But will money talk louder? It might even in his case, because despite his incredibly high level, he is familiar with the struggles of committing to a ‘smaller’ discipline. “I don’t get a salary, unfortunately. No American rider does, for that matter,” he says. “I do have some individual sponsors who give me a little money, but that’s it. That’s why my biggest goal this season is to get good results here so I can be picked up by a European team. That changes everything. I’ll even skip the American championships to stay here all winter”.
Gravel over cyclocross
He definitely puts responsibility on the American federation, which seems to have put cyclocross on the bottom quite consciously, instead placing their bets on gravel – a discipline that is most popular in American specifically. “For example: you can’t earn prize money at any national championship in America, and that’s been the case for years. But now, for gravel, suddenly more than $12,000 is being allocated. Absurd. That will definitely drive people away from cyclocross”.
Even more so, the classic World Cup races in Waterloo and Fayetteville are now gone as the amount of races in the cup had diminished, the calendar has been condensed, and the international trips have been limited – for logistical and financial reasons. But of course for Strohmeyer, that’s not ideal.
“Ultimately, the World Cup is only one, or at most two, days a year. Of course, it was great to be able to race close to home, but I don’t know if it really adds value to the other World Cup rounds. What would really help us move forward is success by an American in the European World Cups. If you can compete at the front of the field, you make a difference.”
“I’ve been competing in Europe for a few years now, and in the youth series, I’ve occasionally managed a top-5 or top-10 finish in the World Cups, but in the elite classes, it was never so easy. A problem I’ve noticed in recent years is that I, and many other American riders, are already past their prime by the time the World Cup starts”.
What he is referring to is the American calendar which is highly focused in the months of September, October and November. The 23-year old has raced the Trek cup, consisting of eight races; three more events and the Pan-American Championships before even making the trip to Europe.
“So I made the difficult decision to race those American cyclocross races in October, while maintaining my core training. This way, I’ll be in top shape from the Christmas period until the World Championships. That’s a sacrifice few Americans are willing to make,” he says. However his talent was apparent, as despite this decision, he won the classification of the Trek Cup and the Pan-Americans too, beating Eric Brunner in each.
Strohmeyer is the USA’s current national champion. @Imago
He then made his European debut in the Hamme Flandriencross finishing 21st, but the week after, was 12th at the Tabor World Cup, finishing directly ahead of riders such as Pim Ronhaar, Toon Vandebosch and Felipe Orts. He is now staying in Europe for an extended period of time as his goal is to be signed by an European team, so he can pursuit his goal full-time without the financial worries that come with his current situation.
“I trained with Sven Nys in the woods once, and you can see in that one session how they push each other to improve. If I could do that every Wednesday afternoon, I’d only be able to make even more progress. A bit like Cameron Mason did with the Roodhooft brothers,” he explains. “Let’s hope I succeed. Riders from multiple nationalities at the front and in top teams can only help the sport expand and grow, right? The more international, the better”.