Slipstream contract extension a relief for Craddock
(Cyclingnews.com)

Lawson Craddock will continue for a third year with Slipstream Sports following the announcement of a contract extension for the American. In a contract year, the 25-year-old`s season was compromised by overtraining for his spring ambitions. After a promising 2016 with Cannondale in which Craddock placed ninth at the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco and made his Tour de France debut, the 2017 season was largely a write-off. At the Tour of Guangxi, his last race for the season, Craddock explained the relief of securing his future with a team that was on the brink of collapse in August. `It`s been a pretty rough year for me and it actually been a pretty stressful year for me,` Craddock told Cyclingnews. `I was searching for a contract, especially following the news of the team coming out a month or two ago and the uncertainty about their future. A few sleepless nights but I am pretty fortunate to stay in the WorldTour next year and come back.`ADVERTISEMENT Craddock explained that he understands what he did wrong in 2017 and is looking at what lessons to learn rather than viewing the year just past as a `lost` season of sorts. `It is all stuff that I have known exactly what has gone wrong so it is definitely something I can take into next year and use this year as a learning experience. I am 100 per cent confident that in ten years from now I am going to look back on 2017 and maybe not laugh about it, but maybe even be thankful for it. Just because of the things I`ve learned and things I can take forward into the rest of my career. `The main thing I`ve taken out is just to listen to my body. I kind of got away from that this year. I was a bit too motivated and all these signs were popping up that maybe I was doing a bit too much. I didn`t really listen to it and there were times I should have shut it down instead of trying to keep going. Or trying to come back and took the wrong turn. It is something I can definitely take forward into the future.` Looking fo ...