OISIN O’CALLAGHAN: IRELAND’S FIRST MTB WORLD CHAMPION
How Oisín O’callaghan won gold at just 17-years-old in his debut race for YT
WINSPIRATION
orld champion is a title regarded as the pinnacle of an athlete’s career, something that usually comes – if they’re lucky – after years of striving. Not for Oisín O’callaghan, the 17-year-old from Limerick, Ireland, who took home the rainbow jersey at his debut international race, becoming Ireland’s first ever mountain bike world champion. We sat down with him to try and figure out what propelled him to stardom with such apparent alacrity.
OK, just to start, for those of us who don’t know you and who aren’t from Ireland, how do you pronounce your name?
You say it like Ush-een.
Can you sum up your season in a few words?
Crazy. The past few weeks for me have been the craziest time of my life, from going into my first world-level race just wanting to see where I was with everyone else, to end up winning it and becoming junior world champion. Then heading to Slovenia to rounds one and two of the World Cup and winning both. It’s been crazy but in a good way. It’s what I’ve dreamed of since I’ve been a little kid and to have gone and done what I’ve dreamed of for years is indescribable.
When did you start riding?
I was five, just going to the local trail centre up the road where my dad started a bike hire shop. And I just went out on the trails with my friends and it was really fun.
How did you progress from riding for fun to racing?
I spent two years racing small local races and some Irish downhill races then I decided to go do some of the UK
I had no idea. The World Champs was my first race at that level so I had no indication of how I compared to other riders. I was one of the first off, so I was in the hot seat for over 20 riders. It’s all just a blur but I remember my team manager Martin Whiteley saying: “You’re taking home a medal, we just don’t know which colour.” From then on, the more riders that crossed the line, the more I thought I could actually win it.
You’d have been super-stoked even with just a medal?
Sure – to even get a medal would have been so good!
With being Irish you’re used to riding in crappy conditions a lot of the time, do you reckon that helped at all?
Yeah, I think so, all I ride at home is tracks with rivers going down them and puddles up to your bottom bracket. On my local trails there are tracks that I haven’t seen dry in years. At Leogang, most people were struggling or finding it hard in the bottom section but I was loving it.
Coming from Ireland, there are very few cyclists at your level, how did it feel to become the first gold medallist in mountain biking at the World Champs for Ireland?
When I was younger people used say an Irish rider will never make it. It’s only the last few years we’ve actually seen Ireland being represented in mountain biking. Being the first to bring home a gold medal for Ireland was crazy, my phone went mad with messages. I’m proud to wear the Irish colours.
You narrowly missed out on winning the overall, do you think you pushed too hard in Lousã and made mistakes because of it? Knowing what happened, would you change the way you approached racing?
I wouldn’t change anything. It would have been nice to win. All I needed was a top 10 to win the overall but deep down I know I wouldn’t have been happy with not giving my best. Coming second in the overall has made me hungry to get it next year.
You’re probably already training for 2021, what are your goals for the season?
I’ve been back training now, it’s a pretty short off-season! Next year I would like to defend the rainbow stripes and get the overall win that I missed out on. I’ll also start to compare my times against the elites to be ready to progress to that category in 2022.
Any advice for young riders looking to turn pro?
Have fun and don’t get caught up trying to have the best social media or results.