Brother
  1. Home Brother
  2. Cycling
  3. Brother Cycling Podcast
  4. 2023
  5. Episode 32: “Oliver Knight Interview”

Brother UK Cycling Podcast – Episode 32

Episode Description

Oliver Knight seems destined to be among the next cohort of young British riders to enter the elite UCI WorldTour. He ended last season by racing as an apprentice with the UAE Team Emirates squad led by two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar and now seeks a professional contract. Enjoy this concluding episode of our mini-series of interviews with riders supported by The Rayner Foundation, a rider charity for whom Phil Jones, Brother UK's Managing Director, raised £20,000 by riding the entire route of the 2018 Tour of Britain, one day ahead of the race. 

The Brother UK Cycling Podcast

Subscribe to the newsletter keeping domestic road cycling fans up to speed

Subscribe

Episode 32: Oliver Knight Interview

Episode contents

  • 00.02 - Introduction
  • 00.38 - Hello And Welcome
  • 02.55 - Part One: Return To Aix
  • 04.17 - Part Two: A Family Affair
  • 13.24 - Part Three: HMT and the Young 'Professionals'
  • 17.23 - Part Four: An Englishman In Provence 
  • 21.23 - Part Five: Leading From The Front
  • 27.56 - Part Six: The Apprentice
  • 33.49 - Part Seven: A Solid Foundation 
  • 34.16 - Outro

Transcript

Introduction

Timothy John

“If your passion lies in elite British road racing and you want an inside line on the teams, riders, organisers and sponsors that make this sport such a compelling spectacle, you’re in the right place.

“I’m Timothy John and joining me for every episode is my co-host, the Managing Director of Brother UK, Phil Jones.”

Phil Jones 

“Thanks, Tim. It’s great to be here. We’re going to use this platform to talk about all the key issues surrounding the sport. With special guests, deep dives into hot topics and plenty of chat, we’ll keep you informed about all things UK racing. Stay tuned!”

Hello and welcome

Timothy John

“Hello and welcome to this special edition of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast, where we’ll conclude our mini-series of interviews with riders from The Rayner Foundation’s sensational class of 2022. 

“Oliver Knight finished last season by riding eight professional races as a stagiare for Tadej Pagacar’s UAE Team Emirates squad, having won the Volta Castello for Aix en Provence, the French amateur team with whom he will complete his U23 career this season. 

“Ollie has grit to match his talent. After crashing and fracturing his pelvis on the final stage of last year’s Vuelta a Burgos, he returned to action just over a month later for a hectic period

that saw him start seven professional races in just four weeks. 

“His modest demeanour belies an unshakeable determination to achieve his lifelong goal of becoming a professional cyclist. In truth, he has adhered to highest standards of performance and conduct, both on the bike and off, since racing as a junior with the now defunct HMT Hospitals squad. 

“2023 will be a critical year for Ollie as he bids to make good on his long-running apprenticeship with Aix-en-Provence. Continued support from The Rayner Foundation, a charity funding young British riders to race abroad, will give him the very best opportunity of doing so. 

“The Rayner Foundation is widely respected for helping scores of British riders to become professional cyclists, and nowhere more than at Brother Cycling. In 2018, Phil Jones, Brother

UK’s Managing Director and this podcast’s co-host, raised around £20,000 for the Foundation by riding the entire route of the Tour of Britain, one day head of the race.

“Ollie, thank-you very much for joining us.”  

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, no worries.” 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

Part One: Return To Aix

Timothy John

 “As I mentioned in the intro, we first met at The Rayner Foundation dinner. How was that for you? It was brilliant evening as a spectator, so to speak, but you were right at the heart of things.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, it was brilliant. It was good to catch up with everyone after a long season. Of course, you cross paths with a lot of the guys throughout the year, but it’s nice to have everyone in one place, in a far more relaxed environment.”

Timothy John 

“I think we kind of assume, problem incorrectly, that you guys see each other week in, but its a fairly dispersed group, isn’t it? There are Rayner-funded riders across Europe.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, that’s it, I mean you’ve got guys in Belgium, France, Spain…There are one or two who you see more often than others, but the rest of the guys, you don’t see them a lot.”

Timothy John

“How was Christmas? I mean, it seems a long time ago now, but did you get a proper break?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, I think…I got a decent break but still having to put the miles in; a fair bit of training over Christmas. Luckily, I got away to a training camp in December for a week. It was nice to have a little bit of decent weather, but then it was straight back to the snow and ice.”

Timothy John 

“And I think, as we speak, you’ve only been back in Aix for a couple of hours. Is that correct?”

Oliver Knight

“Pretty much. Straight back. I went to see the team today, sorting out the bike. It’s nice. You go away for a couple of months and then straight back, and you feel like you’d never left, really.”

Timothy John

“How is the weather in Aix today? Is it a location from which you’d need to escape from to Caloe during the winter months? Or do you get year-round, warm weather training down there?”

Oliver Knight

“I have to say: this is my fourth year in Aix, and it doesn’t really bother me. This year was a bit different. It was pushing it. The weather wasn’t ideal in the UK, but I don’t mind spending those two or three months in the UK over winter because I know as soon as I’m here, it’s just like summer all year.”

Part Two: A Family Affair

Timothy John 

“Well, let’s rewind and go right back to the beginning. You’re from a cycling family, aren’t you? It’s funny: over Christmas, I ran into a chap called Simon Howes, who manages one of our sponsored teams. I mentioned that I’d been to the Rayner dinner and interviewed a lot of gifted young rider and mentioned your name. He said: ‘Wow, I used to race with his dad.’ Clearly, it’s in the blood.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, that’s the reason I got into the sport: through my dad; watching him race. I never really had to think about it. I played football when I was younger, but packed that in when I was 14, I think. From there, it’s just been racing, really.”

Timothy John

“What was your dad’s name?”

Oliver Knight

“Ian. Ian Knight.”

Timothy John

“Which team did he ride for?”

Oliver Knight

“Crikey. He raced for a few back in the Nineties, but, more recently, he raced for Corley Cycles when he came back to race in 2009, and that’s who I stay him racing for. It’s quite weird: that was a team that I ended up joining when I was 14, I believe. That’s who linked me with the coach I’m working with now, Roy Chamberlain. That’s how things have panned out. It’s quite weird.”

Timothy John

“Was your dad a First Cat? An Elite? How did his career pan out?”

Oliver Knight

“He was an Elite. When he was younger, he raced in France for a bit, and in Italy. He did a few races in Italy and lived there for a bit. He came back and raced in the UK as an Elite, and when he came back in 2009, he raced as an Elite as well for a few years doing Nat Bs and the odd Premier Calendar.”

Timothy John

“Well, your dad must be really well placed to give a perspective on the changing opportunities for young British riders. We’ll probably talk later about this myriad of pathways for somebody of your generation,  whether that be the pathway that you’re on with a French amateur team, or the Olympic Academy, or a WorldTour team’s development squad. None of those options would have been available to your dad.”

Oliver Knight

“There are certainly a lot more ways to become a professional cyclist now than there was back then, and it’s nice that I can profit from that.”

Timothy John

“Does he ever talk about that? Does he ever pull your leg and say you’ve got it easy?”

Oliver Knight

“Not too much, to be fair. He’s happy with the way that I’m doing it: coming out to France and doing amateur races where you learn quite a lot, I think.”

Timothy John 

“Was your dad your primary inspiration when you grew up?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, I think so. Watching his races: that was the first thing I saw of bike racing. Those races in the UK were those I initially thought that I wanted to do. From there, you grow up and you learn what your end goal is. He was certainly someone who I looked up to.”

Timothy John

“Your generation would have been the first to come up in a period in which British riders were household names: Wiggins, Cavendish; all the hype around the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Do you remember that period? And did it have a particular influence on your career?”

Oliver Knight

“I do, yeah. That’s certainly…I can remember quite well. I mean, I was only 11, but that’s when you’re the most influenced, I think. Watching Bradley Wiggins win the Tour de France, and then the Olympics at well. 

“Seeing quite a lot of people get into the sport from that. I was doing cycling before then, but there was a mate from school was started cycling. The number of people who were into it certainly went up and, yeah, it really did spark quite a lot of guys coming into the sport, and I think you can see that now: the good British guys are all at that age that were most influenced by that period.”

Timothy John

“I’m trying to remember when I was that age, a long time ago, being a cyclist was to plough a lonely furrow, to put it mildly. It must have been amazing to go to school and find that cycling was cool.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, I wouldn’t go that far, but, yeah, people knew about it at least.”

Timothy John

“Continuing the context of 2012: the track riders were as revered as the road riders, if not more so. They were big stars. Was the track ever on their radar, or were you a roadie from the get-go?”

Oliver Knight

“A pure road man, to be fair. I thought about the track when I was a bit younger, but because of where we live, based in Bedford, so not too close to the track. It’s always going to be just over an hour. It was never super easy to get there. 

“I think the road, for me, was going to be what I enjoyed the most. I can remember cyclo-cross being quite popular with the guys I grew up racing with. I did not even a full season of that

and realised I preferred riding my bike, not cleaning it.”

Timothy John

“Too much mud!”

Oliver Knight

“Exactly. Too cold, too much mud.”

Timothy John

“Who was your club growing up?  You’re in the Milton Keynes area, I think.”

Oliver Knight

“That was Team MK. Team Milton Keynes. I raced with them from when I started, basically. I can’t remember how old I was: probably ten or eleven. I moved onto Corley’s when I was 14, until a second-year junior.”

Timothy John

“Was Corley Cycles your primary outlet for racing, perhaps more so than the club?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, I’d say so. When I think back to races when I was younger, I always think of being in Corleys. 

“Before that, being in Team Milton Keynes, I can remember going down there for their Saturday morning training sessions, which were always good fun: doing track stand competitions and things like that; learning how to ride no-handed. That sort of thing.”

Timothy John

“And was Bob Varney involved in those days? The owner of Drops, or Lifeplus-Wahoo, I should say.”

Oliver Knight

“He was involved a bit before me. He was involved when Ian Stannard came through. He’s from Milton Keynes way. He’s rode for Team Milton Keynes as well.”

Timothy John 

“And did Ian ever make any guest appearances?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, he did. Unfortunately, I missed it. I think just before I was really into it, he came and did a day with the club, which is on YouTube somewhere. He was the local guy out there doing what everyone was dreaming of doing, so he was a big influence as well.”

Timothy John

“I can’t imagine what that would be like for a young rider. I know Alex Dowsett used to turn up at his club ‘ten’ in full Movistar kit, which must have been mind-blowing for all the kids there.

“Were you ever coached by your dad? Or did he allow you to do things your own way?”

Oliver Knight

“Oh, I think me and my dad had a few fall outs early on when we would go out for rides. Stupid things, like if I didn’t know where I was, and I was suffering…

“It’s so hard. It’s such a hard sport, more mentally than anything. He pushed me past my comfort zone a few times, but I needed that. 

“Luckily, I ended up having my own coach from about 13 or 14-years-old. That’s Roy Chamberlain, whom I’m still coached by now.”

Timothy John

“Can you quantify the effect that’s had on your career? The value of consistency must be immense.” 

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, definitely. It’s good to have someone who knows what works for you and tries knew things, but also knows what works well, and things that we can look back on that have worked in that past, just to know the right process, but also try new things as well that might work.”

Timothy John

“Cycling has become a very data-oriented sport, with Training Peaks and all the rest of it. Is that the relationship you guys have? Or is it focussed on experience, feel, how you’ve performed previously at  certain races, that kind of thing?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, it’s a bit of both, to be fair, I think. I think that’s the most important thing. Obviously, the numbers are super important, and it’s good to know the reason why you’re doing things, but also just good communication on how things are going. Mentally, is also really important. But he does a lot of research and looks into new sessions, which is really good.”

Timothy John

“And it’s that total commitment, isn’t it, that all-consuming approach, that separates a rider who wants to be a professional cyclist from a weekend racer. Would that be fair?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, that’s it. It’s one of those sports where you’re never not training. If you’re off the bike, you’re resting for the next session, and if you’re on the bike, you’re putting in the work for the races to come. That’s why I love it,  really.”

Timothy John

“One of the things you mentioned when we chatted in Leeds, and really struck home with me, was your ambition to be a ‘professional cyclist’. It wasn’t to win the Tour de France, for example. I think for people who know the sport from the inside, that phrase, ‘a professional,’ really resonates.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah. It’s strange. For as long as I remember, that has been the thing I’ve been aspiring to. I didn’t dream of winning the Tour, or winning these big races. I just really wanted to be a professional cyclist. 

“Obviously, winning races is the best part of it, and that’s what I’m thinking of when I’m out training, but, at the same time, being a professional and having your hobby as your job, that’ the goal.”

Part Three: HMT and the Young Professionals

Timothy John

“HMT was a big step for you, I think it would be fair to say, and an early step, and, continuing our theme of professionalism, that was very much the modus operandi, wasn’t it?”

Oliver Knight

“As junior teams go, I don’t think it gets much better than HMT. I was lucky enough to do a few races as a first-year [junior] guesting for them, and then I was on the team as a second-year [junior] in 2019. I really had a good taste of different types of races in Europe from such a a young age. Having a really high level of support from was brilliant.

“I think the main thing I gained from it was the fact that Mark Barry and Tony Barrett, who ran it, they both made it very clear that you don’t get much more support than we’re giving you now; even as a pro. Don’t think as you get older and take the next step, which for me was going out to France as an amateur with Aix, don’t think you’re going to get the same support as you’re getting here,’ which is very true, I think. 

“Even now, having raced with UAE Team Emirates , there wasn’t a massive difference from the support we were getting from HMT as what the pros get.”

Timothy John

“Wow. That is a huge compliment. Had the team evolved, even from 2018, when you guested, and 2019 where you became a full-fledged member of the squad?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, I think so. 2018 was a bit of a strange year because there wasn’t really a set squad. They had a few races they were dong throughout the year, and they took a handful of different riders throughout. 

“I was lucky enough to do three races - Acht Van Bladel, [Tour of the] Basque Country, and the Philippe Gilbert Classic. As a second-year, being on a proper team set-up, the support was brilliant.”

Timothy John

“Was it a mixed programmes of domestic and European racing, or was it solely European?”

Oliver Knight

“There was quite a lot in the UK. We did the Junior Tour of Wales, at which we had full support, and a few of the other National Road Series races. But I think the main focus was on those European races, where you learned the most. The races are a little bit longer and far more similar to professional races.”

Timothy John

“Can you quantify the impact that had on you? To be on European roads?”

Oliver Knight

“You are basically doing what you’re watching on TV, going up decent climbs in the Basque Country with motorbikes and cars and everything. You just don’t get that in the UK.”

Timothy John

“And to go in to fine detail, did racing on that bigger terrain crystallise your ambition to become a professional rider? 

“I spoke to Oscar Onley before Christmas, and he told me: ‘I had an inkling I was a climber, but it wasn’t until I raced on the larger climbs in Europe that I realised I could I really do that.’

“Did the geography have an impact on your career too?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, definitely. I think it made you more aware of what you were good at and what you needed to work on. For me, it sort of clarified what I had an inkling of in the UK, which was that I wasn’t really a fan of steep climbs. I’m still not a fan of steep climbs! It made me really like those long, draggy climbs of five per cent, which we don’t really have in the UK.”

Timothy John

“And by taking on a European programme, did you feel that you’d put yourself on a different pathway from your team-mates at Corley Cycles, for example, evan at that very early stage?”

Oliver Knight

“At Corleys, we were lucky enough to go over to Belgium a few times, but you never really do those southern European races unless you’re on a team like HMT that get invited to them. 

“That’s what really made me know that this was what I wanted to be doing. There’s no better place than Aix, really: to be on a French amateur team where the roads are really nice and the sun shines. It reminds me of those junior races in the Basque Country.”
 

Part Four: An Englishman in Provence

Timothy John

“How did Aix come onto your radar, Ollie?”

Oliver Knight

“That was through Harrison Wood. He was on the team in 2019, when he was a first-year U23. He put me in contact with them. He connected the dots, really.”

Timothy John

“Did it feel like a big step?”

Oliver Knight

“It did feel like a big step. [I was] eighteen years old when I first moved out here. Dad dropped me off. It suddenly feels like you’re a a long way from home, but you learn so quickly: things that normal people never have to think about, but it was what I wanted to be doing, so it was brilliant.”

Timothy John

“How was your French at that point?”

Oliver Knight

“Awful! I did it at GCSE but it wasn’t amazing. I did Spanish at A-level, because I sort of thought I might end up in Spain, but, yeah, my French was not ideal at that point. I picked it up quite quickly, luckily.”

Timothy John

“And what was your domestic set-up when you arrived in Aix? What type of accommodation had you found?”

Oliver Knight

“I have to say, I’m quite lucky. It’s not too bad at all. I was put with a host family right from the start, which is the same house I’m in now. I’m with the same family. It’s really good. We’ve got a pool. I’ve got my own space. It’s really nice. I’m certainly one of the luckier Rayner riders, that’s for sure.”

Timothy John

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping on the floor of a barn somewhere or in a ruined farm house?”

Oliver Knight

“It’s far from that!”

Timothy John

“I’m trying to picture the scene, Ollie: your dad’s dropped you off, he’s jumped back in the car, and he’s heading back to the UK. There you are in a small French town. Did you think, ‘My goodness, what have I done?’ Or did you think: ‘Right, this is it. Day one. It’s down to me now to become a pro rider.’”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, that’s it. From the moment I did my first ride, it felt like a never-ending training camp, for the first couple of months or so, but then you fit in a bit more and you make friends within the team. You go out in the town and try to become more French, in a sense, and then it feels a lot more homely. But, at the same time, the only reason that you’re here is to move on to the next step.”

Timothy John

“Were you kept busy from the get-go, with racing and with training? Or did you have to time to acclimatise?”

Oliver Knight

“I didn’t get raced too much at the start. It was tricky, mentally, because I really wanted to race, and they races they were putting me in were quite small, but at the same time, looking back, I did learn quite a lot from that, and it meant that I was really keen and ready to ride those bigger races when they did come around.”

Timothy John

“What type of lessons did you learn? The fundamentals of bunch positioning? Or was it more tactical and strategic? What are the big differences between a French style of racing and the races that you’d previously experienced?”

Oliver Knight

“French amateur races are quite different. There’s a bunch of guys who are all rivals in a way and you know which guys you’re looking for each week and learning how those guys race; also, how the parcours can suit you. Yeah, just the general French way of racing: when people are likely to attack, when moves are likely to go. 

“Last year, was the year when I learned the most because I was further towards the front and not suffering quite a much as those first couple of years. I’ll probably learn even more this year, hopefully. It is a different style of racing and different as a junior, even in Europe.”

Timothy John

“You raced the junior Tour of the Basque Country with HMT. How did the French calendar compare?”

Oliver Knight

“It’s similar, but, at the same time, different. I suppose that doesn’t really say anything, but, yeah, I’d say similar: very aggressive racing. That’s what I love: constant moves going off with no real structure. That’s different to when we go and race in Spain, for example, where teams work together to try and control the race, which I don’t really like too much, because it makes it a bit too predictable.”

Part Five: Leading From The Front

Timothy John 

“You mentioned a moment ago that you’re starting to move to the front of the peloton, and, very modestly, you didn’t mention your victory at the Volta Castello. How significant was that?”

Oliver Knight

“I won a stage of the Vuelta Navarra from quite a long attack, and that’s when I came into quite a nice block of form. I had so much confidence from then that I was so keen to try and win races.

“I won the second or third stage of Castello, went into yellow, and the guys rode for me really well on the last day and, basically, dropped me off at the last climb with 20km to go, and I just had to stay with the fast guys over that, and if I could come over the top then I’d won the general, which I did. I think that put me more on the radar of the big teams, which gave me my role as a stagiare.”

Timothy John

“What about the burden of leadership? Does it sometimes require a degree of courage to put up your hand at pre-race briefing and say, ‘I’m feeling good here. I’ve got good legs, and I need you guys to ride for me’?” Is that something that comes naturally to you?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah. I’d say, I quite like it. If I’m aggressive enough in the race, I’ve got confidence that the guys will do what they can to help. At the same time, I really like helping other guys. They know that if they do something for me then, if they’re on a good day, I’ll do something for them. 

“I have to say, the last day of Castello, when I was in the jersey, it was a bit stressful at time. We let a break go perhaps a bit too far. The DS said that there was no one dangerous but I knew full well that there was a guy at seven seconds in the move. I was trying to tell them that we needed to bring him back. There was quite a lot going wrong, but we pulled it off in the end.”

Timothy John

“What are the benefits of long-term relationships in that scenario? You mentioned that you’d ridden for other guys on the team in the past, and they, in a sense, I guess, knew that they had relied on you and now was the time to return the favour. Would that be fair?”

Oliver Knight

“At the end of the day, it is a team sport. I know that you only win as individuals, but it is a team sport, and you’re all there to win the race. It doesn’t matter who wins it.”

Timothy John

“Is it a group of guys who you’ve been riding with for some time now?”

Oliver Knight

“Pretty much. There are some guys who have been almost every year that I’ve been here. I know those guys really well. I’ve bonded with them over the years. But it’s also nice with new guys coming in; guys who live close, with whom you spend a lot of time training. We all get on really well together.”

Timothy John

“It must be an amazing feeling on Monday morning, having won the GC on the Sunday afternoon to be out on the roads of Aix, turning your legs with your team-mates.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, that’s it. One guy in particular helped me on the stage that I won. My mate Jeremy. I went out for a spin with him the next day to the café and treated him to a coffee and a cake, which just about repaid him!”

Timothy John

“Can you put into words that sensation of crossing the line with your hands in the air or standing on the final podium as GC winner. It must be an incredible sensation.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, yeah, It’s brilliant. It’s strange, really. Everything that you’re working towards, it only lasts for a split-second: that little bit of real happiness, but even though you spend so much time working towards it, I think it’s worth it.”

Timothy John

“And so much time suffering. Did you ever consider pathways other than moving to France? Or did that feel like the right thing, given the pathway that had led you from HMT to Aix?”

Oliver Knight

“I didn’t really consider anything else. I didn’t do the track, so there was no way of getting into that British Cycling bubble. For me, it was almost the only way. You could say, race domestically and try to work up through the British teams and do the odd European race with those British-registered Continental teams, but, I think, for me, my style of racing, I always saw myself moving out to Europe and doing these punchy races with a few more climbs.”

Timothy John

“At its best, I don’t think there’s much that can match the Lincoln Grand Prix or the CiCLE Classic, or whatever it might be. It seems, though, that the pathway you’ve chosen seems a more secure route.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah. It seems from the outside that there are more riders who have gone through that European route and onto the pro teams. It gives you a bit more conference. But at the same time, you can’t discount how good British racing can be. 

“I did the national championships in Lincoln, the year before last, and it was so fun, but, at the same time, it’s almost as though it’s not respected enough from the pro teams. It’s not because the races aren’t hard enough, but, for some reason, the pro teams see the European races as more important.”

Timothy John

“Is that closely related to UCI status and points and all that kind of thing, or is it more of a cultural thing, in your opinion?”

Oliver Knight

“Potentially, but probably more of cultural thing. I think even now, when you can literally look at your numbers and see if you’ve got the level. I think being able to race well on European roads is still really quite valuable.”

Timothy John

“Just while we’re discussing alternative pathways, you mentioned earlier that you thought you might end up in Spain., rather than France. What option did you have to race in Spain?”

Oliver Knight

“I think because I did quite well in the Basque Country and also won a stage of the Vuelta Pamplona, I tend to go quite well in Spain, so I thought maybe basing myself out there would be a good option, but there wasn’t really a team that appealed to me in the U23s. Aix, for me was where I would rather be. We race in Spain as well, so I get the best of both worlds.”

Timothy John

“Yeah, and the French scene is very deep, I think, if that’s the right phrase. There are lots of races, all  in various tiers. Does the French system seem more developed than the Spanish?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, I think so. There are so many races. It’s not just for U23s, whereas when we go to Spain, it feels very U23-based. Here, you’ve got some older guys who have made a career out of French amateur racing. It’s tricky to explain.”

Timothy John

“How valuable is the support of teams like FDJ and the French WorldTour teams for the French scene? That you could go and do a Coupe de France race, and you know that FDJ are going to be there, for example? Does that lend a certain prestige to the scene?”

Oliver Knight

“The French teams know the level of these French amateurs races so well that if you are doing well in France,  as an amateur, you can be confident that those French teams are watching and will know who you are.”

Part Six: The Apprentice

Timothy John 

“I guess Harrison Wood is the living proof. He went from Aix-en-Provence to Cofidis, but your stagiaire opportunity came with UAE Team Emirates.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, so that came about through one of the coaches; well, no longer a coach at Aix. He was a coach at Aix. He knew Matxin quite well. They’d been in contact. He knows the Spanish races really well, and, of course, I’d won the Castello and the stage in Navarre. I also had a few decent results in France, so that was what helped me there, I think.”

Timothy John

“Can you remember your initial reaction? Did it feel like a gateway to the big time, or did you think: ‘Well, here’s where the hard work really begins’?”

Oliver Knight

“I didn’t really want to believe it until the contract was signed, and even up until the very last deadline from the UCI [for] sorting out the paperwork, I wasn’t 100 per cent sure that it was going to go through. As soon as I got it, I was so motivated to work even harder. 

“Of course, my first race, there was so much learning: learing how things work within the team, but also within the race; how it’s raced. Of course, you see it on TV, but you never really know what it’s like until you’re there, pedalling. To break my pelvis on the last day was not the best of luck, but it is what it is.”

Timothy John

“We’re talking about the Vuelta a Burgos here, which is, pretty much, the warm up race of choice for riders about to start the Vuelta a España. Give us a sense of the quality of the field. Who did you find yourself racing alongside?”

Oliver Knight

“Well, Valverde, Nibali: the guys I’d been watching on TV for as long as I can remember, really. Crazy. Guys who, now that they’ve retired, I think in years to come, I’ll really appreciate that I got to line up against them.” 

Timothy John

“What was your role in Team UAE Emirates at that race? I think João Almaida was leading the team.”

Oliver Knight

“We didn’t go into the race with distinct leader, but, of course, with him being there and going on to do the Vuelta, he was always going to be the one with eyes on him, and he did win the last stage, which was brilliant.

“But, well, the line-up was so good. We had Rui Costa, [Matteo] Trentin, and, of course, Almeida, as well. [Fernando Gaviria] for the sprints. Not too much stress because the guys were so strong that you weren’t worried that they wouldn’t be able to finish the job.”

Timothy John

“Was it a daunting experience or were you made to feel welcome?”

Oliver Knight

“I was made to feel really welcome. The guys were so nice. Just super-friendly. They made me feel comfortable, right from the start. It was brilliant.”

Timothy John

“How different was it from anything you’d experienced before? Was it the same but different: a bike race but with greater support? Or was it an entirely different experience?”

Oliver Knight

“I’d say it wasn’t massively different to what we have at Aix, but obviously the support is…You can’t really compare them. UAE is as good as it gets, really. You’re pedalling the bike but, other than that, there’s nothing that you’re really doing. You have 100 per cent support but, at the end of the day, you’re still working towards the same goal, which is winning a bike race.”

Timothy John

“And how many of the lessons that you’d learned off the bike were transferable? As a journalist you go to a pro bike race and you realise quickly that those post-race routines serve a purpose. Your recovery begins from the moment you step off the bike. How many of those rituals had you already learned from your time at Aix and HMT?”

Oliver Knight

“It just sort of proved that everything I’d learned at Aix and HMT was true, you know? It’s the same principles at the end of the day. You’re doing as little as you can off the bike so you can do as much as you can off the bike.”

Timothy John

“You broke your pelvis in the crash on the final stage of the Vuelta a Burgos. How did that affect your morale? Did you think, ‘Oh, no. My chance is slipping away here’? Or were you completely resolved to get back on the bike as quickly as you could?”

Oliver Knight

“I think, for a brief moment, in the hospital, as soon as it happened, I was just a bit broken, really. But the doctor said how long it might be before I might get back on the bike, and it was only two weeks. 

“I thought, even if I’m only able to do easy rides for a week, as soon as I’m back on the bike, I’m only going to be getting better, really. I was focussed on doing every I could to speed up the recovery. 

“I was eating as much protein as possible, doing all the tips that UAE were giving me, so I could be back racing again as soon as I could.”

Timothy John

“You had a couple of DNFs at the two Italian races. Was that related to your recovery, or was that related to racing at a professional level for the first time, effectively.”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, those races are super tough. You don’t get many finishers anyway, but the lack of racing and the lack of fitness going into them, they were never going to be easy, but I still learned quite a lot from those races, which was the main thing, I think. 

“I did what I co to help the team. They were always really positive. It is what it is. It wasn’t ideal at the back end of the season, having almost a month off of training and racing, but I still

took a lot from it.”

Timothy John

“You finished your final four races, including Paris-Tours, which is one of the most respected French classics. How did you feel at the end? Did you feel you’d done enough to earn a contract?”

Oliver Knight

“Ah, I don’t know. It’s tricky. Contracts are not easy to get. Obviously, that’s the dream, but I knew that because I didn’t have anywhere near as much fitness as I could have…I don’t think I can reflect too much on it. I did the best I could, and I’m lucky that I have this year as well to prove that I’m worthy of a spot on a team, somewhere.”

Timothy John

“Is the door still open at UAE Team Emirates? Are you still in contact?”

Oliver Knight

“A little bit, but not much. Obviously, there are other teams. It’s not just those. There are so many teams out there. It only takes one of them.”

Part Seven: A Solid Foundation

Timothy John

“Absolutely. You’re still out there in France. You’re still pitching, and you still have the support of The Rayner Foundation. Can you tell us a little bit about how valuable their support has been?”

Oliver Knight

“It simply would not be possible without them, to be fair. I know that’s what everyone’s going to say, but it is really true. They help you financially, but then also being part of this community of guys all in the same boat; there’s always going to be someone to chat with, to bond with over the situation that you’re all in.”

 

OUTRO

Timothy John

“And what are your short-term goals as you move into your final year as an U23?”

Oliver Knight

“Honestly, I just want to enjoy these races. Some of these races, I’ve been able to do three times now, so I know roughly how they’ll end up. There are certain goals: a good weekend at the end of March, with the GP St Etienne and Annamasse Bellegarde.

"That’s the big opening weekend in France, really, and it would be nice to get a result there. Even sooner than that, there’s the Grand Prix d’Aix, in the middle of February, which is a French Cup race this year, so that would be really nice to get a real good result on home roads, in a way.”

Timothy John

“And will we see you on UK roads at any point this year? Will you be back for the National Championships, for example?”

Oliver Knight

“Yeah, maybe. Hopefully the national championships I don’t know where it is yet, but maybe a couple of other races if I come back. We’ll have to see: try and fit it in.”

Timothy John

“Well, Ollie. Thank-you very much indeed for your time today. It’s very much appreciated. I hope 2023 brings you everything you need, including that pro contract.”

Oliver Knight

“Cheers. Yeah, thank-you.”

Brother main blue link list background

Add the Brother UK Cycling Podcast

Apple PodcastsCastBoxDeezeriHeartListen NotesPodchaserRadioPublicRSSSpotify
Brother main blue link list background

Follow us @BrotherCycling

FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn

News

More news...