottom in the top 10, in case any moves went. One the third (maybe 2nd or 4th) lap, a move did go. I saw the colours of Horizon Fitness get further away knowing that I had to sit tight and not bunch tow. I let the little group I was with try to get close to Sarah's bunch but it never (fortunately) happened. The back of the main field came together again and with a rider in the leading break, all we had to do was watch, make sure the gap got bigger and wait until we got the 'all-clear' to start attacking across.
The gap finally got big enough to assure that it wasn't going to be brough back easily (Maxgear had a rider in the break meaning they weren't working either) so Barney shouted that we could start making moves. Hannah went first, which was quickly jumped on by Corrine Hall and Annie Simpson. The bunch were all over it – no way were they going to let another break get away. We sat tight, looking for moves but ultimately getting ready for the bunch gallop. Annie was to be first, then me and Hannah our sprinter. Annie took it up (surprisingly!) early but kept the gas on. I kind of got a bit stuck in the middle of the bunch but got out eventually and made my way to the front to help Annie out. The pace picked up and I could feel the Maxgear girls on my right shoulder. Hannah had picked up on their lead-out train and has positioned herself well in third wheel (I think!). Me and Annie pushed pretty much to the back. After the last left hand bend, I saw a gap on the left had side of the road as everyone moved right. Despite being well back, I finished near the front with 13th.
Our plan had worked; Sarah had gotten second in the break and Hannah had won the bunch sprint for eighth place. What more could we want from our first race as a team?!”
The team finished with us all on a pretty big high – not only did we get some pretty decent results, it was a race of high standard British women's racing. Being able to warm down with the girls after, sit with them during presentation and just be part of a team was awesome. I can't wait until we get the whole team together – bring on the rest of the season!”
