Sarah Roy brings 'new me' mentality to Canyon-SRAM

Sarah Roy is experiencing a major change in her career, starting a new two-year contract with Canyon-SRAM in 2022 after spending seven seasons with BikeExchange. 

The Australian says that with a new team comes a fresh approach to her racing mentality that involves going with the flow as she prepares for targets during the Cobbled Classics and the World Championships in Wollongong.

"I'm looking forward to [World Championships] but trying to keep it off in the distance and focus on being the new me; new team, new environment, a refresh and chance to develop, go with the flow a bit more, and take one thing at a time," Roy said in an interview with Cyclingnews.

Roy is one of five new signings at Canyon-SRAM, including Pauliena Rooijakkers, Soraya Paladin, Shari Bossuyt and Maud Oudeman. They have all united at a pre-season training camp in Valencia, Spain, this week and Roy shared her first impressions of the team.

"It's really good, positive vibes, and it's hard not to have fun when you're the new person, and everything is different and new and fresh. I've been on the same team for seven years, which is ages, so this is a massive change for me, a really big transition. I've enjoyed everything so far, and I'm pleasantly surprised with the way it all is; staff are so happy, and like their jobs, riders have good banter, and I feel like I fit in well," she said.

Roy has an accomplished career with several top results in the Spring Classics and one-day races; fourth at Gent-Wevelgem, third at GP de Plouay, fifth at Tour of Flanders, but also a powerful rider for the flatter stage races, and an all-round super domestique.

"My biggest asset to any team is that I'm pretty versatile, and I like that about myself because my role changes a lot, and it keeps it interesting. Some races I have pressure on myself, and great opportunities to be a leader and be supported by the team," she said.

"In other races, I get to go in a little bit more relaxed as a domestique, which is a really important job, but that the pressure is not on me, and I love being a domestique, and it comes easier to me because of my personality. It makes me feel useful and gives me confidence when I've done a good job for the team."

This spring, Roy will target the Cobbled Classics, and the team will likely include Kasia Niewiadoma, Elise Chabbey, Tiffany Cromwell, and Chloe Dygert. She said that the team's strength in numbers would likely be a key factor at races like Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix Femmes.

"I'm excited about it because I love to play the game with numbers toward the end of these races. We have a good strong cobbled Classics team. I would like to put some good runs on the board for the team, and I feel good this year," she said, who struggled with crashes and injuries throughout the season in 2021.

"Last year, I was fit and strong but had bad luck when it came to racing. I managed to get the same form and build on it this year, and I feel like I'm in a good place. If the opportunity comes for me, I will take it and do what I can for the team. Our biggest strength is having numbers and the fact that we want to back each other. That's how we want to race."

'Individuality is celebrated here'

Roy has worked with many team leaders in her decade of racing, including Emma Johansson, Annemiek van Vleuten and Amanda Spratt. She is also looking forward to working more closely with Niewiadoma throughout the season as one of Canyon-SRAM's go-to riders in the Classics and stage races. 

She noted that ample experience and good communication skills help bring together new riders on trade and national teams to achieve a common goal.

"We experience working with new leaders each year, especially when you go from your trade team to your national team for major championships, you end up racing with people you don't race with all year. The sport, I feel, is professional, and riders come experienced, mature and know the game. You know what you need to do and how to prepare to ride for or with another person. It comes down to conversations, riding with each other, knowing what they like and don't like, and how they communicate," Roy said.

At Canyon-SRAM, however, Roy said the team hasn't put its riders into specific boxes but is somewhat more open in allowing them the freedom to realise their individual potential as racers.

"Individuality is celebrated here. No one is being forced into a mould to be or act or race a certain way. You are who you are, and we will work with you on how to be the best you can be. Valuing the individual is important. This year, I hope to have more luck, be there in the finales, and to support or be supported," Roy said.

When Roy signed a two-year contract with Canyon-SRAM through 2023, she indicated areas she would like to improve to reach her full potential. She told Cyclingnews that she would like to re-establish her strengths in the sprints while also reducing the pressure she places on herself to perform.

"I'd like to work on my sprinting ability at the end of hard races. It used to be a strength of mine, and I think it can be again. I feel like the last couple of years, I'm not sure what happened, but I had bad luck last year, but there were races that I made it to the finish and didn't get a result," Roy said.

"What I can work on is the pressure that I put on myself. I tend to be a bit hard on myself. It's a bit of a catch 22 because you get nervous and put pressure on yourself because you care, and the racing means a lot to you. Sometimes, I can feel like I'm letting people down, and maybe I let that get the better of me. It's a mindset that I can work on – having the right people around me to work on those things, rather than asking for results but not supporting me in getting them.

"This year, I feel 100 per cent supported by everyone; staff, owners of the team, coaches soigneurs, physios, mechanics and riders. No matter how long you've been in an industry, you never stop learning.'

Canyon-SRAM will create a racing programme that concludes at the World Championships. Roy said it was a welcome change indicating that previous teams didn't build the Worlds objectives into trade team programmes.

"Canyon-SRAM support it, and they put that as one of my goals," Roy said. "The last three years, the World Championships have been super hilly and didn't suit me at all. To have two in a row that do suit me, I'm looking to [redeem] myself and have a good race at the Worlds,' she said, noting that she was injured ahead of the Worlds in Belgium last year.

At the Wollongong Worlds, the elite road races start in Helensburgh, south of Sydney, and travel along the coast before tackling a loop that takes riders up the escarpment with a climb of Mount Keira and a city circuit that includes the climb of Mount Pleasant.

"I will focus on it. I've had a good look at the course and a chat with the organisers. It's going to be hard. There's a one-kilometre climb on the city circuits that will be a key point in the race. It's only eight kilometres from the top of it to the finish, so the short and high power terrain suits me," Roy said. 

"It suits me, but it also suits a lot of other people. That's the type of rider I am – I suit courses that suit a lot of people, which makes those races hard to win."