In EPZ Omloop van Borsele (Saturday, 20 April), a new face appears in the line-up of Liv AlUla Jayco’s Continental Team as Kaia Schmid (21) has arrived in Europe for the first time this season a few days ago. It’s time to get to know our American talent a bit better.
With Kaia it is never boring, she is known as a busy bee. She loves filming, photography, travelling, road trips, hiking, concerts, reggae, and thrifting. She is also studying at the University of Colorado, Boulder. This is also the reason Kaia has joined Liv AlUla Jayco in Europe at a later stage.
Greatest passions
With such a busy, versatile life, you ask yourself: how much room does Kaia have for sport? The answer is simple: a lot. Sport means everything to her. Cycling and skiing are her greatest passions.
“I was a former competitive mogul skier and free skier before choosing to focus on cycling full-time. When I was in high school and middle school I spent a lot of time at ski academy, training out of Killington Mountain School, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and Proctor Academy. Now, whenever I am not on the bike, you will still find me going down on the ski slats. It is still a very big passion of mine and large part of my life. After my career in cycling is over, I’d like to go back to skiing again.”
Addicted
It was her father (Kurt Schmid) who got Kaia into cycling. “My dad was a pro mountain biker, so he got me into racing my bike when I was about six or seven. He would bring me to local kids races and I would compete against and beat all the boys. In my youth, there weren’t as many kids races in the US as there are today.”
Her first memories of cycling go back to when she participated in kids races on super small circuits. “One race, my dad pushed me off the line and I fell a few hundred feet later on my face, getting a big bloody lip. My mom was a wreck and tried to get me to stop the race, but I got back up and finished. She said that’s when she knew I was destined for cycling.”
Kaia got a taste for it. From when she was thirteen, she trained with her father, becoming more and more serious. “I would be bribed by some kind of sweet treat at the end of the ride. That season when I stood on a National Championships podium, I started to understand the correlation between training and racing and fell in love with it. Since then I’ve been addicted to riding my bike.”
Strong season
In 2021, Kaia popped up on the radar as an up-and-coming talent. She won three medals in Egypt at the Junior Track World Championships, including one gold (Elimination race). Moreover, she grabbed two stage wins in Rás na mBan in Ireland, where she competed in her first elite road race. She topped the strong season with a silver medal at the Junior Road World Championships (Leuven, Belgium). It brought her a first pro contract. She is now eager to improve herself.
A mini vacation every day
“My bike challenges me to push myself in ways no other sport can. I strive to become faster, beat my personal records, and dig a little deeper. It challenges me to overcome mental and physical obstacles. It may not take a day to conquer the obstacle, but when I do the feeling is surreal. There is absolutely no feeling like crossing the finish line first and knowing all the long hard hours of suffering and pushing yourself have paid off. When you’re on your bicycle all the worries go away, it’s like you’re on a mini vacation, and I get the privilege to be on that vacation every day I ride my bike.”
Her approach and drive are much like that of her great inspiration, the late Shane McConkey. “He was a super free-spirited extreme skier who pushed limits, tested boundaries, and became the pioneer of free skiing. He pursued different sports with relentless passion and lived his life to the fullest. He didn’t do things the traditional way. He inspires me to push myself, live each day to the fullest, and pursue the things that make me happy.”
Fresh start
After two seasons with a Women’s WorldTeam, Kaia made a conscious decision to join Liv AlUla Jayco’s Continental Team for this season. “After juniors, I made a really big jump to the WorldTour and never got to experience some of the UCI level .2 and .1 races. I am really excited for this fresh start, which will give me the opportunity to find confidence again. I’ve been hurt or sick for the majority of the last two seasons, so I think it’s hindered my development a bit.”
With Liv AlUla Jayco, she comes across a team that has a clear vision when it comes to talent development. “I think I will get the resources and support I need here to get back on track and take my cycling to the next level. When I step back into the WorldTour I want to be making a big impact in races, not just be another number in the field. When ready, I’d love to join the WorldTeam and make strides in big races like Gent-Wevelgem and the Ronde van Drenthe.”
Endless possibilities
Her biggest goals are to succeed at the Olympics and to win big races. “But at the moment those goals still remain dreams for me. In order to achieve those dreams, I like to take small steps. Day by day has always been the approach I like to take, one small step at a time. In this sport and life there are endless possibilities, so I just have to keep doing what I do best and see where the road leads me.”
Non-traditional winter
Kaia is currently in the Netherlands where she is putting the finishing touches ahead of her first race of the season, the EPZ Omloop van Borsele (Saturday, 20 April). Over the past few months, she has been building a solid foundation.
“This winter I did a lot of different things to prepare for this block. Maybe not the traditional winter of a cyclist but one that I needed and thoroughly enjoyed. A lot more cross-training than usual and less time spent on the bike than I normally would put in this time of year. This involved implementing a proper gym plan, running, hiking, skiing, and riding on different terrains and bikes depending on the weather. In Boulder, it can get quite snowy and cold.”
She continues: “As March rolled around, I decided to wrap up the ski season and head to warmer weather for a big training block. I clocked in two intense 30-hour weeks in California, followed by some racing in Boulder and recovery before hopping on a flight for the upcoming races.”
Victory in Boulder
Last week, she gained confidence with a second place in Boulder Roubaix, a road race with many gravel sectors. In that race, riders faced extreme wind gusts of 70-100 miles per hour. “It was honestly one of the most hectic races I’ve entered outside of Europe with how windy it was.”
The day after, she won a criterium, again in windy conditions. “This shattered the field and allowed me to break away with one other girl for the majority of the race. In the sprint I was fortunately able to top it off,” she said. “I was super happy to get some local racing in and see so many familiar faces I haven’t seen in years since I’m not on the US circuit anymore. It’s also always nice to pull off some good results.”
How good her form is will become clear on Saturday. “The local races in Boulder last week were my first races since the beginning of September. Despite doing well at these races, you really can’t compare them to European races or use them as an indicator on how the form is for Europe. However, the team coach and I recently completed some power tests, and we were happy with the numbers I put out. Hopefully that will translate to the races well and the team can achieve some good results.”
Kaia has several races scheduled in the coming weeks. After the EPZ Omloop van Borsele, she will be preparing for the Gracia Orlová (Czech Republic) and La Classique Morbihan (France). After that, she will return to US to complete her final exams at university.
“After exams are over, I will be heading to US Professional Nationals in Charleston, West Virginia to compete in the road race and criterium. I haven’t competed at US Nationals since 2022; and with Olympic qualifications this year the field will be stacked, so I am super excited to go and compete here.”
Home away from home
In June, Kaia resumes competition with Liv AlUla Jayco in Europe, where she will stay until the end of the season. Girona will then be her base in between the races. In the US, she lives alternately in Boston, Massachusetts (with her mother) and Los Angeles, California (with her father).
“I first went to Girona after World Championships in 2021, and it’s been my home base ever since. When describing it to people, I always say it’s my home away from home. I’ve spent more time in Girona over the past two and a half years than I have anywhere else in the world so I’m quite accustomed to the lifestyle there now. I’ve also built a community of friends there with other cyclists which has been super nice.”
She can’t wait to tackle her favourite training rides here again. “It’s funny because I am not a big fan of climbs in races, but I love training climbs all day. My favourite types of rides involve long endurance rides on big climbs. Climbs allow me to soak in the beauty of a ride and tune out to good music. My favourite ride in Girona is the coast loop over Els Àngels and finishing climbing Els Àngels again. This ride is my go-to endurance ride that involves beautiful views, lots of coastline, and good snack stops.”
