Early Season Rain Does Not Faze PEA Cycling

This season, Exeter’s cycling team excelled out on the road. In the overall point standings, the team nished third out of the twelve teams in the New England Road Cycling League with 1,076 points. The team barely missed second place, nishing just behind Holderness, who racked up 1,095 points. Although the team was disappointed that they were unable to take the second plate spot, they still see the season as a great success.This year, the team had a lot of newcomers, particularly girls. Despite their lack of experience, the team managed to race well. ”Overall, the team performed better than expected,” head coach Don Mills said. “On the girls’ side, we had inexpe- rience that was made up by enthusiasm and grit. On the boys side, we had a hard working group that was evenly matched.”Although the team found success by the end of the season, it was not without struggle. In the team’s second race, the Exeter Time Trial, four boys crashed and were un- able to nish, but as the season progressed, the new cyclists began to nd their groove. Prep Anastasia Sarr, a newcomer to competitive cycling, ended up nishing the season with the most points on the Exeter Team. Over the course of the season she scored 343 points, ranking 6th among the female cyclists in the league.“My endurance and strength improved greatly,” Sarr said. “By the end of the year, I was able to complete the workouts and races with more ease.” With her improved endurance and strength, Sarr was able to go from a cycling rookie to the leading scorer on the team.Other cyclists saw similar improvement. Lower Cornelia Smith, another newcomer to the team, nished close behind Sarr, 7th among the leagues girl cyclists and scored 331 total points. Lower Erick Friis fought his way back from two early season crashes to place 6th in the boys’ B group, tallying 216 total points on the season.To break in this new talent, Mills held challenging prac- tices in which the team would ride up to 45 miles. Veteran upper Rohan Pavuluri, in his third year with Exeter cycling,

knows that Mills’ tough training practices are well worth it. ”The rigor of having Coach Mills has helped me improve incredibly [in] terms of both ability and strategy,” he said. “I've not only become a much better athlete because of our hard workouts, but I've also become a much smarter bike rider.”After training for three years, Pavuluri this season was able to score the most points of any boy on the Exeter team at 306 points. This total put him at 6th among the male cyclists, despite having missed the opportunity to score points at the Gould Road Race because of his involvement in the Mock Trials National Tourna- ment. For his impressive performance this season, Pavuluri was voted both MVP and team captain for next year.”I feel that I can bring my passion for the sport of cycling to the team,” he said. “I'm a huge cycling fan and I hope to get others fully immersed in the sport. I also hope to lead by setting a good example for others.” With Pavuluri leading the charge and the two leading Exeter girls Smith and Sarr returning, the team is looking forward to a great season. Sadly, the team will be losing seniors Jane Duncan and the two team captains Gene Chang and Joon Yang. Although the team will be losing three important members of the team, they are still very excited about the upcoming season. With new recruits coming in and an extra year of experience in the bag for all the returning cyclists, the team knows they can do extremely well. “We have a very good shot at winning New Englands this coming season,” Pavuluri said. “We'll have a lot of experience and depth in both the girls’ and guys’ sides.”

In preparation for the new season, many of team's cyclists have plans to continue training over the offseason. “I plan on riding a bunch this summer as a leg workout,” Friis said.After his three years cycling, Pavuluri certainly knows the importance of preparation. “I will de nitely be training during the winter,” he said. “Over the last two years, I've realized that training in January and February makes all the difference come time for racing in the spring.” With a team full of cyclists who are dedicated to the sport, the team will be ready to excel next year.