“I’ve always had the ambition to be the best" - Laurence Pithie looking to continue breakthrough 2024 with successful Gent Wevelgem

One of the breakthrough riders of the early part of 2024, Groupama - FDJ's Laurence Pithie will be looking to continue impressing this Sunday afternoon at Gent Wevelgem.

“I’ve always had the ambition to be the best,” the 21-year-old Kiwi asserts defiantly in conversation with GCN. “I didn’t have that many opportunities last year but I thought I could perform if I had the role of leader. I didn’t push too hard, because I knew my time would come. But the team saw last year I was able to get some results without the best opportunities, and that probably opened the most doors. I have more leadership this year within the team. They have more belief in me every day. I’m super happy with how it’s going.”

After an impressive Tour Down Under, Pithie took victory in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and has continued to look bright in races such as Paris-Nice, Milano-Sanremo and Classic Brugge-De Panne. “I take the role of being a leader very seriously,” he says. “You really have to lift your game in all aspects. When you have teammates working for you, giving their all for you, you really feel you have to pay them back. My biggest thing is I don’t want to let my teammates down. I have a lot of confidence in myself but also the guys around me. When you’ve got one or two guys performing at a high level, everyone can come up a bit more.”

At Gent Wevelgem though, if Pithie intends to take victory, the New Zealander will have to compete against the world champion Mathieu van der Poel among others. “He's the best. When you look at him racing, he’s always there when it matters, and in the big moments he makes it happen," Pithie says full of respect but not awe. “He’s a rival now though.”