July 15, 2007 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) — We caught up with Canada’s Anne Samplonius today after her fabulous Elite Women’s ITT ride that brought Canada it’s second gold medal in as many day at the 2007 Pan Am Games. At 39, Samplonius is a veteran rider, and 2007 is turning out to be one of the best seasons of her career as she also won the Canadian ITT championships in Beauce, Quebec earlier this month.

“I’m really happy winning gold today. Anything can happen but I can tell you that I would not have been happy if I’d ended up with the silver. Honestly, it’s not a very competitive field here so I was really focused on winning and it definitely feels good to have done it,” said Samplonius.

We asked how this win compared with her recent national title and Samplonius was resolute. “The 2007 Canadian ITT championship is the biggest win of my career. I’ve never been a national champion and I’ve been racing since 1993 so this title is very special for me. I had to have my best day to win against a very strong field and it was a big goal of mine this year,” she explained. “Today’s win is great but winning the ITT national title is my best win to date.”

Samplonius was the first rider on the 19.5 km ITT course today and we wondered how that affected her strategy. “I wasn’t excited about being first as I prefer to be chasing someone down to give me that extra boost. So I had to focus on my ride and even more on my speed which is always a goal of mine. I was shooting for a 45km/hr average and came in just under that,” she commented. “The side wind was the biggest factor today as the course is flat for the most part. I would say it was the wind that affected my average speed.”

We asked about the upcoming road race on Saturday, July 21 and Samplonius had this to say. “It’s going to be tough out there. The course is mostly flat so it’ll be a sprinter’s race and there are lots of strong sprinters in the field,” said Samplonius. “I hear the Cubans have seven riders and Brazil will have a strong contingent as well, and there are only two Canadians, myself and Joelle (Numainville). It will be a challenge and we can do well — but we’ll need to ride smart,” she added.

After the Pan Am Games Samplonius heads to the Tour de Toona with her Expresscopy.com team, then she competes at the Charlottetown Crit, and then soon after she’s off to Europe and will finish the season there.

So how did it feel to be on the podium for Canada”¦ “It’s a very enjoyable and special feeling to be up there with the National anthem playing. You see many others in that situation and don’t realize how emotional and special it is until it’s your turn. It’s a feeling I’ll keep with me forever,” said Samplonius.

Tomorrow the competition continues as the track events run from July 16-19 at the Barra Velodrome. Stay tuned to pedalmag.com for more coverage of the 2007 Pan Am Games.