Sam Spokes is currently one of almost 100 professional cyclists still searching for a 2017 contract and holding out for a ride to continue his career. The 24-year-old Australian spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with Drapac at the Pro-Continental level but was unable to secure a contract for next year following the announcement of the team merger with Cannondale.
After a promising start to the season racing in Australia, Qatar and Oman, Spokes had by his own admission a year in which "results haven’t been in my favour" but remains hopeful he is an attractive signing for next season.
"I have a few irons in the fire but no definite rides at the moment," Spokes told Cyclingnews of his current situation. "It is sort of that year when the results haven't been in my favour after March really and that is coming back to bite me trying to get contracts and a lot of teams are waiting till the death to see which riders from the WorldTour are available. It's really a market season in which the teams have the upper hand. I am hoping I can get that ride back in Europe and get another go and try and prove to people and to myself that with the right amount of racing, that I can be competitive over there. Personally, I think I can be but at this stage, it's just getting that opportunity again and to give it another crack back in Europe."
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The announcement that Cannondale and Drapac would be merging came on the eve of the Tour de France but internally, it was no surprise. Spokes explained that he holds nothing against the team and was given the opportunity to prove himself and earn a 2017 contract in the WorldTour.
"We knew quite early that it was happening and we all got fair warning and the opportunity to put our best foot forward and put the runs on the board to get the opportunity to step up with Cannondale-Drapac for next year," he said. "I don't think anyone was left in the dark or anything like that. Al the guys are good guys and got on with the job and I am sure to the last race at Hainan that they would have done their best. Some guys are probably more disappointed than others not to get the jump up, but for me personally, that last trip I had been told that I needed to step up and get a result and I didn't have the legs to do that. When I didn't get the nod to step up, it was understandable. It was still disappointing but I had no one else to blame but myself."
The birth of his first son Fin with wife Katelyn also came mid-season when Spokes was back in Australia but he was quickly back off racing and trying to secure a contract.
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