Kevin Field directs women’s Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies

Ottawa’s Kevin Field is the newest Canadian addition to the Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies team, taking on the role of women’s performance manager. He will work alongside fellow countrymen Eric Wohlberg, the men’s performance manager, and Jake Erker, the team’s general manager, during the 2014 season.

“I’m excited to be working with the team,” said Field, who directed the former SpiderTech powered by C10 and Symmetrics men’s squads. “It will really be my first time working in women’s cycling. It feels really fresh and new.”

The team’s performance director, Jonas Carney, hired six Canadian riders including Will Routley and Ryan Anderson on the men’s team, and national road and time trial champion Joëlle Numainville, national criterium champion Leah Kirchmann, 2012 national road champion Denise Ramsden and Annie Ewart on the women’s team.

The women’s team also includes Courtney Lowe, Lauren Hall, Janel Holcomb, Brianna Walle, Jade Wilcoxson, Maura Kinsella and Amber Pierce. In addition, the team hired former SpiderTech racer Pat McCarty to assist Field in directing the women’s team and former Symmetrics mechanic Bill McPherson.

“Jonas’s history with being pretty pro-Canadian was a big draw,” Field said. “I was really excited to see the four Canadians on the women’s team. What’s more exciting is how talented and young they still are. I’ve always really enjoyed working with young riders and Annie, Leah and Denise have so much potential, and it’s not like Joëlle is that old. Even at their young ages, they are pretty experienced internationally.

“Jonas did all the recruiting before he and I started talking. I think he did a great job deepening the team this year and he made some savvy choices. That balance of youth and experience is right through.”

Field believes that Optum’s commitment and loyalty to its staff and riders is part of what has made the team so successful, much like some of the other teams he’s worked with in the past.

“Loyalty is important and there is typically very little churn year over year,” Field said. “They don’t want to do a lot of recruitment each year, they want to build a stable team across riders and staff. That was important to me. I think it builds a vibe inside the team that brokers better teamwork. It’s how we’ll work on the women’s team. Some teams can operate more like meat factories with people coming in and out. I don’t like that. That loyalty was an important part of the secret to success for SpiderTech, Symmetrics and Optum.”

Field will spend roughly 60 race days directing the women’s team. The focus will be on USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar (NRC), national road and time trial championships and select UCI sanctioned events like the Philly Cycling Classic, Chrono Gatineau and Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau, The Women’s Tour of Britain, Tour Cycliste Feminin International de l’Ardeche and the team time trial world championships.