Josu Larrazabal (1981, Orozko) goes into his 10th year as a WorldTour trainer in 2016. Next year marks another step in his career and he will be responsible for the performance of Trek-Segafredo led by Fabian Cancellara after having received full confidence from general manager Luca Guercilena.

He sees himself as part of "the new generation of trainers" that have joined the elite teams "to try to improve performance" and provide better service to the riders through science. "Numbers are not everything," he tells BiciCiclismo in an interview.

Larrazabal has spent three seasons with his current team which was first known as Radioshack and has been named Trek Factory Racing since 2014. Earlier he has been part of the Euskaltel team for six years.

”In late 2011 Luca (Guercilena) contacted me for the first time and we reached an agreement in 2012,” he tells the Spanish site. “From the first day I had the full support from them and each year we have added and improved things internally. This year Trek will allow us to make another quality step in terms of the staff behind the riders to try to improve their performance. The truth is that I have no complaints and I feel integrated.

“I'm responsible for the performance group that is made up of three trainers and medical staff. Until now there were two parallel groups but now we have integrated the osteopaths into our group which is very important. It allows us to work in an integrated and multidisciplinary way which is the goal after all. I'll be in charge of coordinating and supervising the work of everybody and will be responsible for the performance of the riders.

“[I feel some pressure] but it is a motivation. I have arrived in this situation in a natural way. That needs to be taken into account. Luca and I have had very similar ideas and to realize them he thought of me as the right person. I regard it as a challenge. I am aware of what it is.”

His new role means that he will be responsible if Trek have another bad year like they had in 2015.

“Yes, usually the physical preparation is the weak point if things go wrong,” he says. “When things are not going well, that’s where you point your fingers. It is easy, especially when the results do not come immediately and are long-term processes. All sorts of things can happen, crashes and health problems. It is the first thing to do when the performance is not adequate, and I understand that. On the other hand, when things go well, everyone wants to point out their own contribution.”

Larrazabal is trying to apply more science in his work.

“We have studied the foundations,” he says. “What we're trying to achieve is to bring more certainty to the uncertain process of training and try to control all parameters as much as possible to understand the reason for the results, and, when they fail to arrive, to define the best way to optimize the performance. There is no doubt that we work with numbers, but they are not everything because the results are what counts.

“I think there is a new generation of coaches. Clearly we have to work with numbers but the challenge is to find a balance between numbers and feelings. If you treat the rider like a machine, like a robot, it is absolutely wrong because the importance of the psychological aspect is well established, and if you do so, it an obvious mistake.”

Since Larrazabal joined the peloton, the teams have become a lot bigger.

“I think the example is our last training camp in Calpe,” he says. “We were almost 90 people, not everybody is part of the team. We are 65 people in the team and is the third-largest Trek group. The goal is always, at least for Luca, to create a group that can perform and work in a multidisciplinary way. He is responsible as the general manager and every year we made ​​new additions. This year it was finally possible to realize Luca’s initial idea.”

One of the main changes is that Trek will work with the Mapei Sports Center.

“Mapei is an important addition due to their experience in cycling,” Larrazabal says. “They will help in different ways, with laboratory testing for some riders, with talent identification, selection of young riders... They have the experience of Andrea Morelli who will be in charge of the preparation of some riders. Then there's Daniel Green from the Australian Institute; Luca continue to focus one hundred percent on Cancellara, and I will reduce my number of riders from 13 to eight, always trying to improve the service we provide to the riders. All the coaches will work with no more than eight riders. The goal will always be to maximize the help.”

Like in past years Fabian Cancellara will be the clear team leader in what will be his final year as a pro.

“Of course,” Larrazabal says when asked whether he believes Cancellara can win another cobbles monument. “Firstly because of his level and secondly because he deserves it after so much suffering. People forget very easy: Since winning his first time trial Worlds, ten years have passed. You can count the number of athletes who have been at the highest level of a discipline for a decade, on the fingers. Clearly he has won as much in recent years as he did in his prime but that is natural. His value is that he is still competitive. This year has been very hard for him. Now he is very motivated to reach the peak in April and he has the extra motivation of the Olympics. He will go to Rio to check the course and must make the final decisions.”

Trek is sponsored by a bike manufacturer and this reflects the signing policy.

“Behind the team, we sell bicycles,” he says. “The markets in North America, Canada, Japan are important markets for Trek. In the past Italy was a market that did not exist and now it is in sixth place. In the end you have to combine business interests with sports. Everything is linked. If the sales go well, the riders can be better equipped and the result will be better.”

Trek recently got an Italian co-sponsor Segafredo and Guercilena has admitted that he wants to sign Vincenzo Nibali for 2017.

“I am told that it is almost a done deal in Italy,” Larrazabal says. “The most I can say is that he is one of the greatest riders, an example of a leader. In addition to his potential, he is a very valuable leader who faces difficulties with courage, attacks from afar, knows how to take responsibility and I think he would be a great rider for this team.”