World time trial champion Amber Neben will line up in her rainbow jersey at the USA Cycling Professional National Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, aiming to add a second special jersey to her collection with the stars and stripes. But after a limited season and some experimentation with her training, the 42-year-old is looking at the race as a secondary goal to her Worlds title defence. `I always come in with the same expectation, and that`s to win. That`s no different,` Neben tells Cyclingnews. `My confidence is in my faith. I`ll do my best out there and we`ll see what happens.` Neben won the rainbow jersey in Qatar by just five seconds in a tight race over Ellen van Dijk and Katrin Garfoot. She knows that she will have to eke out every last watt she can find to have a chance of making the medals this year, so she`s changed up her formerly tried-and-true training plan. She admits it has `made things a bit less predictable`.ADVERTISEMENT Although she won the 11km opening stage at Redlands in early May by 18 seconds, when it came to a longer test in the Chrono Gatineau, she was off the pace of compatriot Lauren Stephens by 11 seconds. Neben anticipates a close race in Knoxville and whether or not she prevails depends on how she`s absorbed the new training scheme. `With risk comes reward, we`ll see if we get that reward. Mentally I`m ready, but physically it is to be determined to see how my body responds,` Neben says. `I`m on really fast equipment and have dialled in the aerodynamics. As a time trialist, you find a sweet spot on the bike. When you change equipment you`re always searching for that sweet spot. I`m not sure I`ve found it, but I`m closer. We`ll probably go back in the wind tunnel after nationals to see if we can fine tune it a little more. It`s a good place to test, so I`m excited about the weekend.` Neben has been racing for almost 20 years and says that finding that competitive edge gets harder and harder every year. `For som ...
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