Owain Doull: Signing to Team Sky will not get in the way of Olympic focus
Welshman Owain Doull has a bright future ahead of him as a road rider, but for now he says he's fully committed to riding for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games
Owain Doull will join Team Sky as a stagiaire in the immediate aftermath of the Rio Olympics but is hopeful that the Team WIGGINS outfit helping steer him towards a gold medal will continue for another Games cycle.
Doull has said the fledgling Continental outfit, founded by Bradley Wiggins and designed to foster British track endurance talent in the lead-up to Rio, has been advantageous to the squad vying for selection.
“I think it’s a massive advantage and Brad is keen to keep the team and what it is going,” Doull said. “Obviously having Brad’s name to it helps a lot. It’s a platform to get to good races and opportunities, so hopefully it carries on.”
>>> Team Sky confirm that they have signed Owain Doull
WIGGINS houses most of the Great Britain national track endurance squad including Doull, who is currently competing with the domestic trade team at the Tour of California in a return from injury.
Olympic arch-rival Australia trialled a similar project last season to ill effect with the Budget Forklifts outfit, which served more or less the same function as WIGGINS, but it disbanded.
“[Team-mate] Andy Tennant has said on other UK trade teams you can be dragged left, right and centre whereas at WIGGINS everything we do is agreed on by both [national track coach] Heiko [Salzwedel] and Simon Cope, who is the [WIGGINS] DS, so everything is run in conjunction,” he said.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
“For other teams, for example, in the UK the Tour Series is really heavily important to them whereas for us it’s not a bigger picture than Rio. So we don’t have to ride those Tour Series [events] if we don’t want to, as a team pursuit squad, but if we want to use them as training we can. It should pay dividends.”
Doull has made a strong return from a knee injury at the Tour of California, which is effectively serving as an extension of a preceding 10-day track squad training camp at Big Bear that included Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Andy Tennant and Chris Latham.
“Experience beats youth hands down in pretty much all of the exercises to be fair,” he mused.
The 23-year-old finished 14th in the time trial at California yesterday and featured in the main break on stage five to Lake Tahoe.
>>> Rohan Dennis wins Tour of California time trial as Julian Alaphilippe retains overall lead
Doull was scratched from the Tour de Yorkshire earlier this month and forced to observe complete rest after aggravating a knee complaint that initially caused alarm.
“It got to the stage where I had to have two to three weeks off but luckily it’s settled down now and is all under control. It was quite worrying to be honest, with the Olympics, so I’m just relieved to be riding pain free,” he said.
“I was hoping to be going a bit better in California off the back off all that racing form but it’s one of those things. I had to take the first few days out [at Big Bear] cautiously just to make sure it didn’t fire up again but it’s all fine now.”
The Welshman has said his road career will become a full-time occupation after Rio and he will join Sky at an altitude camp five days after the event. For now, though, the Games and a shot at Great Britain team pursuit glory remain the chief priority.
“My aim is to finish the track in Rio and focus on the road for the foreseeable future. That’s where I see my future,” he said.
Watch: Show us your scars - Owain Doull
Doull said the endurance squad is on the right course and that the recent furore that engulfed British Cycling, with technical director Shane Sutton stepping down, has not had a negative impact on the group.
>>> Owain Doull chooses ‘Team Wiggins’ over Europcar
“You think about it but it hasn’t really affected what we are doing at all. We’re all pretty focused and before it all kicked off there was a solid plan in place and that plan has been stuck to. We’re fortunate we’ve got a real great coach in Heiko and real great support so nothing has really changed much. We just carry on working hard with the ambition of winning in Rio,” he said.
Owain Doull speaks exclusively about his move to Team Sky and forward focus on the road in the next edition of Cycling Weekly magazine, out on Thursday, May 26.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Sophie Smith is an Australian journalist, broadcaster and author of Pain & Privilege: Inside Le Tour. She follows the WorldTour circuit, working for British, Australian and US press, and has covered 10 Tours de France.
-
Collapsed lung, concussion and multiple fractures: Fundraiser set up for first ever Tour de France Féminin winner following crash
Marianne Martin crashed earlier in October and is looking to raise $20,000 to help her get back on her feet
By Adam Becket Published
-
Gravel riders - get ready, set, register! A guide to 2025's biggest gravel events and key registration dates
Here are the registration dates for gravel’s biggest events around the globe
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
'I can help get the team back to where it was' - 20-year-old Artem Shmidt looks to the future after Ineos Grenadiers' disappointing season
Shmidt hoping to help revitalise team backed by Jim Ratcliffe after season of woes and as star rider Tom Pidcock gets set to move on
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'I don’t think the people around Tom help' - Geraint Thomas on the Tom Pidcock and Ineos Grenadiers situation
Pidcock was "deselected" from Il Lombardia on Saturday, with the rider taking to Instagram to discuss decision
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tom Pidcock 'deselected' from Ineos Grenadiers squad for Il Lombardia
British rider says 'I guess off season starts early' in Instagram post
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers have had their worst season ever, and the woes appear not to be over. What’s next for the super-team of a bygone era?
With Tom Pidcock possibly off to Q36.5 and Luke Rowe leaving, the news is not quiet around the British WorldTour squad
By Adam Becket Published
-
Remco Evenepoel puts transfer speculation to bed ahead of World Championships road race
'I'll stay where I am' says Double Olympic champion as he confirms he will remain at Soudal Quick-Step next season
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'You can't sugarcoat it' - Luke Rowe says Ineos Grenadiers are 'underperforming'
British squad's experienced road captain believes his team has been "overtaken" by others
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Steve Cummings replaced by Tom Pidcock's coach in Tour of Britain management team shake-up at Ineos Grenadiers
Cummings was on the provisional start list submitted to the race organiser, but was replaced by Kurt Bogaerts
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Dan Bigham becomes Head of Engineering at Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe after leaving Ineos Grenadiers
After winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, Bigham then left his role at Ineos due to his frustrations with the setup currently in place at the team
By Tom Thewlis Published