DION SMITH
THE LONG WAY ROUND
DION SMITH is a Kiwi who took the long road to signing for BikeExchange, heading to Europe via California, the UK and Belgium. And after five years as a pro, he won his first race in 2020. He tells Procycling why he feels he’s finally getting there
Interview Edward Pickering /// Photography Tim de Waele/Getty
Procycling: How are things from the perspective of early 2021?
Dion Smith: I’m in Spain, and we’ve got a couple of restrictions in terms of curfews but I can still get out and train. The first few races in Spain were postponed and it was looking a bit like last year but hopefully things will only improve. It’s a little bit up in the air but we just have to crack on and keep training. Last year, it was different. We had no idea it was going to be so bad and it all happened suddenly. We did a couple of races at the start of the year -I did the SunTour and the Cadel Evans race, then the only races I did in Europe were Omloop and Kuurne. Not too long after that, everything was cancelled and we were in lockdown before we knew it.
How are you coping?
Everybody is in the same boat. Trying to keep motivated when races get cancelled or postponed is hard, especially if you have a big target that has just been wiped away. You have to keep perspective. Cycling is just a small bubble in the world and people have it a lot worse than us.I still have a job. I guess that kept me in a positive mood, and there are worse places to be than Girona.
Can motivation be difficult?
Maybe on occasion, especially when races are cancelled and you have to keep training. I like training, but I like racing better.
Where are you in your career, at 28?
It’s a good question. Looking at all the young guys coming through, it’s hard to say. I like to think I’m still on the up, and reaching the point where I’m in the prime of my career. Last year was a bit disruptive but I still felt like it was one of my better years, even with less racing.
What was different in 2020?
Everyone peaks differently and there are guys who are super good when they are 20, 21... I guess I’m a bit of a slow developer. I’ve always kind of been here, but I’ve got some more experience of racing in Europe, and everything is clicking. I can’t really pinpoint why, but I think I’ve had better preparation. We had so much time to train last year and I guess I had the team behind me working for me specifically. I got stronger. Older and wiser.