Bike Route Hub: You've had a fantastic May winning the GP Viborg, 20th in the Tour de Berlin and getting away in the break in the first stage of the Tour of Norway where you wore the mountains jersey, how happy have you been with your performances?
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| A victory salute that will be honed over the coming years. |
BRH: In the first stage of the Tour of Norway it looked like the peloton were going to mistime the catch and you were going to stay away, can you talk us through that stage?
OL: I went in the early breakaway. I didn't want to go in the breakaway because I felt really good and I liked the finish. I think I would have a good shot in the sprint because it was an uphill sprint with a technical circuit at the end which suited me really well. But the team wanted everyone to help each other to get in the breakaway and that day it was me and that was okay. There was only one climb so I took the climber's jersey pretty easily, there was a small climb and I have a good sprint so I went for it and it paid off of course. Later in the race, about 50km from the finish, two guys from Lotto Soudal came up to the breakaway and we started working together. With 15km to go there was a small climb and the break split into two pieces and I was in the first group and we pulled together and kept the pace up and we thought that maybe we could hold it to the finish line. On the final laps though they stopped telling us the times so we didn't know how far behind the peloton was so I didn't know how much I should help the Lotto guys because I didn't want to go first in the sprint and I stopped a bit and that was a bad mistake. When there was 2km to go I didn't know where the peloton were until they were right behind us so I was pretty disappointed then.
BRH: The GP Viborg is almost 200km long with gravel road sections, plus you're quite a big rider with a good sprint, do you see yourself focusing on the classics style races in the future?
OL: Yeah, I see myself as a one day race/classic type rider. The Tour of Flanders and Roubaix are two races I really want to do in the future and of course Omloop and E3 Prijs.
BRH: Can you tell us what happened in the GP Viborg?
OL: There was no wind and I think everyone knew that it was going to happen on the gravel sections so everybody prepared for the gravel sections. I sat in the front with the team, I wasn't the captain so I was there to sit in the front and help the others to get near the front for the gravel sections. Between the gravel sections I also worked in the front so the guys who dropped off couldn't get back on. Then on the last gravel section a lot of my team mates had flat tyres and I felt good so I was in the first group and we were 23 guys. There was a lot of attacking and I went with the dangerous guys and finally me and four guys got clear. To be honest I was disappointed with the riders in the front group they were pretty tired. The guy from Valkenburg (Bob Schoonbroodt) didn't work because he had his whole team in the group behind, so he told me and the other riders were really tired. When I saw that we only had 20 seconds I thought that I had to do something so I attacked with the Valkenburg rider with me so I screamed at him to help me, I said you have a second place guaranteed if you help me, so then he did help me but I did most of the work. But I was really confident of the sprint, I'm always confident of the sprint in small groups. So I beat him, 8 seconds before the group behind us.
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| Driving the break in the Tour of Norway |
BRH: You're racing the Tour des Fjords this week which is flatter than the Tour of Norway, what are yours and your team's ambitions for this race?
OL: My plan was not to race the Tour of Norway because I just finished the Tour of Berlin so I was told to only do 3 stages of the Tour of Norway to have the best preparation for the Tour des Fjords. Our team is from that area of Norway so it is really important for our team to do well there. I think we want to have a guy in top 10 in GC that's really important and, hopefully, go for a stage victory. It's really hard to have a stage victory especially when Alexander Kristoff is really motivated. I think we proved in Tour of Norway that we're good enough to take a stage victory. I was pretty close in the first day and Frederik Galta was second in stage 5 so I think we should have something to look forward to.
BRH: Your team have produced a number of excellent young riders, yourself, U23 World Champion Sven Erik Bystrom and current Norwegian national champion Tormod Jacobsen, what is it about the team that has enabled it to produce such talent do you think?
OL: Everybody says it's the environment and of course environment is really important. The riders are always chasing, you don't earn much money here or get any luxury so we always have something to reach for. We have Stein Orn, the trainer of Alexander Kristoff, and he is maybe the main source of success. Alexander Kristoff and Stein Orn started the cycling environment in the city of Stavanger and we've grown from there. I think as well, how we train, we train to win. We train mentally to win, when we are in a position to win we want to be the best.
BRH: After 30th position in the National Championships last year what are your hopes for the race this year?
OL: This year I think it's maybe too hard for me, there's a lot of climbs. If I'm able to win anything it will be the team time trial and the U23 race. I think with Boasson Hagen and Nordhaug and these climbs the senior race will be really hard to win.
BRH: Can you tell us a bit about the racing scene in Norway?
OL: Cycling in Norway has been growing a lot these last couple of years. We produce better and better riders and I think a few years ago the national sport was skiing and if you look now there are a lot more people cycling than skiing in Norway. Maybe it's turning into a new national activity.
BRH: Why do you think it is that Norway produces so many good riders but Sweden and Finland are falling behind?
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| In Coop-OsterHus colours |
BRH: After your performances so far this season do you have any contract offers for next year?
OL: No, actually not. I think the Continental teams know that I'm not going to change to another continental team because I have a really good position in Coop-Osterhus and I think I need to prove more if I'm going to make a step up to a bigger team. But I know that Katusha are watching us all the time and I talked with the Lotto-Soudal riders in Tour of Norway and they were pretty impressed so I was happy with that. But I hope maybe I can do the World Championships this year as U23. That is one of my big goals this year and I think it suits me really well so I think I would have a bit of a shot at actually winning it.
BRH: Have you raced in America before?
OL: No never. I think it will be a big opportunity and adventure.
BRH: So, as with all my interviews I'm ending with a cycling nerd quiz to see just how much of a cycling nerd the interviewee is. First question, In 2006 Thor Hushovd cut his arm on a cardboard hand at the Tour de France but do you know what city that was in?
OL: Ooh, is it something like Vascaro? Something like that? (It was actually Strasbourg 1-0 BRH)
BRH: Who is the current British National Road Race champion?
OL: It's Peter Kennaugh, of course (It is Kennaugh 1-1)
BRH: In 2014 you came 16th in the Ronde Van Midden-Nederland, one of the riders who finished ahead of you is currently riding the Giro, can you name him?
OL: Okay, he's riding for Lotto Jumbo I think?
BRH: He's actually riding for Nippo-Vini Fantini
OL: Vini Fantini? Ooh, that's a good question I don't think I can name him. (It was Eduard Grosu BRH wins 2-1)
BRH: Thanks a lot for your time Oscar.
OL: Thank you
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