Catching Up With Andrew Pinfold

The Souteast Criterium Series started on the weekend with racing on Saturday April 24 with the Terrapin Athens Twilight Criterium and Sunday evening saw the action hotting up with the Historic Roswell Criterium. Andrew Pinfold, a resident of North Vancouver, BC, is leading the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling p/b Maxxis team in this criterium series. Pinfold captured second place in Sunday’s Roswell Criterium, Ken Hansen of Team Type 1 won the race.

Pinfold had this to say about Sunday’s race, “By halfway through, I think everyone had resigned themselves to the race ending in a bunch sprint. With conditions like last night, not finishing until almost 11 p.m. and then not getting to bed until 2:30 a.m., it can take a lot out of you.”
“The finish is a bit tricky,” Pinfold said. “You come out of one corner, go up a rise and then it’s a false flat to the finish. You need to time your sprint really well. I misjudged the sprint a little bit and Ken timed it perfectly.
“I didn’t have great legs today and Ken’s riding really well of late,” Pinfold added. “While I would’ve liked to hit the top step today, given how I felt, I’m pretty happy with second place. We had a good start to the week here in Georgia. I’m hoping to get stronger as the week goes along. And hopefully we can bring home a few more wins this week.”

In the midst of this busy race week which continues today with the Beaufort Memorial Criterium in South Carolina, Pinfold answered a few questions about the racing and his season:
Going into this criterium series, do you treat this racing, like a stage race?
While there are overall titles for the week of racing here in the SE I think that we are approaching this series as a week of individual races. Hopefully though with decent results throughout the week we’ll be able to take the overall title.
What is the team goal for this criterium series?
Our goals at any race are of course to race as well as possible which in turn leads to races victories. Certainly, after last night (Karl’s win) we are confident we can continue to put some very good results throughout the week.
Your goal?
I would like to win a race this week.
How is your season going so far?
I think my season has been going well thus far. Some pretty decent results and an overall victory at Dana Point and a couple podium finishes. I am happy with where my form is at the moment and feel like I am continuing to get fitter with each week.
Any race you’d like to have a “do over” on?
Too many to count over the years. I’ve got a few second and third places that I would love to try a crack at again. This year I think I’d take the Dana Point crit to do over.
Best moment of the season?
Probably being a part of a couple good wins for the team Rory’s win in San Dimas, and Karl’s win at Athens Twilight.
What is next for you after this crit series?
I spend a couple days resting in Ashville NC, then I fly to Arkansas to do Joe Martin, then home for a few days, then Tour of California. I’m tired just thinking about it.

To keep up-to-date with Pinfold and his racing, be sure to follow him on Twitter (@Pinnerg). And be sure to follow Canadian Cycling Magazine on Twitter as well (@CDNCyclingMag)!