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Joining a professional team

Annie Ewart talks about her first experience as a member of Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies

Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies is a U.S.-based team that includes seven Canadian racers. On the women’s team are Lex Albrecht, Annie Ewart, Leah Kirchmann, Joelle Numainville and Denise Ramsden and on the men’s team are Sebastian Salas and Marsh Cooper.

This is my first year on a pro team and there are so many new things to get adjusted to and learn. There are things in the past that I had to worry about, and now I don’t have to, like all my own mechanics, setting up trainers for warm up, recovery food, etc… I must say that so far I am really enjoying the cycling life and being on such a great team with amazing teammates.

We just wrapped up the Merco Cycling Classic in California, which was the first race of the season for our team. It was a great way to get into the swing of being apart of this team and getting the legs going again for the season. It was a very successful race for the team because Joelle Numainville finished second overall, we won the top young rider, and Leah Kirchmann was third overall.

The three-day stage race started off with a time trial on Friday morning, which went well for the team. Joelle placed fifth and Leah also placed in the top 10, which set them up perfectly for the criterium and the road race. The overall classification was omnium points based, not calculated by time. They both have killer sprints, which is an asset when it comes to collecting points.

Saturday morning was the 50 km criterium and to say it was a “fast race” is an understatement. It was full throttle right from the gun, and being positioned towards the back is not the best idea. On a positive note, I got to practice my time trial skills inorder to work my way up to the front of the field. It was a very aggressive race with constant attacks coming from all the teams.

We rode a great race as a team, being on the attack and also on the defensive by covering moves. We knew that with Ina Yoko Teutenberg being in the race, it was going to be a hard to win. We did a pretty good job getting close to her with Joelle finishing second and Leah in third, so it was a success. Due to the omnium classification Joelle and Leah both moved up a few spots. Following the criterium it was such a treat to be so well looked after by our team staff. I got to have a massage and all our food was prepared for us. Amazing!

The alarm went off at 5:15 am Sunday morning for the road race, the final day of racing. I looked over at Joelle who I was rooming with and literally thought I was going to have to drag her out of bed myself. Honestly, I couldn’t blame her as it was crazy early. We forced our breakfast down and hopped in the van to drive to the race. The race started at 8:15 and was three laps of the 24-mile loop, which is 115 kilometres. It went by so fast.

Similar to the criterium it was a very fast race with constant attacks all day from all teams. Again our team was very aggressive and were a big presence at the front of the peloton ensuring that we had a rider in every breakaway that went up the road. The course was flat to rolling, and so it came down to a sprint, which we were happy with because we have two great sprinters. They proved this with Joelle placing second to Ina and Leah in the top 10, which secured them both podium finishes in the overall classification.

All in all it was a very successful weekend for the team especially since this was the first time that we have all raced together. I know that it is going to be a great season ahead for everyone and I am super excited to be a part of this team.