Trotman is coached by Nick Taylor, of Dunedin, and is eyeing the Round Lake Taupo elite women's race on November 26 and then the five-day Tour de Vineyards in Nelson in December before tackling her first New Zealand elite nationals in Christchurch in January.
She intends to return to the University of Otago next year to complete a nutrition degree.
"This is my first season of structured training. I started working on that, back in July, and I have definitely kept on improving," Trotman said after the race.
The inaugural Tour de Femme attracted more than 100 entries but organiser Ed Steven believed bad weather on Friday put several off from competing the next day, with 23 entering the longer 77km race and about 50 entering a 44km individual and relay race.
Marshals decided during the race to shorten the 77km course to about 68km because of ice and snow on the summit of the Crown Range.
Several cyclists were road racing for the first time and the field strung out along the road from Wanaka to Cardrona until some riders took control and formed bunches on the return leg to Wanaka.
In the longer race, Trotman and experienced multisporter Joanna Williams, of Wanaka, stole a break on the field at 22km but the early turnaround before the final steep climb caught Trotman out, who had not been planning to break from Williams during the descent.
"I am a climber and I was waiting for the steep climb so I could hopefully make a break then," she said.
Her break from Williams was successful and Trotman finished the race on her own, just over two minutes ahead of Williams.
Trotman said she enjoyed the women-only race and the enjoyed the course.
"It was pretty chilly to start with but I soon warmed up. The snow was right down to a lot of the course, so it was quite a scenic ride," she said.
The 44km race came down to a sprint, with Arrowtown's Deb McKerchar winning 3sec ahead of the following bunch.
