Elle Anderson takes the win, both days at Gloucester. © Meg McMahon
With four back-to-back wins (at Madison for Trek CXC Cup and at Gloucester last weekend), Elle Anderson has been the one to watch in a lot of races. So when Katerina Nash and Katie Compton showed up for Providence, the question was: How will Anderson do with the two titanesses of cyclocross gunning for the wins as well? She didn’t disappoint, and the three women quickly took off in the lead group, and while Nash broke away, it was Anderson who snatched up second place.
On second place… I’m pretty excited! I have massive respect for the women I raced against today. It was an honor to ride their wheels and just follow that lead group and breathe really hard. It was really fun.
On the race… I was fortunate to have a pretty good start. I lined up behind Katerina and could follow her wheel to the front. Pretty early on I worked my way up to that second or third wheel position and Helen [Wyman] pushed the pace for the first little bit which was really nice to string out the field. I just kind of stuck with the front and before I knew it, there was this selection of the three of us, Katerina and Katie and I. I was hanging on for dear life. it was an incredibly hard pace. Katie was throwing down attacks, Katerina was throwing down attacks and I was doing everything I could to hang on.
On the finish… At one point I was dropped and had to claw my way back! I remember Katerina launching her attack and it was spectacular to watch. I was not in the right position to chase it down but I definitely saw it happen. Katie and I worked together a little bit and rode the rest of the race and that was it.
On the course… This course is always a classic. I love coming back to Providence, it’s one of my favorite races of the year. It didn’t disappoint this year, a little different but it’s just great! I like when it’s a little different. It keeps it interesting.
On power versus technique… There were times when the power output was so high but the course is great because there is that mix. You have parts where you ramp up the power and parts where you focus on the technical aspects and that’s a great ’cross course.
On her new level of racing… I am very excited! It would be a tremendous honor to race World Championships. It’s a long season and this is still new to me. Every weekend, I want to get better and have a lot of fun.
On Europe this year… We have started that conversation. I might have something in the works for later in the year so stay tuned!
Watch the full interview here:
