THE FIRE WITHIN

Leader is a mantle that Carmen Small has always worn well. Whether it was at her high school, in Durango, Colorado, where she was a member of the volleyball team that won the state championship in her senior year. Or after graduating from Colorado State University when she became a high school maths teacher, unfazed by the challenge of educating classes full of angsty teenagers. Or during her cycling career, which she came to later than most via triathlon - she was aged 27 when she signed her first pro contract in 2007 - as she settled into a role as road captain. Or perhaps as a coach, a job she held alongside her racing career. Or as one of the founding members of the Cyclists’ Alliance, the organisation that was set up two years ago to support female riders. And now in her current role as a directeur sportif with the Ceratizit WNT Pro Cycling Team that she joined this year. Small is in the midst of a flowing speech about what qualities make her suited to it, and leadership skills come top.

“Whatever situation I have been in in my life, I have taken on that role pretty easily,” she tells us matter of factly. “You have to have that personality or people don’t listen