Larry Warbasse on Leaving Comfort Behind

By Larry Warbasse

Six years is a long time. That’s even more true in the sport of cycling, an environment where change is more or less constant. So when I moved to Tudor Pro Cycling for the 2025 season after six years with AG2R La Mondiale, it felt like an enormous upheaval.

I’m currently writing from my hotel room at my new team’s training camp on the Costa Blanca in Moraira, Spain, home to every professional cycling team (save perhaps two) in the month of December. I’ve spent the last 10 days getting to know my new teammates, staff, and sponsors for the upcoming season. So far, so good!

It’s easy to take the familiarity that six years together breeds for granted. During my time with AG2R, I was on the road for more than 200 days every season, which meant that I spent more time with my teammates and our staff members than I did with my own family. I knew what made them tick, having had ample time to hear their life stories. More importantly, I was completely adapted to the functioning of the team: how they worked, and what the rhythm was. That level of comfort has allowed me to focus all my energy on getting the most out of my training. 

On the flip side, joining a new team is always exciting because it brings fresh ideas, methods, and ways of working. The risk of familiarity is stagnation, and sometimes change can be just the spark of motivation that you need to find a new level. While Tudor had a team-building camp in October, I had family obligations and couldn’t attend, so this camp in Spain was the first time I met many of my new teammates, in addition to the meetings, tests, and media involved in any winter camp. I was a little bit nervous coming in, as the majority of my teammates were new faces to me, but I have to say I couldn’t have felt more welcomed by Tudor. I’m especially excited to be part of an international team, where a diverse group of individuals can bond over our shared passion for the sport of cycling. In particular, it’s been refreshing to be able to speak English at the dinner table and on the bike, something I didn’t get to do much of during my last six seasons on a French-speaking team!

2025 will be my 13th season in the professional peloton, a fact that is surprising to me; I feel like I just started my career yesterday. I remember when I went to my first training camp with the BMC Racing Team in 2010 as a development rider, and I can even remember the nutrition meeting we had with the team’s partner at that time - First Endurance! We were all super excited to be using the EFS gel flasks, which allowed us to carry the equivalent of several gels in a single package. I used to suck the whole thing down at once because I was so scared of bonking while riding with the big boys; in that way I was ahead of my time, because I was knocking down a hell of a lot of carbs per hour! Fast forward all these years, and training camps consist of many of the same things: meetings with sponsors, core training, and a lot of hours of riding. 

My takeaway from camp is that 2025 is shaping up to be a great season. We have some exciting new riders in the team in Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi, two of the top Ardennes classics riders, as well as some strong young talent. I’m rooming with one of our up-and-coming Swiss neo-pros and he reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger: eager, hungry, and strong, but with a good head on his shoulders. I think he will go far. I also turned pro in a Swiss team, and I remember that my roommate at the first camp was one of the more veteran Swiss riders – funny how things seem to come full circle.

So far I am really impressed with how well the team is run for such a young structure. It’s only their third year as a pro team, but it is as “pro” as any team I have been a part of. They have a science-first approach to how they do things, and that is something I can really appreciate. If something isn’t backed by good science, they don’t waste their time. It’s quite far from the old wives’ tales of the sport of old, and really cool to see. I think 2025 is going to be a great season, and I am really looking forward to getting it started. But after tomorrow’s last six-hour training session, it’s back home to Michigan for Christmas and some much needed rest and relaxation with the family. A rest week and some Christmas cookies will do me good. I can’t wait!