Coryn Labecki takes all-or-nothing racing talent to EF Education-Cannondale in 2024
Coryn Labecki will wear EF Education-Cannondale’s pink colors for road racing in 2024 as the new women’s team confirmed her signing for next season. At criterium events in the first half of the year, look for the red, white and blue stars and stripes jersey palette on Labecki as she wins her 73rd national title, this one as the US pro criterium champion.
Labecki is fresh off a trip to Scotland with Team USA for her 10th appearance at the UCI Road World Championships. Her best finish was in 2010, when she took bronze in the junior women’s road race. This time out, he took part in the Mixed Relay Team Time Trial, in the USA. finishing eighth, and in the elite women’s road race, where she was unable to finish after a nasty crash.
“I grew up racing. that’s how I learned my race. I’m more of a stage race rider, a one-day rider,” he said Cyclingnews before her win in Knoxville.
“It doesn’t matter what the course is, as long as there’s a finish line, my goal is to get there first or get my team there first.”
After two years at Jumbo-Visma, he will look to lead the new team in one-day races as well as opportunities in any possible stage race routes. Team General Manager Esra Tromp noted that Labecki was a welcome addition for her veteran leadership, especially her knowledge of how to read tactics and execute.
“Coryn is a rider I’ve known for a few years. She is a natural leader who can support riders very well and push her teammates to a higher level,” Tromb said.
“Coryn is extremely intelligent when it comes to analyzing matches, seeing what happened and what happened with other teams and understanding their tactics. She’s also a winner of some very big matches, so she knows how to handle pressure. That kind of experience will help with some of her less experienced teammates. Coryn is a big believer in finding a balance of focus and enjoying time on the road.”
Labecki had a number of injuries while on the Dutch team and did not have the individual success she had during her five years in the Team DSM program. In the 2022 spring Classics, Labecki took sixth in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and ninth in the Amstel Gold Race.
During the spring months, she battled twice with COVID-19 and a stomach bug right after The Women’s Tour, which left her fifth in the US Pro Road National Championship. She then broke her collarbone in late August and was forced to miss Worlds. Her best individual results this year were the US Pro Crit title and a silver medal in the US Pro road race.
After making a splash with UnitedHealthcare from 2014-2016, he moved to Team Sunweb (later DSM), where he had a stage win and second place in the 2021 Giro d’Italia Donne, a pair of runner-up stages in 2021. Tour of Norway, wins two stages at the Lotto Belgium Tour 2019. In one-day races, he scored victories in 2017 at the Tour of Flanders, the RideLondon Classique and the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Her 2018 US Pro road racing national title remains one of the most special results for the California native.
“I like that all-or-nothing mentality of one-day games. I like really strong courses, something really dynamic that’s up and down all day, especially if there’s a slightly uphill finish that’s not too long. Such matches usually suit me very well.”
Labecki began racing at age 11, dabbling in cyclocross, mountain biking, track cycling and road racing. In these disciplines, in the last 20 years, he has won 73 national titles, ranging from junior to elite.
“I like tactics. I love strategy, how to be prepared and everything related to racing. This is what drives me every day. I’ve been called a sprinter in the past, but I like to call myself a bike racer,” he said.
“I would do anything for my teammates. I always stand up for my teammates. I don’t get any taste. I’ve been competing for a long time and I’ve been in the sport for a long time, so I like to share what I know and teach my teammates. The other thing is that I’m always looking for the best way for my teammates to win. That’s always on my mind when it comes to racing. I’m a big team player.”
Turning 31 later in August, Labecki said the fresh start in 2024 would see her back on a familiar brand, Cannondale, which was her first road bike. “I still have it and it’s my commuter bike now,” Labecki said.
Her non-racing home is now in Pennsylvania, and Labecki has already set goals for 2024, including a focus on road racing in her second Olympics, having finished seventh in Tokyo.
“I would like to get some wins. This is my jam. To win next year would be beautiful, and it’s also an Olympic year which is another big goal of mine,” he said.
“Mainly, I just want to do what I can to help get some wins on the board. I just love racing and it looks like this team is going to be a really good team to enjoy racing with.”
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