Name: Anna Russell
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
How did you get into cycling? I guess I cycled on a TT bike through Triathlon, but my intro to cycling was through Zwift.
How many years have you been racing on Zwift? 5 years
Are you part of a Virtual team? Yes, Team RIOT (community) and Team Saris (elite)
What do you love most about racing? The chat on Discord!
What is your favourite style of race (e.g. points, scratch, iTT, TTT, Chase, duathlon)? Used to be points race but I am really digging scratch races these days.
What is your favourite Zwift women’s race series? My favourite race series is the WTRL Zwift Racing League, it’s not woman specific but they do have women’s only races. We’ve raced this for 4 years now and it’s amazing.
What is your most memorable racing experience, inside or outside or BOTH? It would have to be our clutch race at the end of 2023 WTRL season where we needed to win the race to win the league, we were up against 2024, so it was a hard task. The team just all seemed on fire, it was a points race on Eastern Eight in Watopia and I just remember Jacque Godbe going ALL IN for the Fuego Flats TT segment FTS, she got it too, amazing! We were so fired up in this race and it was a complete team performance.
What is your favourite food to eat post race? I’m usually running to school pickup (literally running) so tbh have a really quick pre-made smoothie. After Triathlon races, where I have a bit more time, my fav would be fish and chips, preferably from a pub.
What advice would you give to a woman entering her first Zwift race? Don’t worry about it too much! We all tend to get a bit of pre-race anxiety and nerves, but remembering that it is for fun and with friends is so important. Also – be on Discord, it makes the suffering so much more manageable when you can chat to buddies.
Any upcoming race are you looking forward to? About to have shoulder surgery actually so just really enjoying group rides and the Big Spin at the moment!
wpDiscuz
