Keven Lacombe and the importance of teamwork
If Keven Lacombe has learned anything from his European stint so far, it's the importance of teamwork.
If Keven Lacombe has learned anything from his European stint so far, it’s the importance of teamwork.
Lacombe scored one of SpiderTech p/b C10’s best results of the season so far, finishing eighth March 16 in Nokere Koerse, a tough Belgian one-day race that finished in a bunch sprint. After the race, Lacombe publicly thanked his teammates for the hard work they did to position him for the finale.
Lacombe is no stranger to racing in Europe — last year he won the GP des Marbriers in France — but this is the first time he’s spent so long there and raced at such a high level.
The 25-year-old from Amos, Que., shared his thoughts on his season so far with Canadian Cycling Magazine on the eve of the team’s next race, Dwars door Vlaanderen. (Answers translated from French).
Q. Congratulations Keven on your eighth place in Nokere Koerse last week. The finish looked a little hairy, and very different in style from racing in North America. How have you adapted to sprinting in Europe and what qualities have you had to develop to be in contention in the finale?
A. The reason I was competitive in that sprint was because we worked well as a team. As you said, the sprints here are very different. The sprint is a fight for the last 10 km to the finish line. You can’t wait for the final kilometre because the speed is already to high to move to the front. So the key to getting a good position and doing a good finale is teamwork.
Q. Your next race is Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday, the first real race on cobblestones of the season. How much experience do you have on the cobbles and how do you expect to do?
A. We have covered the course several times. The cobbles are going to be very hard — getting into a good position in the approach to the cobbled sections is going to be tough. Working as a team — moving around in the peloton as a group to get our guys in front for the hard sections — will be essential.
Q. The team has already had an interesting season so far, with a lot of racing packed into the first European trip. How is this trip contributing to your development as a rider?
A. Here, you learn fast. It’s very different from what we’re familiar with in North America. Once you’ve learned how it works, you just have to apply it. In the end it’s simple: You have to be as close to the front as possible and the selection happens behind.
Q. You complimented your teammates on the work they did to set you up for the finish in Nokere Koerse. How is the team developing, and which of the riders has surprised you so far?
A. Since the beginning of the European project the biggest lesson we’ve learned is the importance of teamwork and each rider’s contribution to help position our best rider on the day or our leader for the race depending on the goal we set before the race: Winning the stage or race, maintaining our position in the overall standings etc. There’s no star or “superman” on the team who can win on his own. We’re all part of the team and we’re all progressing together.
Q. When will we see you racing in Canada for the first time, and what are your key objectives for this season?
A.Because we now have a pro continental licence, we can only enter races with a UCI sanction. So the Tour de Beauce [June 14-19] will be our first UCI race in Canada, followed by the national championships [June 23-26] which will be held in Burlington, Ont., this year. The main goals for the season are the Amgen Tour of California [May 15-22], the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship [June 5], the Tour de Beauce and the UCI WorldTour Grand Prix de Quebec and Montreal [Sept. 9 and 11].
