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Chloé Dygert is so competitive she can’t even play boardgames with friends. This September, that drive helped the 22-year-old become the youngest woman to win an elite world time trial championship. She’s well on her way to becoming one of cycling’s biggest stars.

Dygert always played sports, but did not set out to be a cyclist. “I didn’t want anything to do with cycling,” she says. “My dad kept giving me these stupid bikes! I’m like, ‘Dad, I don’t want bikes!’” That changed in 2013. Dygert had competed in local races, attending with her dad and brother. But then her father promised her a pair of Oakley sunglasses if she rode the junior national championship race in Wisconsin. Dygert finished third.

Since that first junior national race, Dygert has won six world championships on the track and an Olympic silver medal in the team pursuit. She currently holds the world record in the three-kilometer pursuit, and last week she rode a scorching fast time trial to win the world title. She might be just getting started.

Bicycling caught up with the talented American to discuss her path to the world title, the injuries that kept her off the bike in 2018, and what comes next.

What emotions did you feel when you won the world time trial championship last week?

You know, I don’t really celebrate. Even on the podium, Anna van der Breggen [the silver medalist] asked if I was happy. To me, it’s a goal. I show up to win the race. That’s what I came to do and what I worked so hard to do. And when I do accomplish that, it is super exciting to have that moment, but it happened. It’s in the past already. Now I have to work even harder. That’s how I feel about every world title. It’s very special, but there’s always something next.

Do you feel like success heightens the pressure on you, because then you have to do even better?

No, I don’t feel pressure from anybody other than myself. At worlds, we did the same route as the U23 boys and I was 11th place in the U23 boys. I see that, and I think, crap, why couldn’t I win? It’s more the pressure I put on myself. I could care less what anybody else does or says. If you want to be the best, you have to learn how to adapt and deal with the pressure and everything that’s thrown at you. That’s something that I’ve really worked on, just having a really strong mind.

Aside from winning the Oakleys that your dad promised you, what changed your mind about cycling after that third-place finish at nationals in 2013?

That’s a tough one, because I tore my ACL in 2014 and I didn’t race at all. I came back in 2015 and that’s when my career started [Dygert won both the time trial and road race at junior world championships in 2015]. I think it’s the competition. Can I be the best, you know? And it’s just the feeling I have on the bike—I love the pain. I love the suffering. I think I fell in love with the competition and just everything you have to go through to be the best at cycling.

You’ve been working with three-time Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong since 2016. What are some of the things you’ve learned from her as your coach?

Really, everything! She’s lived it. She’s been at the top level, she’s been the best, she’s won everything. So she has the mentality that I have. She knows what I’m going through and she knows what I need. We just work well together. Of course, there’s times when we have arguments, but there’s no one who could prepare me as well as Kristin.

You missed most of last year due to injury. First, a scary crash at the Amgen Tour of California gave you a concussion, and then you had a knee injury. What were some of the emotions you felt during that time off the bike?

Yeah… that was… that was definitely the hardest part of my life. Just not knowing if I could come back. And I never knew if I was at my top level yet to begin with. I had so many goals and to have not reached those, then having to deal with the concussion, and just having to live life, you know? I’m such a competitive person, and it was hard not being able to do the things I want to do. Even just talking to people, it was a very scary and hard time. I had the best people surrounding me and without them, there’s no way I’d be here right now.

And you just had to wait it out, right?

There’s nothing you can do to make a head injury go faster. I spent time at the Olympic Training Center and got support there. I took a long time off at home and just did all I could to get healthy. You just have to wait it out and be strong. You know, I could have given up. I could have just been done right then. Just the support and the love that I had was just phenomenal.

At U.S Nationals in June, you finished second in the time trial behind Amber Neben. It’s obvious that winning is what you want to do. When it doesn’t happen, how do you handle it?

That was really rough. Even going into the race, I was going through a rough patch with Kristin. Looking back at it now, it was almost laughable. I wasn’t ready physically. ‘I want to win now! Why am I not winning now?’ Kristin knew what she was doing the whole time. It was a very frustrating season—having to deal with the struggle to come back and the loss at nationals and just, everything. Obviously, it would have been great to have won, but it was probably the best thing ever for me to lose, because then I worked so much harder.

After nationals, I went back to the track and everything started coming back. After the time trial at the Pan-Am Games, I uploaded my files and Kristin called. She said, ‘Chloé, you’re back.’ I’ll never forget that. It was one of those moments that gives me chills right now, thinking about it. I could have been done forever. Being able to come back, it’s unbelievable.

Where do you see your career going next? What do you most want to accomplish?

My goal is to do the track, the time trial, and the road race at the Tokyo Olympics. If I race as long as Kristin, I’ll be going to the next six Olympic Games, so that’s the goal. Obviously, I want to go and win every single race and do everything I possibly can. But I also have to be smart, because I get injured so much. I need to be sure that I do the right things and stay healthy. After Tokyo, I’ll reset, and figure out what to do next—if I want to go to Europe or stay in the U.S. to race.

Outside the Olympics and Worlds, are there any specific races you dream of winning?

I’d love to win a classic. I’m definitely not a climber. No way. But I love pink, so it’s just a goal that I threw out once a long time ago: I want to win the Giro, because I want the pink jersey. That’s always a goal that’ll sit in the back of my mind, maybe I just won’t talk about it. (laughing) I’m definitely not a climber.

Do you have any good luck charms or rituals before every race?

Back when my socks were labelled left and right, I would always switch them. So, left sock on right, and right sock on left. But lately, socks haven’t been left or right, so I just put them on. I am kind of OCD about sounds and different things. If I’m putting my shoes on and I’m tightening them—you know how the Boas make a click sound?—if I don’t hear the click how I want to hear them, I have to take them off and redo it. There’s a lot of little things like that, that I have to make sure of. I hate droopy pockets. It drives me nuts.

What’s your idea of the perfect day?

It’s funny, when I have days off, I’m so, like, ‘I need to chill, I need to recover.’ I’m always worried about bikes. [Track teammates] Emma White, Jennifer Valente, and I drove up to the Colorado Classic together. And when we got there, we walked a couple blocks to a Mexican restaurant and sat and just had lunch. We didn’t talk about bikes. It was such a special time, because I love those girls. They’re a family to me. And to just not worry about bikes for an hour and spend time together—to just go out and be free! I think my perfect day would be to take a week’s vacation with the people who matter most to me and just not worry about bikes—just talk and stay up late! And just have fun!

I love how the endurance athlete dream is to stay up late.

(laughing) Yes, it is.

What advice would you offer to someone who is trying to come back from injury?

I feel like the reason I’ve been able to come back is that I’m so competitive. I just, I need to come back. And I think having that mindset overpowers pain. That’s also probably a reason why I get injured so much. But, having a strong mindset, that’s everything! You can’t doubt yourself, you know?