Wakefield cycling star is ready to continue Team GB’s legacy in Paris

Oliver Wood is determined to take up the mantle and continue Team GB’s team pursuit legacy in Paris.

Wood will return for a second Games next month, looking to right the wrongs of Tokyo, where Great Britain’s run of three consecutive gold medals at the event ended with a disappointing seventh place.

There is just one change from the Tokyo squad, with Wood returning alongside Ethan Hayter, Charlie Tanfield and Ethan Vernon, while Dan Bigham replaces three-time gold medalist Ed Clancy.

But the Wakefield-born rider believes the current line-up has what it takes to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Clancy, Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas by sealing another gold in Paris.

“Growing up, that’s what Team GB did, they went to the Olympics and won the team pursuit,” he said.

“I was part of the team in Tokyo, I finished seventh, which was a pretty terrible moment, but you learn and sometimes people don’t do well with these things, but it just made me hungry of the next Olympic Games.

“I thought I was going to be a part of it, I went, I got there and I didn’t. It was quite deflating, but I don’t think I took it badly. I thought at least I don’t have to wait four years; I only have to wait for three.

“I think if we go out there and do our best, which will be and hopefully will be an Olympic gold medal.

“I wanted to do it because I saw someone doing it on TV. If we don’t do it for people to watch on TV then who will want to do it.

“We may not be household names, but hopefully we can inspire little boys and girls to get on their bikes.

“The Olympic gold medal is something I’ve wanted to achieve since I was 16 and it’s led me to where I am today.”

Wood is one of more than 1,000 elite athletes on the UK Sport National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, enabling them to train full-time, have access to the world’s best coaches and receive support pioneering medical – this is vital for its road to Paris 2024. Games.

Wood refused to let the Tokyo disappointment get him down and responded in style with gold at the World Championships in 2022 before adding European gold earlier this year.

The 28-year-old also won world Madison silver with Mark Stewart in 2023 and will team up with Tokyo silver medalist Ethan Hayter at the Paris event to make it two medals.

And Wood revealed that moving on quickly after Tokyo was the perfect way to tackle a tilt at a pair of medals this summer, although he revealed the main focus is set on getting Team GB back on the team pursuit podium.

“Some people push things a lot, but I move on pretty quickly,” he added. “People might think it doesn’t mean enough to me, but that’s just my way of dealing with things.

“If something doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. You need to process what went wrong and think about what you can do to make it better, but there’s no point dwelling on things.

“The Madison is just another race. Team tracking takes a lot of time because it’s hard to get it right. Quite a bit of track time goes towards that.

“Most of the training for Madison is done on the road anyway, it’s just the finishing touches you do. We focus on team pursuit first, then the focus goes straight to Madison.”

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