Wealth Management: Blog – In conversation with: Owain Doull

Sophie Kilvert - Client Adviser

Owain has had continued success since his Gold medal in the men's pursuit in Rio 2016, competing in numerous track and road races, most recently taking first place in the Tour de la Provence in February. Owain was set to have an outstanding season, but with the Tokyo Olympics and many other major cycling events postponed or cancelled, the core challenge now facing him and his team is that of adjusting their goals, training regimes and expectations to a disrupted and still uncertain timetable. 

Beginning with the inevitable discussion of the Rio Olympics, I ask Owain how it felt to achieve such a high so early on in his career, particularly as part of a team made up of previous Olympic champions Bradley Wiggins and Ed Clancy. He admits it feels strange to have achieved this ambition at the age of 23 but also how that fostered his commitment to the sport, as well as his drive to pursue more road racing. He reminisces on the uniqueness of the Olympics as an event, the aftermath and celebrations in Brazil, before the return to home, training and UK weather.

The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics would be a blow to any athlete, and obviously throws a spanner in the works of a meticulously planned training schedule. However, Owain feels lucky to have had 2016 and sees the Olympics as a bonus that comes around every four years rather than his main objective. He is grateful that a final decision was made and that the event has indeed been pushed back; the uncertainty and closure of facilities would have made training and staying motivated incredibly difficult, especially as most upcoming races have now been cancelled. As a goal-orientated person (as most professional athletes need to be), Owain finds that, when a fixed goal is taken away, it's extremely difficult to maintain the same momentum and intensity in training.

While isolation is not conducive to communal training and team morale, Team INEOS have been working to maintain high spirits amongst the riders, communicating over WhatsApp and setting each other various challenges. Virtual races, held on the online training platform Zwift, help to keep the riders motivated and connected, making up for the camaraderie they would have had during training and competitions. Owain remains remarkably positive and emphasises how fortunate he feels still being employed to train, so he has made it his mission to stay fit, ready for the moment when he can race again. All athletes are impacted by this uncertain period, but not everyone will be handling it in the same way. By making the most of the situation, looking after himself and training to the best of his ability, Owain believes he and his team can turn this into a competitive advantage when the season resumes.

Owain appreciates the bigger picture of the pandemic, and the impacts of Coronavirus beyond his own career and sport.  He shares that their sponsor, multinational chemical company INEOS, has been a unifier for the team. Together, Owain and the rest of the team have been supporting INEOS in their pledge to manufacture hand sanitiser in the fight against Coronavirus. This has given them something positive to work towards, contributing to the global effort while ensuring continued team solidarity. 

In adjusting his day-to-day life around current restrictions, Owain makes sure he always has something to work towards, creating short-term goals and maintaining a strict routine to help him retain a sense of normality. At the beginning of the lockdown period, Owain sat down with his coach and planned out a four-week block of goals and targets. He uses these small wins to re-motivate himself each day, recognising the futility of trying to predict when he will be able to race again. Instead, he tries not to think too far in advance, focusing only on the next week of training.

Finally, like many of us, Owain recognises one real benefit of this situation. Instead of being immersed in the busy major events season he is at home and grateful for the chance to spend more time with his family. He also reflects on the renewed incentive to speak with friends and reach out to those he has had less contact with. Maintaining these human connections and keeping in touch with others is a lesson that extends beyond cycling and competition, and one that we will all hopefully remember well beyond this pandemic.