Carmen Small, a world-class time triallist, has temporarily shifted her focus from road racing to a new endeavor on the track. She is the newest member of the US women’s team pursuit squad, and after contributing to their bronze-medal performance at the final World Cup of the season in Cali, Colombia, she rejoins the team at the UCI Track World Championships this week in St. Quentin en Yvelines, France.
Small has been at the top of her game in road racing for the past five years. She won the team time trial with Specialized-lululemon at the UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain, last year, has earned a bronze medal in the individual time trial at Worlds and is a former US national champion in the event. They are all highlights from a long list of road racing accolades that make her, at least in theory, a great fit for the team pursuit.
After some rest and recovery from a long road season abroad last fall, she decided it was time to take her cycling career in a different direction. When USA Cycling offered her an opportunity to try the team pursuit, inviting her to two track camps to test her legs with the other members of the successful women’s team, she jumped at the chance.
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“It was a big chance to take because I’ve never done track,” Small said. “They didn’t know what they would get out of me and visa versa, I had no idea how I would actually perform.
“We gave it a shot to see what would happen, and if it all failed I could still go back to the road. We thought outside the box a bit. It was an unknown for them and for me too, but so far it’s worked out.”
Small joined the US women’s team pursuit squad at two track camps, and spent a little over a week training on her own to get used to the feel of her track bike and riding on the velodrome.
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