Another Brit that’s joined the team, Oliver (or Oli as he prefers) is new to the Development program where he will find his good friend and former teammate Jacob [Bush] – both having spent their first year in juniors together.
Those two seasons in the U19 category saw Oli perform on a consistent level and take several strong placings throughout the years; including a stage win and the overall title at the Vuelta A Las Comarcas in 2022 – where he beat Jacob by one second.
With his committed nature, it’s no surprise that Oli was big into his sports from a young age. Coming from a family where his dad, uncle and grandad all ran and cycled, Oli himself then started early and competed in both cyclocross and road racing – with him stopping the former after the beginning of the 2023 season. He jokes that he hasn’t taken the skills of Van der Poel with him from his time in ‘cross though as he “can’t hop the hurdles” and “isn’t the best bike handler”.
Alongside his cycling, he also did a lot of school sports at a young age and in particular running (which he stopped when he started cycling at around 12 years old), football, cricket, and rugby. The latter of which he laughs about saying that he started as a centre in the backs, before moving to the wing as he was skinnier and “scared of the big guys.” Yet, it all still came back to cycling which Oli truly loves.
“I really like the freedom of cycling. You can ride for five or six hours and go somewhere completely new. Where my family live in the Yorkshire Dales, you can get out and away from all the traffic and it is really peaceful.”
Having watched the pros smash it around Harrogate for the 2019 World Championships, which was just a “half hour ride” from Oli’s home, he admits that it was cool to see them up close and that helped fuel his passion even more.
“Aiming to be a pro is obviously the end goal and that motivates to go out on the bike, but I also just enjoy going out with my mates and riding really. I like a group ride on the weekend but I’m also someone that enjoys going out and smashing out the efforts that need to be done too. There’s something rewarding about that.”
Looking ahead, the “chilled-out”, “thoughtful” and “relaxed” Oli is excited to get stuck in at the U23 level and all that entails, such as longer races, harder parcours and different tactics. He’s also taking it as an opportunity to learn new things too as he makes the Aqua-Step Keep Challenging Center his home away from home, where he’ll have plenty of time to spend with his teammates and learn from lots of different cultures.
With a mature head on his young shoulders, Oli knows that the transition to U23 can be tough and really wants to learn from the team and improve from the team and try and improve himself as much as he can; focusing on himself and not at others who have made the step up.
“You can accept that some guys are different or progress earlier so they can make the step straight to the pro ranks, but you can’t worry about them too much and let it get in your head. Instead, you need to focus on yourself and what you can do.”
When he’s not being all prophetic, then Oli enjoys spending his time chilling with friends or playing the PlayStation with Jacob. If not, you might also catch him spending some downtime on the local golf course although he doesn’t “want to talk” about the state of his handicap and jokes that shooting anything under a 100 round is nice.
Interestingly, despite the obvious stereotype of where he comes from, Oli swears that he has never tried tea before and “doesn’t get the fascination” with it – something we’re sure a few of the other Brits on the team might have to say about!