When the USA Cycling Professional Road and Time Trial Championships first came to Chattanooga in 2013, Megan Guarnier was the reigning women's road race champion.
It took her a couple of tries in Chattanooga -- and the help of new teammate Evelyn Stevens -- but the Boels Dolmans Cycling Team rider finally has the Stars and Stripes jersey back on her shoulders.
Guarnier held off sprint specialist Coryn Rivera of the UnitedHealthcare team in a free-for-all sprint Monday to win the 69.3-mile race in three hours, six minutes and 48 seconds. Tayler Wiles finished just behind in third.
"I finally got it back, and I finally figured out this course, I guess," Guarnier said "In 2013 when we first had the race here, I was dealing with a lot of asthma and allergy problems, and that was kind of a wake-up call that I needed to look into my health.
"Last year, I was able to be back where I wanted to be, but as a one-man team it was hard. Just having (Stevens) here today helped us get back up on that top step."
A bold move by Stevens, who wound up in fourth place, helped set the stage for Guarnier. The two-time national time trial specialist went off the front of the pack on an extended breakaway in the middle of the race, prompting Rivera, Wiles and Amber Neben to chase hard. Guarnier could just sit on their back wheels while her teammate made the others work and expend energy.
"That was the whole point of it. You've got to go," Stevens said. "Two girls were in it and two girls were sitting on (the back). Megan or I had to go and the other had to sit on (the back). I think it was the perfect move, and it worked out."
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There were several breakaway groups early in the race, but the two climbs up Lookout Mountain stressed the field until there was only a select group of contenders on the three final short circuits.
"It was tough," Wiles said. "I had to try to be super patient, which is something that's hard for me because I like to race super aggressive.
"But I knew that Lookout Mountain was going to whittle the field down and I just had to survive and be really patient and really smart. It was tough at the end, but I just had to be patient."
Rivera's ride was especially impressive with the climbs up Lookout and the steep kicker on Kent Street. The sprint specialist managed to stay in the lead chase group, which caused concern as the race wound down. She kept contact over the climbs and was in a good position heading into the final stretch, but the effort to stay with the leaders -- plus a strong headwind -- kept her from being able to win.
"As a sprinter, you always have a sprint whether you're (tired) or not," she said. "There was a pretty strong headwind, so I wanted to be second out of the corner, and that's what I did. I came close to Megan but didn't quite finish it off."
Guarnier and Stevens race for a European team, and Guarnier has primarily raced at the U.S. championships as a solo rider before this year. With Stevens' assist, she can return to Europe -- as well as the world championships this year in Richmond, Va. -- wearing the jersey of a national champion.
"It's an honor to represent the Stars and Stripes over in Europe," she said. "Every time I'm over there, I'm honored to race for the United States, but to be able to wear that jersey over there again hopefully will raise my game even more."
Contact Jim Tanner at jftanner@bellsouth.net. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.
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