After cycling for two years, Utahn now cycles for Team USA in top European courses

SALT LAKE CITY — Two years ago, Tayler Wiles was your typical college student, happily going through the days and preparing to start her second year at the University of Utah.

Then a friend talked her into signing up for a bike race, and Wiles, a 2007 Murray High grad, was transformed.

"I fell in love with it from the moment I got on the bike," Wiles said.

And now, the bubbly blonde with an infectious smile is wearing the stars and stripes as she represents the United States on an elite team of young cyclists racing in some of Europe's top women's races.

Wiles, who celebrated her 21st birthday a few days ago in style while racing in Italy's GP Cento Carnevale d'Europa, will soon race the Tour de Feminin en Limousin in France.

"I had no idea I had the potential to do this," Wiles said. "I just signed up because it sounded fun."

That race, the Sanpete Classic in 2008, was a mix of success and failure. Wiles said she jumped out and joined a breakaway in the women's Cat 4 field but eventually fell off the pace and settled for a mid-pack finish.

But it lit a fire that has not slowed down since.

"The first race was a huge eye-opener," she said. "We were pacelining and I had no idea what that was. I was just trying to keep up."

Those days are long gone. No longer is Wiles simply trying to keep up with the pace — she's setting it.

Though Wiles was "hooked" on the sport after that first race, she had to wait several months for the next season to start. When it did, she wasted no time in rocketing up the local racing scene. She won her first two races in 2009 — including the Tour of the Depot stage race — and quickly upgraded to Cat 3.

As a Cat 3, Wiles was eligible to race against the Cat 1 and 2 racers and more than held her own. She had frequent top-5 finishes and won the grueling 170-mile Tour of Park City.

A month later, Wiles was part of a breakaway in the 206-mile LOTOJA race — winning the sprint for second while the overall winner had escaped up the road several miles earlier.

Those results caught the attention of more than just the local racers.

Pro development team Colavita Cycling noticed Wiles and signed her to race for them. At the recently completed national championships in Oregon, Wiles finished ninth overall in the Women's Elite race and was second in the U-23 results.