Brother UK Cycling Podcast – Episode 63
Timothy John
“Hello and welcome to this special edition of the Brother UK Cycling Podcast with me Timothy John and our special guest, Oliver Stockwell, a Rayner Foundation rider and the latest young British talent to join the professional ranks, having agreed a two-year deal with Team Bahrain-Victorious.
“Oli, thank-you very much indeed for joining us.”
Oliver Stockwell
”Thanks for having me.”
INTERLUDE
Timothy John
“Well, it’s a pleasure to have you with us. The new British pros are coming thick and fast. We spoke to Bjoern Koerdt a couple of weeks ago and now here you are with a two-year deal with Bahrain-Victorious, and, chatting off-air, it sounds like it was one that was long in the pipeline.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, with the devo team and everything, we’ve been in contact with them for a long time. They’ve been good to me.”
Timothy John
“Yeah, you’ve been a member of a new breed of team: CTF-Victorious, aka Team Friuli. Have I got that right?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, so they’ve kind of taken over what was already a team and just helped adding a few bits and pieces that maybe CTF didn’t have access to before. I think it’s a really good way of structuring it, actually.”
Timothy John
“Yeah, we’re seeing this more and more these days, aren’t we? Does it still operate a arms length? Lidl-Trek, for example, Visma-Lease A Bike, they have in-house development teams. Is this one step removed, or are you the de facto development team for Bahrain-Victorious?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, it’s one step removed in that they still get to run it how they ran as a team before, and do it their way. Obviously, Bahrain have a say in certain things and giving us equipment and stuff.”
Timothy John
“And have you lived through that change? Was it an independent team when you joined, or has it always been the official feeder for Bahrain-Victorious?”
Oliver Stockwell
“When I joined, it was just as it was changing, so, yeah, I’ve seen how Bahrain have added more and more each year, you know?"
Timothy John
“Yeah, that must be hugely encouraging. I guess you’ve met the senior team. Have you ridden with them?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, we always do the winter camps with them, so that’s really good. You get to meet these seasoned pros and learn from them and see how hard they ride everywhere!”
Timothy John
“That must be invaluable. How about the younger element, some of whom are British, of course: Fred Wright, Finlay Pickering, and one of your [CTF] team-mates, Roman Ermakov. Has that helped the transition in a way?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I think it’s good knowing the guys that you’re going up with or who will be there. I’m not going in completely blind, not knowing anyone, which is nice.”
Timothy John
“Yeah, having those pre-existing relationships, I guess, can only help.
“An interesting addition, or re-addition, I should say, to the Bahrain-Victorious jigsaw is the return of Rod Ellingworth who perhaps has done more for the development of young British riders that anyone in his foundation of the Olympic Academy and all those years at INEOS and now Bahrain-Victorious. Was he part of the jigsaw? Have you spent any time with Rod?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I haven’t spent any time with him yet, but hopefully he can aid my development as well. Obviously, he knows what he’s doing and should play a really big role, I think.”
INTERLUDE
Timothy John
“Yeah, a pretty useful guy to have inside the team, I would imagine.
“How did you get going with this sport? What was your route in?”
Oliver Stockwell
“It was kind of a bit…I feel like [for] everyone, it tends to be random, almost. I liked riding my bike, you know, and I just kind of stumbled across the velodrome in Welwyn one day when I was very young and with my family. I saw guys riding around it and decided, ‘That looks fun. I’ll give that a go,’ and it just kind of went from there.”
Timothy John
“Wow. What sort of age were you then?”
Oliver Stockwell
“When I first started riding? I think I was eleven or twelve. Eleven, I think, so yeah, quite young.”
Timothy John
“Was anyone in your family a cyclist, or were you striking new ground for the Stockwells?”
Oliver Stockwell
“My dad was always a passionate runner but never a cyclist.”
Timothy John
“Interesting. As I mentioned off-air, I’d spoken to Louis Sutton a couple of weeks ago. I caught up with him, and he described himself as your neighbour and you as the guy who’d got him off a mountain bike and onto a road bike.
“Is there quite a thriving scene around Welwyn, St Albans, that sort of area?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, for sure. The club down at Welwyn is always, since I’ve been young, there have always been loads of guys riding, and with Louis, especially, getting really good, there are always good people to ride with around here.”
Timothy John
“Yeah. That’s good to know. It’s still - ‘minority sport’ sounds too harsh - but it’s outside the mainstream still, I would imagine. Were you and Louis rarities, or were there lots of guys at school who were doing a similar thing?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I don’t know. At our school, it was almost weird. There were three or four of us who were all riding down at Welwyn, all in the same school and in the same year, even. It’s maybe a bit strange; just one of those random things that’s just happened, you know?”
Timothy John
“Yeah. I guess you fed off each other. That encouragement.
“Tell me about Welwyn, because you’ve gone up through the ranks. You’ve spent time with Team Inspired, aka the Olympic Academy but I guess you got a pretty firm grounding with the Welwyn Wheelers.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, Welwyn is where it all started, and they made me the rider I am, I guess; the support you get through the club and doing all of the sessions with them is where I learned everything, really.”
Timothy John
“What are we talking about here? Basic riding skills? Etiquette?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, mainly skills, I would say, because they’re really big on cyclo-cross and stuff like that. That’s really good. It feeds into the road. Maybe stops you falling off the bike quite as often, or whatever.”
Timothy John
“Cross has been more than a sideline for you. You’ve ridden two world championships, I think, both as a junior and as an under-23. Was there ever any tension between the two? Were you ever in a position where you had to choose which would be your specialist?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I really love ‘cross, and I almost wish I could still do it, but it’s hard, you know, when you’re not….I was good at ‘cross, but maybe I was slightly better at road, and I had to pick: ‘Do I try and do both or do I focus everything I’ve got into the road?” Now, with the level being so high, you kind of have to, unless you’re one of those special guys like maybe Pidcock or Van Aert.”
Timothy John
“Yeah, we did see a brief rise of the multi-discipline rider, didn’t we, but it's a pretty exclusive club.
Obviously, you’ve gone onto bigger and better things, but a national title is a national title.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I don’t know, it’s one of those things that not many people get to win, and it’s definitely really special, you know? I’d like to add a few more, but I’ve got to work on that.”
Timothy John
“Ha! Well, time is on your side. When you look back at the people whom you beat to win that title - Max Walker, Oscar Onley, Leo Hayter, Lewis Askey - a pretty high-quality field.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, for sure. I feel like those races, everyone’s there all the time. It was a good race.”
Timothy John
“People like me bandy around the phrase, golden generation, but that doesn’t seem an exaggeration, given what everybody has gone on to achieve.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, there are so many good guys coming up now. It’s good to see, I guess. We all push each other on.”
Timothy John
“Did it feel like that at the time, a couple of years ago when you were juniors? Or were they just other guys you were racing?”
Oliver Stockwell
“No, I feel like…Yeah, you’re all just mates, you know? You don’t see it like that when you’re younger. Maybe when you look back, you think that.”
INTERLUDE
Timothy John
“It’s an interesting dichotomy, isn’t it, because the elite road scene is certainly still undergoing challenges. We’ve covered them in depth on this podcast. Phil Jones, Brother UK’s Managing Director and the co-host of this podcast, served on British Cycling’s Elite Road Racing Task Force to try and understand a way forwards for what, unfortunately, is a failing scene at the moment.
“The junior scene, however, is producing world-class talents at a rate of knots. Was the domestic route ever one that you considered?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I guess I considered it a little, but when you’re a junior, I guess, almost all the races we do are domestic races. You see the guys a couple of years ahead of you, and I guess you follow, almost.
bit of extra domestic racing.
“But, yeah, I guess maybe in that year I saw that I needed to go abroad and get out there.”
Timothy John
“How significant was the impact of Covid on your career development? Did it seem catastrophic at the time or were you still comparatively new on the journey?”
Oliver Stockwell
“When I was a second-year junior, I raced twice in the year, which was nothing. When I compare it to the year before, I did a ridiculous amount of race days, as you always do a s junior.
“Yeah, two races in a year, and in the first year after that, as a first-year under-23, we missed a lot of the start of the season because we were still under restrictions as such.”
Timothy John
“How concerning was that? I spoke to Sam Watson a couple of year ago now for an episode - amazing how quickly the time files! He was on the Academy, I think probably in the same cohort as you, and he was so concerned that he left and joined Groupama-FDJ’s development team, simply to get some racing. Did it seem that significant to you?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I was in the same boat as Sam, I’d say. We left at the same time. We weren’t getting enough races because of the whole Covid thing and all of that stuff.”
Timothy John
“It’s funny how quickly the world moves on, isn’t it? At the time, it was absolutely unprecedented, and now, four or five years the other side of it, people tend to forget how significant the impact was.
“You mentioned your time with Team Inspired/Team GB/The Academy. What role did they play during this period?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, they’ve played a really big role as well, especially when I was a junior with Stu Blunt, bringing us on and teaching us the etiquette and taking us to first international races. I think I learned a lot there.”
Timothy John
“And were you living all together in Manchester, or were you based at home?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, when I was a first-year under-23, I was living in Manchester, which was also really good because you’re al together all the time, training together. You’ve got all the facilities up there like the gym and the track. That was really good.”
Timothy John
“We’ve mentioned Sam Watson. Who else was in your house? Who else was part of that cohort?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Max Rushby, Jack Rootkin-Gray, Will Tidball, Rhys Britton, Alfie George: a lot of the guys who are moving up, you know?”
Timothy John
“A pretty high-quality group, and a few Rayner riders in there, as well.
“What did you learn off the bike? What did you learn about life?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I mean, it was my first time living alone so I learned about cooking and looking after yourself, you know? I think the other guys were good with that as well. You learn from the older guys, and they bring you on.
“You learn to be a team as well, I guess. Because you’re together all the time, you have to put up with each other.”
Timothy John
“Is that difficult and demanding? I guess the only comparable state in normal life is time at university, where, of course, there is no pressure to deliver high performance; only when it comes to exams.
“Was it difficult to balance that sudden rush of freedom with the need to perform?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I wouldn’t say so. Not too much. Not for me, at least. I’ve never felt the need to go out all the time or anything like that. I’ve always enjoyed riding the bike, and we all kept each other grounded as well.”
Timothy John
“Yeah, I guess everybody being in the same boat certainly helps.
l’Avenir. Which was more important in your development?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Probably the Tour of Britain, I would say. It’s one of those races that every British rider wants to ride, and you’re riding with top, top riders, rather than with just top under-23 riders.
“I think also because it was such a long race and all the stages were so hard that year, you really got to see where it’s at.”
Timothy John
“That is your new normal, or will be.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I guess.”
INTERLUDE
Timothy John
“When did you get out to Italy and join CTF-Friuli, and how did that come about?”
Oliver Stockwell
“That was the start of 2022. I did my first year with GB. I was interested in doing more international races, because we were racing. internationally, but I just wanted a bit more, you know?
“I was just exploring the options. Friuli came about, and the fact that it was going to be the new development team [for] Bahrain-Victorious. It all just fell into place, a bit,; almost random. I guess you could say luck, almost.
Timothy John
“And why Italy? Why Friuli? A lot of the Rayner riders have come through AVC-Aix en Provence. What was the appeal of Friuli and Italy?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I think I like the Italian racing style a lot. They’re just a bit crazy, you know? They go full gas all day. There’s never a flat race. I guess I was drawn to their racing scene.”
Timothy John
“Whereabouts in Italy are they?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Udine, the Friuli region.”
Timothy John
“Ah, ok. Up in the North East.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah. Right next to Slovenia. Really good riding round there.”
Timothy John
“Particularly for a rider with climbing skills.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, there are some big climbs there, like Zoncolan.”
Timothy John
“Did you approach them? Did they approach you?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I think they were looking for a foreign rider. They approached me, but I was kind of searching a bit, you know? It was a bit 50-50, I guess.”
Timothy John
“And how important was the support of the Rayner Foundation at that juncture?”
Oliver Stockwell
“That was when…It was really important to have the Rayner [support]. It’s all well and good going to Italy, but it costs money, and Rayner gives that.
“And then you need the support from them because it’s hard, being away from your family for so long and going abroad and not speaking the language and everything.
“They give really good advice, and, for sure, Rayner was really crucial.”
Timothy John
“Yeah. That’s a pretty interesting way of putting it: it was a crucial involvement. Could you have done it without them?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I don’t think so. Maybe, but it would have been a lot, lot harder, and maybe that would have affected other things, like performance. For sure, they were crucial.”
Timothy John
“That’s good to hear.
“Was it a difficult adjustment to make? You mentioned the language a moment ago. I think you were the only British rider on the team when you joined. How daunting was that?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I hadn’t really considered it, and then I turned up to the first training camp and started speaking English to one of the guys, and he just looked at me like nothing had gone in, you know? And that’s when I realised, ‘Ah! Maybe I need to learn some Italian!”
Timothy John
“Had you had any experience with the language before then?”
Oliver Stockwell
“No. Nothing. It was complete new to me.”
Timothy John
“How long did it take to acquire a smattering of conversational Italian?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I feel that I picked up the cycling basics pretty quickly, but even now when they’re just talking rubbish, it’s pretty hard to follow.”
Timothy John
“Did the accommodation help? Where were you based? Were you mixed in with Italian riders or were you by yourself?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Well, they have a team house out there in Udine. That was really helpful, obviously, for training and everything, but no.
“In the first year, it was just me and a Taiwanese rider, Sergio Tu, so not much Italian going on in the house, but I guess in the shop and stuff.”
Timothy John
“Sergio, I guess, spoke English?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah. Proper English.”
Timothy John
“When you reached the end of 2022, how were you feeling? That you were on the right track?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, for sure. 2022 was a good year, I’d say. I really felt at home in Friuli, and I was moving up, you know? I was getting better. I was really looking forward to the 2023 season."
INTERLUDE
Timothy John
“And that, dear listener, is where things changed significantly. A broken leg is pretty much the worst injury a rider can suffer. How was that done? What impact did it have?”
"A broken leg is pretty much the worst injury a rider can suffer. How was that done? What impact did it have?”
Oliver Stockwell
“It had a really big impact. I missed, basically, the whole 2023 season, which was pretty detrimental, but, yeah, I got through it.”
Timothy John
“How did it take place? Racing? Training?”
Oliver Stockwell
“We were on our last team training [session] of the year, just before we were about to start racing. We were just cruising along on the flat at about 30kmh. A little greasy corner, not full gas or anything. Just a proper random little crash.
“I could have the same crash again tomorrow, and I would be completely fine, you know? Just one of those random things.”
Timothy John
“Did you know immediately how serious it was?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, maybe not immediately-immediately, but [within] ten seconds or so.”
Timothy John
“What went through your mind? Can you remember?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I feel like, to start with, I wasn’t too worried because the team coaches were there, and they were like, ‘Oh, you’ll be fine. You’ve snapped a tendon or something. Don’t’ worry. You’ll be back in a couple of weeks.
“Later, in the hospital, it dawned on me that it was a bit worse then I thought it was.”
Timothy John
“Was that challenging mentally?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, for sure. I was in an Italian hospital for two weeks, so quite a big mental challenge.”
Timothy John
“Could your family get out to see you or did you have to get through it alone?”
Oliver Stockwell
“No, my family were really supportive. I think my dad was on a flight the next day to come and see me.”
Timothy John
“And how long was the road back?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I think I didn’t ride the bike for two or three months afterwards, just because I couldn’t. I didn’t have the flexibility in my knee. To be fair, I think the recovery was pretty quick. I was. back racing by August, probably with the help of Bahrain and CTF, really.”
Timothy John
“I think you came back at the - I’m sure I won’t pronounce this correctly - the Tour of Szeklerland in Romania. How did that feel? Was that a surreal experience? Were you filled with gratitude? What were your emotions?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I think I was just really happy to be back racing again, even if I wasn’t going very well. I hadn’t done much training at that stage. It was like being thrown in at the deep end, and Just used it as training. I was just really happy to be back racing.”
Timothy John
“Did you receive any help from the Rayner Foundation? From the Team GB set up?”
Oliver Stockwell
“It was more the support from Bahrain and CTF, but also the Rayner Foundation were really great with the mental support, I guess.”
Timothy John
“What sort of physical recuperation were you doing?”
Oliver Stockwell
“To start with, there wasn’t much I could do. I was just trying to walk about a bit, or get the walking back, almost on crutches.
“Slowly, we built back up to going to the gym, then on the bike and, yeah, a really slow process.”
Timothy John
“And here we are in 2024 at the end of this season. When you look back, how do you reflect on this year? Lots of top under-23 races…and, yeah, pretty much an unbroken diet of under-23 races this year.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, this year we were keen to focus more on the races we wanted to do well in, whereas before, we’d just done every race; race every weekend and saw how it went. This year, we focussed a bit more, which was good.
“Maybe looking back I’d have liked to have done a few more fun races, maybe a few more little Italian races, rather than just the big races, but, no, it was a good season.”
Timothy John
“Any particular highlights? You had a podium at the Ronde de l’Isard.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I think for sure, l’Isard was the highlight, but maybe l’Avenir was the highlight, actually, even though it wasn’t a personal result.”
Timothy John
“To ride for the first British rider to win the Tour de l’Avenir must have been quite a feather in your cap.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, I think it was just…it was a bit of a special race, you know? We all rode so well together. It was like a perfect race, almost.”
Timothy John
“Had you gone in with the expectation of winning with Joe [Blackmore] or did it become apparent early in the race that he was the class of the field?”
Oliver Stockwell
“No, I think the plan was always, the hope, I guess, was that Joe would be on top form, and he would be there. That was the plan.”
Timothy John
“He’d had a pretty impressive spring as a professional, never mind as an under-23, so a wonderful result.
“It was another season with challenges. You broke a collarbone, I think, at the Peace Race.”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah, that was a small setback again. It disrupted my season a bit, but it was quite a quick recovery in comparison at least with breaking my leg, I suppose!”
Timothy John
“Breaking a collarbone must be a walk in the park, compared to a broken leg!
“You missed the Tour of Britain, surprisingly. You were racing during that period at the Giro Friuli. Was that a team decision? Did they want you on local roads?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah. I feel like it’s not really a decision I get to make. It was one of those where I was told, ‘You need to do the local race,’ even if it’s not such a local race any more.”
Timothy John
“What’s next on your agenda? We started by talking about this huge step you’re about to make with Bahrain-Victorious. When does that journey begin? Any pre-season camps?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah. I think the first camp is in December, so that will be the first big test, I guess.”
Timothy John
“Are they based anywhere near Friuli? Where are they based?”
Oliver Stockwell
“Yeah. The service course is in Slovenia, so pretty close to Friuli, actually.”
Timothy John
“Moving forwards into your first two years, it’s a two-year contract. Any idea, generally, what you might hope to achieve in that period?”
Oliver Stockwell
“I think I’ve just got to hope to learn a lot and, hopefully, be strong and try to get some results if I’m in a position to, but take it as it comes, really.”
Timothy John
“Absolutely. Very much a learning curve at such an early stage in your journey.
“Look, very best of luck with it, Oli, and thank-you very much for joining us today.”
Oliver Stockwell
"Yeah, thank-you."
INTERLUDE
Phil Jones
“If you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, please hit subscribe.”
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