Mini Interview: Steve Lampier

A former winner of the Premier Calendar Series, Steve Lampier says his Cornish team have some big objectives this year

Mini Interview: Steve Lampier

A former winner of the Premier Calendar Series, Steve Lampier of the Cornish Saint Piran team says they have some big objectives this year. They have already been to France to race an Elite series of events there and last weekend, Steve and Oliver Maxwell were racing the Coalville Wheelers road race.

Chatting about the racing in France in February, Steve explained “afterwards we were sick, so in hindsight, it was a bit of a wasted trip. We went there to prepare for the British season because we have some big objectives this year.”

“You can train to your numbers and go on training camps but it is racing that brings you on. A hard race that isn’t going to break you. We could have gone to some UCI races and spent a lot of money doing so but the French elite races, the standard is the same if not harder because you can’t control those races. The racing gave the lads a kicking early season which they needed without killing their morale”.

After having spent three weeks off the bike after getting ill, Steve wasn’t sure what the goals for him were saying he didn’t know where he was form wise before the race at Coalville on Sunday. Afterwards however, he said “I’m quite happy with that. It was a good hit out after being ill. I’d had a hard day the day before, a big day Friday and a long day the day before. So the legs weren’t race sharp and while you don’t want to disrespect the race, you do have to get the most out of them, training through them and I was happy with being in the front group all day and making a good showing.”

Steve and the team are based in Cornwall which means he could not be further away from where most of the racing is but is used to the travelling and shrugged off having to do that to compete in the major events. For the Coalville race, he made the most of the trip seeing friends and going to look at the opening loop of the CiCLE Classic which is only a few weeks away.

About the CiCLE Classic new opener, he says, “I understand why Colin (Clewes) has done it. The Reservoir loop was sketchy because everyone wants to be at the front in that race but the roads early on are really narrow and pretty key. I don’t think it will affect the outcome of the race that much because if you’re strong, you’re going to be there in that race.”
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Asked about the goals of the team for 2019, he says, “to raise the profile of the team and get more sponsors onboard… grow the team. There is talk because the Tour of Britain starts in Cornwall in 2020 of maybe lifting us up to that level but I’d only do that if we had the required funding, infrastructure and riders. That would be the ultimate aim”.

The team have already won a National title in 2019 with Cam Jeffers winning the eRace title. Steve said of that “it’s good for the team and good for Cam too. He’d been targeting that and as I coach Cam as well, we spoke about it early in the year and did some Zwift racing together. I can’t get my head round it, I’m not into computer games but he loves it. The qualification race was the same day as the last race in France so I had to pull him out of that race which was a bit of a gamble but it worked out”.

This weekend, Steve and his team are down south not far from their home racing in Devon and the Totnes Two Day before the Klondike GP the week after in the North East. Good luck to them and see them soon at the sharp end of races.