Canada’s Tara Whitten takes silver in the individual time trial at the UCI Pan American Championships

When we reported on May 6 that Edmonton’s Tara Whitten, riding for The Cyclery-Opus team, woud be going to the individual time trial race at the UCI road Pan American championships in Mexico, we wrote that she had “the spartan dedication of an athlete trying to test herself first, and win second.” As of yesterday, it seems that both are working out pretty well for her.

Yesterday, Whitten completed the race with a silver medal finish, neatly upping her bronze medal game at the London 2012 Oympics. Carmen Small, representing the United States, finished fifteen seconds ahead with a time of 27:55.

“It feels really good to be back in international competition after almost three years away,” said Whitten, referring to her hiatus while pursuing doctoral studies after the London Olympics. Now back in the saddle, Whitten is making up for lost time with a solid improvement over that performance, with a focus on keeping that ball rolling.

“My legs were feeling really strong today,” she added. “My pacing was a little off, but I’m happy that I could hold it together for a strong finish. I’m looking forward to building on this result as the rest of the season unfolds.” Canada can also boast a strong finish in the Men U23 time trial race, where Adam De Vos, riding for Team HR Block, posted the best time.

Road races at the UCI Pan American Championships happen this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday. Next up for Whitten will be the 2015 Amgen Tour of California Invitational time trial, happening May 15 at Big Bear Lake.