Smith leads LadiesFirst sweep in Maine

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In what must have seemed like a dream race, the LadiesFirst Racing Team put on a dominating clinic today finishing one, two, three on the day.

Andrea Smith was the strongest of the three. She broke away on the last lap to complete the sweep of the weekend. Crystal Anthony who was frequently seen at the front of the three-person train finished second. Elle Anderson notched her first ever UCI podium with a first place finish.

The course at Pineland Farm was drenched with rain overnight. Conditions were muddy and many off-camber sections of grass were treacherous. It was apparent that the pits would play an important role in today’s race.

Everyone was expecting a repeat of the Sally Annis (Crossresults.com) and Andrea Smith battle that they had seen on Saturday. Annis took the hole-shot as expected but then seemed to fall back. Smith credited her team-mate. “Crystal was taking some really good lines. She rode when Sally had to run and that’s where we got the gap.”

It was impressive to see the three work together lap after lap. “Crystal was riding strong and Elle was riding equally strong” remarked Smith. “We were just trying to ride steady and not crash each other out. At times it appeared they were doing a team time trial as they drafted up the pavement sections of the course.

Behind the leaders, positions changed often and were up for grabs. Sara Bresnick-Zocci told Cyclingnews before the race that not only was she was unsure what her fitness was, but that she was also racing with a respiratory problem. Neither seemed to bother her much as she rode consistently in fourth place.

Rebecca Wellons, who had a miserable day on Saturday, came in with new-found determination. She rode to a fifth place finish. She ran well, plus was able to stay on her bike in a couple places where others were forced off.

Evelyne Blouin was riding in the top six when a mechanical forced her to run a long distance to the pits. Her triathlon training served her well, as she was able to run nearly as fast as others rode to the pits. She lost a few positions and finished tenth on the day.

Many of the top riders will now head to either Beacon Cross in New Jersey, or to the Colorado Cross Classic in Boulder, Colorado.