There’s no defending champion on either the men’s or women’s side in today’s time trial competition at the USA Cycling pro championships, but there’s a lot on the line — especially on the women’s side.
With the UCI World Cycling Championships coming to the United States for the first time since 1986, all of the American riders are looking to use this weekend as a springboard into September’s worlds. For some, this is one of their final shots to make the U.S. team for that event.
Last year’s time trial national champions aren’t in town. Taylor Phinney is still recovering from injuries he sustained in an accident on Lookout Mountain in the 2014 road race, and Alison Powers — winner of both the women’s time trial and road race titles last year — retired at the end of last season.
But Colorado cyclist Carmen Small is back and one of the favorites after winning the title two years ago in the time trial — a two-lap race against the clock around a 9.5-mile course at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant — and finishing second to Powers last year.
“I think it’s a great course,” Small said Friday. “It has a little bit of everything and a lot of transitions, so you can’t get a good rhythm, which is maybe good for me.
“We’ll see, but it’s been a very different preparation for me than in past years because I did track racing. I’m just not as consistent as I normally am with my racing. It’s kind of an unknown, but hopefully I have the distance in my legs.”
Small’s spot on the U.S. team for worlds is secure after winning the women’s time trial at the Pan Am Games earlier this month, but there is one spot on the women’s time trial team up for grabs and today’s race likely will determine who gets that final spot on the U.S. team.
Among those in that fight is two-time defending Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong, who came out of retirement last month in an attempt to compete at worlds and potentially the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
With so much at stake, the competition will be fierce today in both time trials, making Chattanooga the site of one of the more important races on the pro cycling calendar.
“It’s good because I’m not nervous, and I don’t really have anything to lose,” Small said. “I have my world championship spot, and it would actually be a bonus to win here. I’ve done the course and raced it the past two years, so we’ll see what happens and I’ll give it a go.
“This is a really important race, because we have one more spot for the time trial for worlds. So a lot of people are gunning for this race, which will be great because it makes it such a good race.”
Even without a spot on Team USA for the world championships, the battle for the Stars and Stripes jersey always brings out the best in America’s top men’s and women’s cyclists. Powers’ special weekend last year aside, there are many great competitors in town ready to fight to be named America’s best.
“Alison Powers is a great cyclist and she did a great thing last year,” said pro cyclist Megan Guarnier, the 2012 U.S. road race champion. “But it’s always a strong field here, and there’s a lot of players here.
“For both Carmen and I, we have had national championships before. We’ve had a little taste of it previously, and we want it back.”
Contact Jim Tanner at JFTanner@bellsouth.net. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.