"It was quite unexpected to win this early in my career" - Laurence Pithie reflects on breakthrough start to 2024
Cycling
Laurence Pithie has been one of the most in-form riders to start the 2024 season. The 21-year-old Kiwi, who rides for Groupama - FDJ has already secured a first World Tour win at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
"It was quite unexpected to win this early in my career," Pithie admits in conversation with New Zealand-based outlet, 1News. "I had a big goal at the start of the season to win a race at the World Tour level so to tick it off in February – well, January at the time – is pretty awesome."
Given that we're only at the start of February however, the is still much promise for Pithie in the coming months. "It's every kid's dream to go to the Olympics and it was always my dream growing up doing sports," he explains. "You never know with selection, but if I keep achieving and doing the work, it should happen naturally, I hope."
Wearing the New Zealand jersey on a full-time basis is also a goal for the 21-year-old. "It's most cyclists' dream to represent their country on the World Tour stage. When a rider wins the National Championships, the team do a custom jersey that only they can wear in the peloton so yeah, it's a really big deal," he concludes.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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The young Kiwi Laurence Pithie somehow surfed through the small bunch and won the 2024 @CadelRoadRace in a tight sprint against Natu Tesfatsion. 🌊 Georg Zimmermann completed the podium. #CadelRoadRace 🎥 @LosBrolin
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