Caitlin Conyers says she is encouraged by her display at the San Dimas Stage Race in California at the weekend as she builds towards the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

Conyers, competing in the pro one and two women’s race, finished fourth in the time-trial, sixth in the road race and fifth in the criterium to place fourth overall.

The Bicycle Works rider narrowly missed out on a podium finish, with an overall time of 4hr 10min 06sec for the three stages.

Conyers, who will compete in the time-trial and road race in Lima this summer, said she was particularly satisfied with her performance in the hill stage.

“My goal was to do sub-20 [minutes] on the hill climb and I hit 20 on the mark,” she said. “I was pretty happy with that.

“I moved up to third in the GC [general classification] on the road race, so my goal going into the crit was to hold that position as I was only one second ahead [of fourth].

“Although I was unable to keep [third], it was a good learning curve for me. My sprinting is definitely getting better.”

Conyers earned Bermuda a spot at the Pan American Games while making her international debut at the Elite Caribbean Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic last October, winning silver in the road race and bronze in the time-trial.

The 29-year-old only started taking the sport seriously last season and believes she is getting stronger with each race.

“Every race prior to the Pan Am Games will be another test and another learning experience,” said Caitlyn, who plans to compete at the Pan American Championships in Hidalgo, Mexico, in May.

“I do feel like I’m improving and I do feel like I’m getting stronger. This was my first pro one and two women’s race in the US and I felt like I was able to hang in there. I’m feeling pretty good about where I’m at.”

Also competing in California at the weekend were Bermudians Dominique Mayho, Kaden Hopkins and Nicholas Narraway.

Racing in the men’s category two, Mayho finished the stage race on a high note, winning the criterium and claiming the green jersey after taking both intermediate sprints.

Mayho placed 20th in the time-trial, 26th in the road in which he suffered a flat tyre, before winning the criterium for an overall time of: 3:53:53, thirteen minutes behind overall winner Jason Pedersen.

“I was looking to win the crit as I’m best suited to the sprint stages,” said Mayho, who also hopes to compete at the Pan American Championships in May. “I ended up getting a flat tyre and that ruined my chances of going for the win. I knew I had to do something in the crit to make the race worthwhile.”

Hopkins placed 39th overall in the pro category one, his maiden outing at that level. He followed up a sixteenth-place finish on day one with a 40th-place finish on day two before placing fourteenth in the final stage for an overall time of 5:38:05. Narraway was 33rd overall in the junior 17 to 18 race with an overall time of 2:56:23.