An Interview With Paul Oldham

 

News Posted : 21 Feb 2008

Interview and Images: Joolze Dymond

Paul Oldham suddenly seemed to burst onto the MTB and CX scene in 2007, producing some excellent rides and resulting in a string of personal achievements, including a trip to the World XC Championships in Fort William; scooping the overall CX National Trophy Series, picking up his first senior medal in the National CX Championships and culminating in a showing in the World CX Championships in Treviso, Italy.

But unbeknown to many people, Oldham is a seasoned performer who's no stranger to the mountain bike or cross scene. With two decades of racing to his name, he never seemed to realise his potential after some impressive results as an espoir rider back in 1999, where he won the National XC Champs and picked up a silver in the same category in the CX National Champs.

Despite consistent form finishing regularly in the top ten, he hasn't quite found the top spot on the podium an easy step to find. Roll on a few years and 2007 saw Oldham not only become a dad for the first time, but also saw an incredible season where he at last found the confidence within himself to unleash his latent talent, in both mountain biking and cyclo-cross disciplines.

Not a stranger to representing GB, as in the past he has served his duty as an espoir rider and more recently he realised one of his ambitions; riding the senior XC World Champs up in Fort William.

I caught up with the quick witted and friendly Lancastrian at his latest outing in GB kit the World CX Championships in Treviso to find out how he's managed to finally tap into his huge reserve of talent and how he'd fancied his chances at the World Champs?

Okay Paul tell me a little bit about yourself?
30 years old, so I'm an old guy now, I could be a master. I'm a full time engineer for Hope technology, happily married and just recently a dad for the first time. I guess that sums me up.

When did you get bitten by the cycling bug?
My dad used to be a runner, but he got injured and so bought a mountain bike to keep fit. He got me one around the same time so it all started from there. Obviously MTB racing was just starting back then and we used to roll up and have a go, so yeah it all started from there. I did my first mountain bike race in 1987, so, well that's too long ago now! I was a sprog when I started, now two decades later I'm still at it!

It was mountain biking that got you into cycling, is that your main focus now?
Yes, it was mountain biking; I just did that, well until about '95 when I started dabbling with 'cross. I got into that from doing the 3 Peaks and then from there did a little bit of road along the way, but now XC and 'cross are where my heart lies. I don't mind a bit of road, but the training you have to do to be competitive is a bit much, especially with a full time job and a family.

20 years is a long time to be racing. Do you think this is something you keep doing?
Yeah I suppose 20 years is a long time, but it's such good fun, it keeps you out of trouble and it's a good healthy lifestyle, you see the world. It's very hard, it's an individual effort - you're not carried by anyone, and if you make a mistake it's your mistake. I keep thinking I'm still young, I keep forgetting I'm 30, I still think of myself as one of the young lads. So I don't know if I'll carry on indefinitely, I haven't decided yet. I've starting thinking well I've only got a few more years left now, I've always said when I can't race competitively I'll pack it in, but then I think that's only a few years off now so I don't know? We'll see.

Would you class yourself as a pro rider?
No not at all, I hold down a full time job, as an engineer with Hope Technology but although I'm pretty lucky and Hope do look after me I still have to work 8 til 4.30 everyday. Which with that and a young family, there's not a great deal of time for full on training.

What sort of training do you put in?
When I'm racing, not an amazing amount to be honest, probably only manage eight hours a week when I'm racing, when I'm not racing and I try and put some miles in it can possibly go up to 12 hours. I have to keep my Missus happy, so I can't do too much!

2007 has been a pretty amazing year for you hasn't it?
Yes it has been pretty good; I got some great rides plus became a dad for the first time. Everyone thinks that I never did anything until 2007, but I won the National Champs XC in 1999 as an espoir but since then I've always been a top ten place type of rider, never really realising my potential and the podium always seemed to far out of my reach. But this year, I turned it round a little bit.

So yeah it's been a good 12 months for me to be fair, but I really need a break now though. I could start racing anytime now and that's what I've always done so I usually have no rest. I think this year I need to have a break; I think I've earned it!

What do you put your success down to then this year?
Becoming a dad! No, I don't really know, as you get older you get stronger and wiser, you've been there and done it all. Now with a family and everything you have something else to worry about, so your racing falls down the pecking order a bit, so as a result you put less pressure on yourself and good things happen. I finish work; I go out training; go home and race on weekends, that's it.

Also, luckily Sally, the missus, has always supported me, she backs me a 100% and to be honest I get away with murder, I can really do what I want and she never complains and to be honest she does have reason to complain if she wanted too! Her and the little fellow get dragged all over, but she enjoys it as we all do so it's good.

Did your form carry through to other disciplines?
Yeah I had a good season altogether really. I was even going well on the road and the criterium series too, it was good to be consistently getting podiums which I've never been able to do before and obviously to carry that through to the 'cross was an added bonus.

Yes your attack on the CX National Trophy series probably left a few of your competitors reeling?
I guess, coming off a cracking XC season, I was lucky my form kept on for the start of the 'cross season. I did think though that after the first two CX National Trophies that the form will disappear soon, I did have a bit of a shocker just before Christmas but I came out the other side.

You had a bit of a shocker at Mallory Park didn't you?
I'm not mentioning Mallory Park, that was the coldest I've ever been in a race, I'm sure I was suffering from hyperthermia at the end. Fortunately Sarah, Dave Collin's wife helped sort me out.

Dave's a good friend of yours isn't he? How did that affect the race at the end where things were quite tight between you for the overall series?
Yeah Dave's a good friend and to be honest I'd thought I'd thrown the overall series away at Mallory, by making a stupid mistake of not wearing enough clothes, but Bradford, well I was convinced I was going to win that one, as the week before in the North of England I was riding well, but I came down with a cold right after Bradford, so that explained why I didn't go as well as I was expecting. However Dave had a shocker there too so I didn't lose much ground to him there, but that race brought Rob (Jebb) into the equation. The last race was the decider and unfortunately Dave had a shocker I came in for second spot after Bibby, which was enough to give me the series. I was chuffed at winning the series but disappointed for Dave at the same time.

This year must have done loads to boost your confidence?
Well that's the thing with me. I usually used to do a good ride and I'd get confident and then I'd always managed to knock myself back down to earth the next weekend with a shocker and I never rode well off my confidence, but I seemed to have got a lot more confidence and backed it up and my results have started to show that. Getting on the podium at the XC NPS and picking up a medal in the National CX Champs was excellent as was riding the World XC Champs and now the World CX Champs, it's been pretty full on, but excellent, I hope I can keep the confidence going.

Is 2007 the first year you've experienced representing GB at World Championships?
No, I rode in Sweden as an under 23 for XC in '99 and then in the World's worst CX World's the same year, in Popgrad, Slovakia, it was -15 on the start line?

But it's a totally different ball game when you're a senior, and being able to ride the World's in your home country as I did in Fort William last year, well that's as good as it gets to be honest. I think if I'd have never rode again after that I'd have been a happy man. To be able to experience two senior World Championships has been a real bonus. Even at my old age it's still a great experience.

How did you rate your chances at the World CX Championships?
I wasn't sure I'd be starting after a bit of an issue with the food, I actually lined up a few kilo's lighter than I should have been, so I wasn't at my best. That said, I don't think I could have done much better, the racing in Europe is leagues ahead of where we are in the UK. I think we knew we were going to get a right kicking out there, but that said it's fantastic to line up and represent your country and do your best. The atmosphere was amazing. The course was brilliant, not too much running, which is right by me, and it was really hard but if the World Champs aren't hard there's something wrong.

You did some racing in Belgium before Christmas as preparation for the National Championships, how did that compare to racing in the UK?
In the UK there are probably five or six people who could win a race. In Belgium there's 20 people who can win a race - it's so much more competitive over there. Everyone races in European races for all the positions, not just the top three. No one really gives up; every position is hard fought, so that aspect is really good.

It was good to ride the CX World Cup in Belgium before Christmas that's the first time I've done that and I really enjoyed it and it seemed to work, I came back healthy and with good form for the Nationals.

Have you noticed the standard of XC and CX racing improve in the UK over the years?
I don't think we have anyone at the moment who is head and shoulders above anyone else, perhaps Liam (Killeen) in XC when he's fit, but there is no one individual dominating the scene, everyone out there has a chance and we now have a lot of riders who are able to win races and that's good and makes the racing very competitive and very healthy. I'm not sure whether the level of racing is any better now than it was, it's hard to compare but I think overall it's going in the right direction.

What's next for you now?
If this year is as good as last year then yeah I'd be very happy but obviously a lot of people all want the same thing don't they? But it should be good, I'll obviously do a full mountain bike season, I might try and fit a couple of World Cups in and do some bits and bobs on road, some Premier calendars but only the ones that I like, really oh and the National Criterium series as I love riding crits and finish it off with 'cross. I think I may concentrate a little bit more on my cross this year, put more of a focus on it, mainly because it suits me and it is easier to train for on limited time. You struggle to train for a Premier Calendar Road Race, you're racing for four hours but to train to be competitive for an hour you can do while holding down a full time job a little bit easier.

What about 2012?
Oh I'll be well old by then, well past it!