With Team MTN-Qhubeka’s maiden Grand Tour voyage just around the corner, both staff and riders are no doubt immersed with final preparations for this historic occasion. While performing well in the Vuelta a Espana is most likely foremost in their immediate thoughts, the management team are already looking towards 2015, intent on bolstering the African squad’s depth and credibility on the greater world stage.
Brian Smith’s appointment as Team MTN-Qhubeka interim general manager last month is therefore quite telling. Tasked with building the team in preparation for next year and beyond, Smith certainly has his work cut out. Attracting marquee riders to a Pro Continental team is but one challenge he faces, not that the term “challenge” has ever deterred the engaging Scotsman in his own eclectic career pursuits.
“I've always had to fight hard to achieve my goals,” explains Smith of his own cycling career. “Growing up in Scotland, the idea of earning a living as a cyclist was unfathomable to most. Even when I joined the prestigious ACBB amateur team in the late 1980s, some people back home were dismissive of my career path. Fortunately I had a belief instilled in me by my family, as well as the great Robert Millar.”
Part of a generation of stoic Commonwealth riders in the early 1990s, Smith’s determination was ultimately rewarded with a spot on the American Motorola team of 1994. Having spent the immediate years prior as part of Britain’s premier domestic squad, this career move was seemingly the precursor to bigger things. Yet as is so often the case in professional cycling, things didn't work out quite as planned.
“My contract wasn't renewed with Motorola for 1995,” remembers Smith. “Perhaps it was just a sign of the times. I had an option of signing with a French team, but decided against that as their racing program didn't seem too concrete. Having completed the Giro ‘d Italia that year, it would have been a massive step back signing with them.”
With the upcoming Atlanta Olympics in mind, Smith eventually joined a small American outfit, Team Plymouth, spending two years competing on the US domestic circuit. Unbeknownst to him, however, this seemingly downward step would serve him well in his future career path.
“I really enjoyed my time in America. Riding two Tours Du Pont was a great experience and I ended up being well acclimated to the conditions in Atlanta and had a good ride there. I lived with members of the team management and ended up getting involved in the administrative side of the squad. Seeing how the whole infrastructure of a professional team worked and dealing with the sponsors was a great learning experience.”
One of Smith’s teammates was an equally ambitious young South African pro named Douglas Ryder. A cyclist of similar strengths and ability, Ryder was forging his own career abroad during a time where English-speaking cyclists were not as prevalent in the European peloton as they are today. He and Smith became good friends, their shared passion of the sport seeing them both go on to develop their own professional teams in years to come.
“I’ll always help a friend out,” says Smith of his recent appointment at Team MTN-Qhubeka. “Dougie and I go back a long way. We initially talked a few years ago about a possible merger between MTN-Qhubeka and Endura, which didn't materialize. When his general manager resigned earlier this year, Doug was taking a lot of load himself and needed help.”
Smith has immense experience in building professional cycling teams. Stemming from his initial desire to give young Scottish riders belief and opportunities on the Continent through the Braveheart Fund, he is a firm believer in having an effective connection between riders and management. This sort of ethos eventually led to his being heavily involved in the now-defunct Cervelo Test Team. More recent years has seen his direct involvement in the inception and development of the emerging team that is now known as Team NetApp-Endura. For Smith, while the rewards of those projects are numerous, the common denominator has been installing a deep sense of belief in his riders.
“Look at Leo Koning for example. His seventh place in this year’s Tour de France was no fluke and certainly no surprise to me. Leo has belief in himself because others believed in him. His progression was gradual and he is now a world-class GC contender. Riders like Louis Meintjes and Daniel Teklehaimanot are also world class and deserve their places in their team; it doesn't matter if they are African. In my opinion, there is no difference in the physiology of a rider, be they African, Scottish or European. The difference comes in their mindset through belief and opportunity.”
But where does this sort of connection and insight come from? Where does a manager develop these instincts? Smith feels that the struggles and challenges of his own cycling career play an important factor in understanding the riders as human beings.
“Doug Ryder and myself didn't win big races; we had to fight for everything. Look at Omega Pharma Quickstep; David Bramati, Brian Holm and Wilfried Peeters are perhaps the most dynamic and prolific combination as far as sporting directors are concerned. Yet not one of them won lots of big races. But what they do know is how 98% of the peloton are feeling; not just the top riders. They understand the pain, suffering and desire of the riders, the human aspect if you like. And that is critical.”
With his task of helping to elevate Team MTN-Qhubeka to the next level, how is Smith finding the process of attracting bigger riders to the African squad?
“It is challenging,” he admits. “Whilst there are many first-tier riders interested in coming to our team, attracting marquee riders is proving a little more difficult. A lot of these riders are already tied to multi-year contracts. And many of these guys want to stay at World Tour level, which is understandable. My job entails speaking with their agents and assuring them that we would look after them well if they came to Team MTN-Qhubeka. We have a good budget and would provide an attractive home. There would be more opportunities for them to be a team leader with us than on many World Tour squads.
“Thor Hushovd said that his coming to the Cervelo Test Team was one of the best decisions of his career in many respects. Whilst this notion has rung true for other top riders in the past, the challenge is finding current professionals willing to take that leap of faith with a team like ours.”
