Kaia Schmid: from skis and crits to the Women’s World Tour

She started track cycling when she was 9 years old, cyclocross at 11 and competed on the road for the first time when she was 15. For a long time, Kaia Schmid combined cycling with skiing, but about three years ago, she decided to focus on cycling only. And that paid off: in 2021, in her last year as a junior, she became World Champion in the elimination race and earned another three World Championship medals, two on the track and a silver medal on the road after being only narrowly beaten by Zoe Backstedt in the final sprint. Now she’s heading into her first season in the Women’s World Tour with Human Powered Health.

We had a talk with Kaia in the first week of January, while she was training in California together with the friends from her U19 team Lux Cycling.

At the same time, she was preparing to say goodbye to her old teammates and hop on a plane to Europe, not planning on coming back any time soon.

Tell us Kaia, what’s on your schedule for the upcoming weeks?

On Saturday the 15th, I’m flying to Portugal to join Human Powered Health for a training camp. Right after that, on the 26th, I’m moving into my new apartment in Girona, together with my teammate Makayla MacPherson. I’ve known her for a long time, since she was also racing for Lux Cycling and was also part of the US National Team for the Worlds in Leuven, getting fifth. Then after we have settled in, we will be ready to start the season. Obviously nothing is set in stone, but for now the plan is that my first race will be the Setmana Valenciana in Spain. After that, I will be riding Strade Bianche, the Ronde van Drenthe in the Netherlands, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Flèche Wallonne.

That is a pretty nice schedule for your first spring season in the World Tour!

Yes, I was actually kind of surprised to see those races on my schedule, I was super excited.

The plan is that I will be riding Strade Bianche, Ronde van Drenthe, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Flèche Wallonne.

It’ll be a huge change for you, since before the second half of 2021 you have barely raced outside of the USA. For a long time, COVID did not allow for it. Was that frustrating for you?

It’s actually kind of funny. When COVID hit in at the start of 2020, I had just decided to take some time off the bike and focus fully on college. I rode here and there, but nothing really structured. It wasn’t until March 2021 that I started to get back into it. It took me a while to come back into excellent form. I slowly built up throughout the season and started to get better and better results only by summer.

Then in September you went to Track Worlds in Egypt. It was your first experience in an international field. Did you have any idea what to expect?

Not at all, it was crazy! Everyone hopes for results but I did not know a single other girl. So I just went there with an open mind, with the goal of supporting team America, have a good experience, see the Egyptian pyramids and soak it all in. And I really did, but at the same time I got really good results (Editors note: 1st in the elimination race, 2nd in the omnium, 3rd in the points race and 4th in the scratch). It made me realize I was right up there with the best junior women in the world. That was really good for me and gave me a lot of confidence. I don’t think I could have gotten the result I had at the Road Worlds without racing the Track Worlds.

Do you plan to keeping racing on the track next year too? Or doesn’t that fit into your road schedule?

I want to do track as much as I can, but the road is my absolute priority now. Unfortunately, for the next Olympics most of the spots are pretty much taken. In the team pursuit, which is the event I could go for, the drafting is so important and the girls are so tall. Since I’m really tiny, they simply wouldn’t get a good draft from me. And obviously Jennifer Valente is doing the omnium, she’s the Olympic champion. So therefore, I don’t foresee myself racing at the next Olympics. I am in touch with the national team coach Gary Sutton, and hopefully throughout the year I will be able to go to one of his Olympic Development camps. I will see what opportunities I can get out of that, maybe go to a World Cup. Whatever opportunities I can get, I will take, but I’ll play it by year in that department. 

Track Worlds made me realize I was right up there with the best junior women in the world. It was exactly what I needed to perform at the Road Worlds.

When did Human Powered Health offer you a contract?

I had been in contact with them throughout the season, but it wasn’t until after Track Worlds that they really did me an offer. One of the team directors was also directing me at the Track Worlds, so it was convenient she got to work with me there and see my results. At the same time I was also contacted by other teams. That’s why I waited until after Road Worlds to weigh out my options and make a final decision.

Kaia Schmid has been racing on the track since she was nine years old. Here you can watch a video from 12-year old Kaia preparing for the 2015 National Championships.

And why did you choose for Human Powered Health in the end?

It seemed the best option for my development, especially as an American rider going to an American team, being with a lot of people I’ve already worked with or raced against and know. It is hard transition going to the WorldTour coming out of juniors, so it’s good to take that step with people that you trust.

Besides that, they brought in a lot of European riders this year that have been racing in Europe all their lives. I’m convinced that I’ll be able to learn a lot from them, since racing in Europe is so different from racing in the USA. We don’t have many road races over here, it’s mainly criteriums. Crit racing teaches you a lot of great things, but road racing in Europe is definitely more aggressive, there are more crashes, and more in-depth fields. Crit racing can only recognize so much talent, you really have to get over to Europe to see what it’s really like.

You’ve already developed from a pure sprinter into more of an all-rounder. How do you see yourself evolving in the future?

To be honest , I don’t know. It’s something I want find out in the upcoming years. I have the ability to gain and lose weight pretty easily, so I can play around with that. I can gain some weight for the classics and then lose some for stage racing, and then discover what I’ll do best at. When you ask me now, I don’t think I’ll ever be a pure climber, but probably more of a puncher or a sprinter that benefits from a smaller field after a hard race.

Hearing that, I’m thinking of the course of the Worlds in Australia this year. It could be very suitable for you. The first-ever U23 women’s road race world champion is set to be crowned there. Is that something you have on your mind?

The problem is that it is not going to be a separate race, which makes no sense to me. I wouldn’t want to compromise our lead riders or take away a spot from somebody that deserves it in the elite.

A separate U23 category would be a pathway to create more teams that aim at developing U23 riders and ultimately get more people staying in the sport.

Moreover, it would be very strange to have an U23 champion while there are virtually no other races specific for U23’s throughout the rest of season. How do you feel about that, is there a need for a completely separate U23 category?

100 %! I don’t know a lot of European riders yet, but speaking for the American riders at least, I see a lot of them quit after juniors because there’s nothing to aim for. There are no U23 races, there’s no U23 worlds, and therefore they decide to quit racing their bike and go to college instead. A separate category would be a pathway to create more teams that aim at developing U23 riders and ultimately get more people staying in the sport. 

As a final question, if you could choose one race you would like to have won by the end of your career, what would it be?

Paris-Roubaix, that would be insane!

Although I haven’t raced on cobbles yet, it’ll be my first time this year. I’m really excited, I really wonder how it will go.