Turner Ramsay (KMS Cycling / Killington Mtn. School) was given the lap bell and then pulled for the win. In this photo, she is trying to make sense of an offical’s direction, with a Cyclocross Magazine editor behind her also trying to decipher the conflicting messages. © Brian Nelson
“One lap to go, just one lap to go for Turner Ramsay!” the voices screamed over the intercom. A bell rang on the lap line, backing up what the announcer was saying and the digital lap count was reading.
Ramsay meanwhile, had her hands in the air in a victory salute. Before the race, she had been told that her race would be cut to the correct time, that her lap count would be one less than shown. But with the conflicting messages, she grabbed back onto her hoods and took off into a sprint after the line to get back to speed. 150 meters later, an official was waving her in as if she was going to be lapped by the other fields.
When I had seen the event play out, I thought the official had made a mistake, and that Ramsay was joining the scores of 15-16 junior women who were pulled in the early goings of the race. I instantly sprinted over to the line to protest that Ramsay was slotted to keep going as the leader. However, I soon found out that only the latter official standing by the exit got the call right: Ramsay wasn’t getting pulled for almost getting lapped, she was getting pulled for the win.
I was able to get an interview with Ramsay immediately after she was told she had won. She was in as much shock as everyone around her. See the interview below, and the combined race report and photo gallery here.
