case study - Ollie Hucks. from club rider to continental racer

Not everyone comes to us with the aim of turning pro. In Ollie's initial questionnaire in 2017, he told us:

“I have no goal to become a pro or be a full time cyclist. I want to keep improving and see where my legs can take me because I ride due to the enjoyment I get from it but I know I will enjoy it even more if I can keep improving.”

Since then, keeping things fun has been a key part of Ollie's continued improvement and progression, taking him much further than he ever initially expected, to an Elite licence and a place on a UCI Continental team.

“Since starting coaching with Tom I have achieved a hell of a lot more than I expected to in that time frame. I went from an average club rider who was just getting into racing, to joining a continental team in 2021, competing in races such as the Tour of Estonia.”

When we first started working together, Ollie was a university student, combining road and time trial goals in the summer with track cycling in the winter, where he went on to win a Bronze medal in the National Team Pursuit Championships. Since then, his cycling has taken him to a much higher level, including racing internationally at Continental level.

More recently, Ollie has also mixed things up in the winter with running races during the off-season. This has meant adapting his training to balance cycling and running goals, while making sure we manage the additional demands of running and avoid the biggest problem with introducing it, getting injured.

“Tom is organised, calculated and above all committed to you achieving your goals. Tom helped me balance training with university life and now a job, always adapting plans when life threw curveballs. Not only did Tom advise on what training is best for me but helped me understand why I was doing certain training when I often wondered why, whilst keeping things fun and listening to and implementing my thoughts on our approach.”

Over the years, Ollie's goals and circumstances have changed considerably, but our approach has evolved with him. What started in 2017 with a university student wanting to see how far his cycling could take him has developed into a long-term coaching relationship that has seen him achieve things neither of us necessarily expected at the beginning.

For me, that is one of the most rewarding parts of coaching Ollie. The results are obviously important, but so is seeing how he has developed as an athlete, becoming more experienced, more independent and better at understanding his own training and performance. We've found a balance between training seriously and committing to improvement, while keeping things fresh and enjoyable.

“I encourage people of all abilities to get in touch with Tom. Getting a coach enabled me to be fully committed to the process every time I get on the bike.”

Looking back at where Ollie started in 2017, he has achieved far more than he ever thought was possible when he first began cycling. From an average club rider just getting into racing, to a Continental rider competing internationally, he continues to produce some of his best performances and results year after year. That continued progression is a reflection not only of his commitment to the process, but also his willingness to adapt, learn and keep finding new ways to improve.

The fact that we are still working together after all these years says a lot about the relationship we've developed. Ollie's goals have evolved, his circumstances have changed and his training has had to adapt, but the fundamental approach has remained the same: work hard, understand why we're doing it, keep progressing and, most importantly, enjoy the process.