Small wins women's US Pro Time Trial title

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Former world championship bronze medalist Carmen Small (Cervelo-Bigla) established herself as a prime contender for Olympic selection by winning the USA Cycling Professional Time Trial National Championship title.

Small, who was third in Florence in 2013, topped former time trial world champion Amber Neben (BePink) by 23 seconds over the 33km course in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Defending Olympic champion Kristin Armstrong (Twenty 16-RideBiker) was a distant third, 1:08 behind Small.

“I’m so stoked right now,” 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 figured out a specific strategy for the undulating course, which was raced early in the morning but still in warm, humid conditions.

“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.”

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