Caitlin Conyers believes she learns more from her disappointments than she does her victories, as she continues her preparations for the Pan Am Games next month.

The dominant force in women’s cycling domestically has endured mixed results home and abroad in the build up to representing Bermuda at the Games in Lima, Peru, going from the ridiculous to the sublime on the bike.

At the beginning of the month, Conyers missed the cut in the Vuelta Femenina a Guatemala on the first day of the five-day event, ruling her out of the, before returning to win the Bermuda Bicycle Associations Time Trial Championships in St David’s on Sunday.

However, despite her most recent success, Conyers reflects on the disappointment of Guatemala with far more significance in her development to make her mark in on the international stage in Peru.

“I was very disappointed with Guatemala. I had trained and prepared to compete over a five-day event and it was cut short after just the first day,” said the 27-year-old, who suffered a crash on the first day of the event.

“The crash was the last thing in a line of things that had gone wrong in the race. The main issue was that I didn’t get my nutrition right.

“I didn’t realise how much energy I was burning, so when the crash happened my resources were just depleted.

“When I lost two minutes changing my tire from the crash I just didn’t have enough in me physically or mentally to make up the ground to the rest of the field and missed the cut.

“I was gutted but I look at it as a learning experience. It was a disappointing trip all round but I definitely learned more from that than I do from the local races I’ve won in Bermuda.

“Sometimes in Bermuda I’m not fully right and I still mange to get away with a win but elsewhere you can’t do that, everything has to be right and you have to fully committed mentally and physically.”

Conyers was back to her dominant best at the weekend claiming victory in the female open 19-39 age group ahead of Nicole Mitchell and Jamie-Lee Wright.

While she may have learned more about herself from the disappointment of Guatemala, Conyers still gained valuable information about herself after breaking new ground on the bike.

“It’s always nice to be able to prove myself and the time trial discipline is the easiest thing to do that because it’s an individual battle with yourself,” she added.

“You can gauge your physical capabilities and see how close you are to your main objectives.

“The good thing for me is that I managed to hit 24.5mph which is the fastest I’ve ever gone in Bermuda. That’s the most encouraging thing for me because I know I’m improving all the time.

“I know what I have to do to keep improving and perfect little things ahead of the Pan Am Games.

“I’ve not had the most ideal past month but I know they’re all experiences that will help me grow and get stronger.”