Coryn Labecki will carry the pink colours of EF Education-Cannondale for road races in 2024, as the new women’s team confirmed the signing for next season. In criterium events across the first half of the year, look for the red, white and blue palette of the stars-and-stripes jersey on Labecki, as she earned her 73rd national title, this one as US pro criterium champion.
Labecki is fresh off her 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 the bronze in the junior women’s road race. This time out, she took part in the Mixed Relay Team Time Trial, USA going eighth, and in the elite women’s road race, where she was unable to finish after going down in a bad crash.
“I grew up racing crits; that’s how I learned my race craft. I’m more of a stage race rider, a one-day kind of rider,” she told Cyclingnews prior to 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 to get my team there first.”
After two years at Jumbo-Visma, she’ll look to lead the new team in one-day races as well as opportunities on any punchy courses at stage races. Team General Manager Esra Tromp noted that Labecki was a welcome addition for her veteran leadership, specifically her knowledge on how to read tactics and execute performance.
“Coryn is a rider I have known for a few years. She is a natural leader who can support riders really well and push her teammates to a higher level,” Tromp said.
“Coryn is super smart when it comes to analyzing races, seeing what happened and what happened with other teams, and understanding their tactics. She’s also a winner of some really big races, so she knows how to deal with pressure. That kind of experience will help with some of her less experienced teammates. Coryn is a really big believer in finding balance in focus and enjoying the time on the road.”
Labecki had a number of injuries while on the Dutch squad and did not have the individual success as her five years with the Team DSM programme. In the spring Classics in 2022, Labecki took sixth at Trofeo Alfredo Binda and ninth at Amstel Gold Race.
Over the months of spring, she battled COVID-19 twice and a stomach bug right after The Women’s Tour, which left her in fifth place at the US Pro Road National Championships. She then broke her collarbone at the end of August and was forced to miss Worlds. Her…
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