With the international cycling media salivating at the expected General Classification at the 2014 Vuelta a Espana, it is perhaps worth remembering that an entire sub-culture of professional cycling continues, albeit under the radar.
From the windy roads of Belgium to nondescript 1.2 races in France, pro cycling in the lower divisions attracts far less hype than the more mainstream Grand Tours and the like. Even in the United States and Canada, a well-structured and highly competitive racing calendar sees teams big an small duking it out in week-long stage races and one day events.
Michael Creed has experienced both divisions as a rider. A prodigious talent in his junior and under-23 years, the off-beat and quirky American freely admits that he never really lived up to his potential in the pro-ranks. Having ridden for teams like US Postal Service and it's later incarnation as Team Discovery Channel, the irrepressible Creed retired at the end of 2013 after spending several years plying his trade on the US domestic circuit. With chronic injury and fatigue being the contributing factors, he elected to leave the sport on his terms as opposed to being forced out later down the line.
I'm pretty sure that many an aspiring professional cyclist can relate to the above example. There are literally hundreds of guys who, for whatever reason, never achieve the levels of performance that their initial talent and physiology suggest. While many are lost to the sport forever, there are those who remain in cycling in a managerial or directing level and truly flourish despite their seemingly underachieving riding careers.
Why is this?
One possible reason could be that “smaller” riders on teams small and big become masters at distributing their own resources. A relentless racing schedule where team rosters are dominated by domestiques whose sole responsibility is to protect their designated leadership demands everything physically and even more mentally. Lasting one season is draining enough; a career spanning ten years or more is an achievement more unacknowledged than actually recognised. While there are certainly no long-service medals for the majority of these “lifers” or journeymen, the skills and tactical nous acquired can make the smaller rider a valuable commodity to an aspiring team management structure upon their hanging up the wheels.
South Africa's own Malcom Lange once said how “observing and learning” during his career as a rider was critical in his later vocation of team ownership and management. And this comment was not solely related to tactical acumen either. Rather it meant observing the workings of the sport as whole, where things like effective budget-management and logistics are often the difference between winning and losing.
Michael Creed's tactical knowledge and intelligence as a director shine through in this excellent video documentary. Team Smartstop are one of the smaller teams on the US professional cycling circuit. Yet back in May they finished one-two in the US Pro Championships, their riders Eric Marcotte and Travis McCabe upsetting the more fancied Pro Tour teams like Garmin-Sharp and BMC. Creed recounts in the aforementioned documentary how he had battled to secure invitations for races as far afield as Asia and South America before this monumental result. That has obviously changed now as Team Smartstop have earned serious respect from their peers.
The roller coaster world that is cycling is vividly portrayed in this quarter-hour segment. Contrast the melancholic mood in the team of missing an important breakaway with the sheer jubilation of victory a few months previously. This is the true essence of the underdog in a sport as brutal and unforgiving as road cycling for pay. Perhaps most telling is the intimacy and espirit de corps that is displayed in the filmed team meeting. Whether staged for camera or not, the riders seem unflinching and totally receptive to Creed's race plan, where his tone is one of equal as opposed to dictator. Creed's way of talking to his riders almost makes it seem as if he still considers himself one of them; he exudes a true connection with his charges.
With South Africa's own Team MTN-Qhubeka realising their own dreams of a place in the Vuelta a Espana, they too had their own “giant-culling” experience. The 2013 Milan-San Remo will go down in history for many reasons, including being the first major Classic won by an African cycling team. A similar team spirit is evident in their monumental victory, equally well captured in this stirring account of An African Bicycle Dream. While a sense of all for one and one for all certainly predominates in both Team Smartstop and MTN-Qhubeka, they are no less serious than any World Tour squad. And it shows.
No matter how big or how small a team is, winning is what matters. Losing, whilst a sobering reality for most, is inevitable in such an unpredictable sport. As Creed relates though, it doesn't necessarily matter if his riders lose a race. They must just lose his way. And his pragmatism and passion shine through with his closing commentary, relating how he would have not thought it possible to have both the NRC Champion and US Pro Champion in his small squad as well as an invitation to the Tour of Utah.
"I don't need them," he explains when asked about potentially signing some bigger names to bolster the squad.
"I've got my guys."
*Note: Header image borrowed from Team Smartstop YouTube Channel.
