INTERVIEW: DION SMITH
Meet Dion Smith, the Kiwi who went to the USA, Britain and Belgium before joining an Aussie team
THE LONG WAY ROUND
Procycling: How are things from the perspective of early 2021?
Dion Smith: I’m in Spain, and we’ve got a couple of restrictions in terms of curfews but I can still get out and train. The first few races in Spain were postponed and it was looking a bit like last year but hopefully things will only improve. It’s a little bit up in the air but we just have to crack on and keep training. Last year, it was different. We had no idea it was going to be so bad and it all happened suddenly. We did a couple of races at the start of the year - I did the SunTour and the Cadel Evans race, then the only races I did in Europe were Omloop and Kuurne. Not too long after that, everything was cancelled and we were in lockdown before we knew it.
How are you coping?
Everybody is in the same boat. Trying to keep motivated when races get cancelled or postponed is hard, especially if you have a big target that has just been wiped away. You have to keep perspective. Cycling is just a small bubble in the world and people have it a lot worse than us. I still have a job. I guess that kept me in a positive mood, and there are worse places to be than Girona.
Can motivation be difficult?
Maybe on occasion, especially when races are cancelled and you have to keep training. I like training, but I like racing better.
Where are you in your career, at 28?
It’s a good question. Looking at all the young guys coming through, it’s hard to say. I like to think I’m still on the up, and reaching the point where I’m in the prime of my career. Last year was a bit disruptive but I still felt like it was one of my better years, even with less racing.
What was different in 2020?
Everyone peaks differently and there are guys who are super good when they are 20, 21... I guess I’m a bit of a slow developer. I’ve always kind of been here, but I’ve got some more experience of racing in Europe, and everything is clicking. I can’t really pinpoint why, but I think I’ve had better preparation. We had so much time to train last year and I guess I had the team behind me working for me specifically. I got stronger. Older and wiser.
Improving at cycling isn’t just a case of getting stronger. You train more and better, but you can improve tactically, and get mentally more resilient. Do these attributes all bring each other up?
That’s it. Maybe I’m stronger physically, but it’s as much that I’m more mentally resistant and technically a bit better. I’m more calm. I’m not a guy who wins a lot, and that’s also maybe another thing in the back of my mind – having some self confidence.
You were sixth at Milan-San Remo in your debut at the race last year. Were you surprised by that result?
I was feeling good and tactically I felt really comfortable in the bunch, found myself in the right position and it all kind of went smoothly. Sometimes in races, you don’t even think; your body is nice and relaxed. I was confident in my form. Obviously, there’s a little bit of luck involved. It was a bit of an unknown and maybe what helped was that there were no real expectations to win, but just be there and go through the process of being in the best position possible, not thinking about the result.
Were there any challenges, or were you just on a good day?
A race never goes 100 per cent the way that you think it will but there were moments of carnage. Coming down onto the coast road, on a big highway, it was almost impossible to hold position. We had five guys doing a full leadout. Some moments you get swamped. There’s a bit of luck involved, but that is when you’ve got to trust the process, be where you need to be at the right time and trust your team-mates to position you. Obviously, you need the legs, and on the descents it can split up with guys crashing. Some moments it’s out of control but you soon find yourself back where you need to be. It was a washing machine, so it was very hard to stay together as a group. But I always had one or two guys there.
How was the Cipressa?
Going into it was super fast, with guys everywhere. Everyone is being told on the radio they need to be in the top 20 going into these climbs. Maybe on the Cipressa I was a little too far back, but I managed to claw my way up on the actual climb, to a better spot. I was behind Sagan going down the Cipressa descent, which was fine. I’ve watched the race plenty of times but it’s different to be in it. Watching it, for sure you have an image in your mind, where you need to be and what’s coming up but no training can replicate a race.
The race got strung out over the Poggio. Where were you then?
I was in a super position, top 15 going over the top. The further back you are, the more of an elastic band it is. It all came together nicely. I knew there were guys who were a lot faster in the group and found myself on Philippe Gilbert’s wheel, which I thought was good. He ended
up going early, which brought me to the front and then I came off him and went for it. Michael Matthews and Peter Sagan came past, and Nizzolo, and that was it.
Were you happy with sixth?
The goal in my head was to be in the top 10. I thought that was realistic. We were sprinting for third - I knew the other two would stay away. There was a moment I thought I could be on for a podium but got passed with 50m to go by the three others. There were mixed emotions, but predominantly I was pretty happy. It sets a bar. I can be a contender in these kinds of races.
Tell us about the Coppa Sabatini win.
I’d done that race before, a couple of years ago, with Wanty, and I knew it was a finish that suited my characteristics. I was eighth with Wanty, and that was from not too much team support. This time, the team was working for me. I didn’t have to do too much apart from follow and sprint the last 200m. It clicked into place and I had the legs to finish it off.
You’ve had many top 10s, so how did it feel to finally win a race?
It felt like a monkey off my back. It’s lingered - I’m always there, so why can’t I finish it off? It was definitely a huge relief, and also good for my position in the team, to show them that I can win races. I might not win all the time, but when I get the opportunity and the team rides for me I can deliver.
You also came close on a couple of Vuelta stages...
We were unsure if it would go ahead, and it was hard to stay fit and motivated for such a late start. Going into the race, mentally I wasn’t really there. It was nice to race, but there was so much around it and so much speculation that it would be cancelled. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks in that I got the rhythm again. The last week, I had a couple of top fives which I was happy about. But also a little bit sour in terms of wanting more. I knew I had the legs.
What was the difference there?
The day I got fifth I had a good position going into the uphill kick with 300m to go. It was a wet and cold day. The last guy on the team leading me out flipped off with about 350 to go and I kind of hesitated, thinking it was too far. But in the wet and cold, nobody really had a super kick, so thinking back, I should have gone early instead of waiting. A few guys came over the top and boxed me in. I’m not saying I’d have won if I’d gone early but maybe I could have got second instead of fifth. And the other one, I was on the wrong wheel. I chose the guy I thought had the best kick in the group - Sütterlin from Sunweb - and it turned out
" I just cracked on, which I think was the best attitude to have. If you start stressing or being selfish, it can bite you in the arse”
he had nothing left. He had two guys helping him out so I thought that was a good wheel, but looking back I shouldn’t have chosen a specific person but trusted in my own instincts to put myself in a better position. I know I could have won or done better.
What was your path into cycling?
In New Zealand, the school programme is quite good. I started through my school with a bunch of mates. None of my family cycled, I just wanted to try a different sport, and kicked off from there.
Were you good?
I was alright. I wasn’t terrible. But I wasn’t breaking any records. All I had for comparison was the other guys in my school and guys from other schools. I entered the National Championships. I went to the Junior Worlds in Copenhagen. I was doing well and enjoying it, and made the decision to head to America to ride for a team in California, just a local team who raced crits and local road races. I went over with my parents’ support and started from there in 2013. I went through a few different teams there on the amateur scene, and did the Philadelphia Classic. The Champion System team were there and I knew a Kiwi guy, Clinton Avery, who was racing for them. I came sixth and won the KoM and they contacted me and wanted me as a stagiaire for the last two months of the year. It all happened super fast. I was in an amateur team in California in February, and went to Europe by August. I was offered a contract for 2014, but then the team folded. I got contacted by Hincapie back in the US to ride for them instead. The US scene was thriving at the time, so it was a great opportunity.
Were you getting a lot better?
2014 was a year to get in the groove and then 2015 was even better, with a couple of good UCI results, especially at the bigger races, where you get some WorldTour teams.
How did the contact with One Pro cycling in 2016 happen?
I didn’t want to stay in America the rest of my career. I could have got stuck doing that because it’s great racing and everybody speaks English, but my goal was to get to Europe and One Pro looked like the next stepping stone. I didn’t have heaps of options, but with One Pro I could live in Europe. I signed with them for two years and they got into some really good races. In 2016, I had a really good year, one of my best. But they went back to Conti level in 2017. I didn’t really want to do that. I wanted to keep moving forward, so that was a difficult time. It was in November or December they said they were going back to Conti level. There were big pay cuts, so that was a bit of a mess for a couple of months. It wasn’t until January that I got contacted by Wanty. They had seen me in the Four Days of Dunkirk, where I’d done quite well. Initially they said they couldn’t pay me and I’d have to ride for free, which I was considering. I would rather do that and move forward than maybe race in the UK scene. It turned out one of Wanty’s riders retired – Lieuwe Westra – and a spot opened up for me on a twoyear deal. I signed that in January.
If the same had happened last year, with the results you have, you’d have found a team much more easily. Did this happening at the end of 2016, when you had fewer good results, make it more of a challenge?
December 2016 was bleak. My agent was keeping things pretty positive, and I was confident that I’d had a good year and had results to help my case. It wouldn’t have been the
" I might not win all the time, but when I get the opportunity and the team rides for me I can deliver"
end of the world if I’d signed back with One Pro and did whatever races they did. I was close to doing so, but miraculously the opportunity came about with Wanty. Then five months later I was on the start line of the Tour. It was pretty surreal.
How was Wanty for you?
It was a good experience and I really enjoyed it. It took a few months to adjust to the way they worked. There were some language barriers but it turned out that the predominant language was English. At some of the Belgian races I felt like the odd one out, but it didn’t get to me. I knew I was getting some great experiences in the races.
Did you get support?
That was the big difference. At ProConti level, some guys are trying to make it to the WorldTour, so there’s a bit of selfishness. And sometimes there wasn’t too much direction. I was more than happy to work with people, but not all the guys were happy to work for me, so it could be a bit cut-throat. Not that anyone was nasty, but you had to do what you had to do.
How did you navigate that?
I knew the guys who would help me. And I knew if I helped them they would help me. I was also, especially in the first year, not bothered what races I did. I just wanted to try my hand at whatever they sent me to. I made the Tour selection, but I was also just happy to have a contract. I just cracked on and did my thing, which I think was the best attitude to have. If you start stressing or being too selfish, it can bite you in the arse.
You signed with Mitchelton in 2019. You’re a New Zealander, who went via the USA, the UK and Belgium to sign with the biggest Antipodean team. Does it feel like you went the long way around?
I didn’t think they were interested in me initially. But Julian Dean, a Kiwi who is a DS there, contacted me and said there was an opportunity if I wanted it. It was a dream come true. I knew a lot of the guys and it always looked like a fun team to be on, the way they worked for each other. It’s such a cool team and I wanted to be part of it. They didn’t sign me as a leader, at least not initially. I had good results, but they didn’t know where my trajectory would take me, or where I would fit in. They knew I could sprint a little and climb good. In 2019 I was working for a lot of different guys, which was fine, and I just had to work my way up. I’m still not a main leader, but I’ll get more opportunities now.
What are you good at?
To be specific, a race like Amstel Gold, with punchy climbs. Group sprints like at the Vuelta. They suit my characteristics. I’m not good at dead flat sprints, but uphill kicks. I’m a bit versatile in terms of what I can do but to win a race, it has to be a finish with around 50 guys.
Do you like cycling or do you like being good at cycling?
I do like it, but training gets a bit old for me. I do like training but I like to be in a race much more.
Why is that?
The competitiveness, the adrenalin... I like cycling but I also like disconnecting from it. I like a good balance – for me that works.
Are you primarily a physically gifted cyclist, or more tactical?
I’d say more tactical. Physically, to compare watts with other riders, I’m not breaking any records. It’s nothing impressive. I’m not saying I have bad power numbers, but that’s not all that matters. I can handle myself in the bunch and get myself into position when I need to, and I’m good at saving energy. If you’ve never been the strongest then you learn to save where you can and be a bit more savvy. I also don’t like to get too much information in a race. It complicates things a little bit. I like it pretty simple.