Philip Lavery has spent the last number of years trying to break into the top tier of the pro game. With a new perspective he sounds happy to combine a less intense approach to racing with working full time; seen here leading Matt Brammeier and Conor Dunne in the National Road Race Championships in Co Louth last year.
By Gerard Cromwell
Having chased the dream of turning professional ever since he packed in college in 2009 and moved to Belgium to race as a teenager without telling his parents, Philip Lavery finally looked set for a career in the pro peloton this year.
A strong 2013 season with amateur team AC Bisontine saw him take four victories in France and he was rewarded with a place as a stagiare, or triallist, with top French professional team Cofidis at the end of last season.
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Lavery is only the second Irishman the squad have given a trial to, having signed Nicolas Roche in 2006 after an impressive end of season stagiare stint.
Like Roche, Lavery was dropped into the deep end at Cofidis last year, riding the pre Vuelta a Espana stage race program with the team’s big stars.
“I did the Vuelta program, just didn’t ride the Vuelta,” 23-year-old Lavery says matter-of-factly.
“The first day or two that I was there, I was pretty in awe of the set-up they had with the team bus, the cars and the amount of staff they had. But that wore off and I realised it was just another team.
"The races were the same. You still had to go out and perform. I was put into all the really good races and it was fine. I was in good condition. I normally go well at that time of year so I fitted into it straight away.
"The Tour of Burgos was a little bit hard because of the level there and everybody was getting ready for the Vuelta but on the last day I only got popped at the top of the last HC climb with 5km to go, with (Tour de France runner up Nairo) Quintana and everybody there. So I was really pleased with that and the team were really pleased.”
A couple of top 20s in one-day races and some selfless team riding in stage races during his time with Cofidis also impressed and a two-year-contract was just around the corner, or so everybody thought.
“Before I went to them, they pretty much guaranteed me a professional contract,” he says.
“I signed a pre-contract that said when they went up to WorldTour, which they told me would happen in January because there was no competition for places in the WorldTour last year, I would ride for them for the next two years.
"I didn’t look at any other teams. I didn’t have an agent. I was dealing directly with them. I knew what I was worth and what I should be getting a year and was pretty relaxed about it.
"Even the guys on the team assumed I’d be riding with them but then it seemed to get put on the long finger to be finalised. I did the last race on the 15th of October and a couple of days after that I got a call to say the budget had been reviewed. So even though I had agreed it with the manager of the team, the decision had been taken away from him and came down to the sponsor.”
In echoes of Roche’s signing with the squad when he was forced to adopt a French racing licence instead of an Irish one, French credit company Cofidis told Lavery they couldn’t justify signing an Irishman.
“Suddenly, they weren’t interested in going to the WorldTour any more and weren’t interested in riding the Giro, which starts in Ireland this year. They didn’t agree with signing an Irish rider. It wasn’t a nationality they were interested in. There’s no market here for them here, so for the sponsor, there was no need to sign me.”
Lavery began to realise that if he wasn’t going to make it to the WorldTour this year, he’d have to spend another year existing in a dingy apartment somewhere in Europe with barely enough money for food and try and get noticed all over again.
So he quit.
He came home to Dublin, sold his bikes, bought a 2005 Nissan Primera and began to look for a job; luckily falling into one within a few days.
“I spoke to a couple of other teams for a week or two but I think my eyes were more opened to the fact that I’d have to go back to an amateur team for a year.
"I’d be earning no money and then I’d be looking to get another two-year pro deal that would be good money, but not great money. So it would be three years before I’d be looking at a good contract.
"Then I’d have maybe a couple of years of that and then I’d be looking at retiring. So I quit altogether. I can be very like that. If someone does me a wrong turn, I don’t get hung up on it I just say ‘that’s finished’ and I’m okay with that.
"It’s the same with the bike. When Noel (Thompson), came along and offered me a job, I went in a different direction and it was just a very definite decision.”
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Realising that a job in the hand was worth two in the bush, Lavery is now employed as marketing and sales executive with Thompon’s new Dublin based company Smartlamp, a distributor of energy saving outdoor lighting.
“The last couple of months working here, I’ve seen another side to life," he said.
"In the first couple of weeks I was lost, didn’t know what to be doing. But then the jobs started coming in and a couple of weeks ago I got my first project in and finalised and there was a buzz from that.
"I can see an income and I can see where it’s going and that’s a massive draw to me, that security. With cycling, you’re always hoping for the big pro deal, you can live but you can’t plan. I don’t see the draw of that any more. I’m not happy to live day to day anymore.”
While the UCI have recently brought in bank guarantees and minimum wages for first year professionals at the top two tiers; around €25,000 for Pro Continental teams like Cofidis and €28,000 for WorldTour level squads, there is no minimum wage for Continental level outfits, which means most third division riders don’t get paid at all.
The bigger teams also get around the rules by signing riders with their own financial support, whether it’s a personal sponsor or a supporters club paying the bill; much like drivers buying a seat in a Formula 1 car. Earning a professional contract is as much about marketing as it is about performance.
“If I’d had a personal backer of more than €25,000 I could have signed to a Pro Continental team this year, and other years,” admits Lavery.
“It’s unfortunate that it works like that but it’s common in pro teams. There can be a bike manufacturer that wants you in a team, like Levi Leipheimer at Quickstep, who rode Specialized bikes, a couple of years ago. Lampre Merida signed Chris Horner this year because they want to open up the American market.
"There is the real romantic side of the sport... the side you see when guys win races and it doesn’t matter how much money they’re on, you see the passion they have for cycling, but at the end of the day, you’re a billboard on wheels and sometimes your nationality doesn’t help you in that.
"There’s not the money that people think there is in cycling. It’s less than the minimum wage here if you add in all the time you’re away from home. It’s a business and my eyes have been open to that for quite a while.”
Ironically, Lavery has since been offered another step up the cycling ladder with a place on the Azerbaijan-registered but Irish-run Synergy Baku team as a late replacement for a young Australian rider, Will Walker who was in recent weeks forced to retire with heart problems.
Although he has only recently received a team bike and hasn’t trained much lately, the offer has enticed him to stay in the sport, although he insists he will continue to work with Smartlamp.
“This is a really good job. It’s a new company. Noel has been working on it for a long time. I’m involved in product development. I’m learning from scratch about it and I feel part of it.
"I’d have to have a pretty good offer from cycling to make me walk away. I know some people that would be happy travelling around going to races for the idea of being a pro whereas I’ve been there at a young age, seen that side of it.
"I’ve travelled around the world, raced on every continent for free, which is a massive privilege. But I wouldn’t stay riding my bike for two more years for that. I’ve made a commitment to my job here and the Baku team as well now and it’s up to me to manage my time and get the most out of it.
“Most days I ride in and out of work and do an hour on the turbo at lunch. As the nights get longer I can train more but I’m not under any illusions. I’m going to be working 40 hours a week, 50 hours maybe.
"The first couple of races will be a real indication of how bad things could be. I’m optimistic though. I’m not massively unfit. Ok, the base isn’t going to be there but if I’d broken a collarbone it would have been a similar time off the bike and I’m coming back with a clean bill of health.
"It’s going to be a struggle but it’s not going to be an excuse. I’ve taken on this, so if it means getting up at 5.30am to go training then I’ll have to do it.”
And if he does do well enough to be offered a professional contract at the end of the year?
“People say about cycling... that you’re living the dream, but I wouldn’t look at it like that. To me it’s a nightmare, and when you win that’s you’re dream moment. That’s your release. It’s maybe 20 seconds of pure happiness and then after that, if you’re a real winner, nothing else is good enough.
"I’d have to think about it. What sort of team is it? How long will they give me? Will they be around in two years? I don’t sit on the fence very long. I usually go with my instinct but, genuinely, I don’t see myself walking away from the day job in any capacity. I’ve had that different perspective now.”
