Carmen Small powered her way to another national title after winning the U.S. time trial championships on Friday. The race took place over 33 kilometres over an undulating course in Winston Salem. 

Small who has previously held the title and has medals in the time trial discipline from the world championships, was the second last rider to start. She crossed the line with a time of 42:31.91 proving to be the fastest on the day by 23 seconds to the second rider.

“I’m so stoked right now,” a delighted Small said. “It’s unbelievable. All that hard work over the winter and the spring, has paid off. I was more stressed out than I ever was in my life coming into this race. I was more nervous than I was at World Championships. I had the best preparation coming here. I had time at home to spend with family and my cats and was relaxed for a while. I had good training at home in Durango.”

Small goes on to explain how she planned the race in detail. “I had a very specific strategy. It was a hard course so I didn’t want to go in the red and had to be patient and carry that speed into the next climb. It was pretty good. I talked a lot with my coach about how to ride the course. I had the plan in my head the whole time. It couldn’t have gone more perfect.”

She now turns her attention to the road race on Saturday where she will line up without any teammates. The race is over 140 kilometres on a nine-lap circuit.