It's not easy for young Australian riders to break through in Europe, but Canberra rider Oscar Chamberlain did more than just break through in 2023, he shot to the very top.
It was a season racing with the AG2R Citroën U19 team that started with a national time trial title in Ballarat and finished with the rider stepping onto the podium to claim the rainbow jersey of the under 19 world time trial champion.
There were also plenty of successes in between, with the 18 year taking a trip to the podium at every single one of the European tours he lined up for, including first place on a stage and in the overall at the Watersley Junior Challenge. Then there were the one day races, which included a second place at Paris Roubaix juniors behind teammate, Matys Grisel.
The long list of consistently strong results put Chamberlain right among the very top of the 2023 junior rankings and there can be no disagreement over the fact that it was a spectacular final season in the junior field for the rider. Now Chamberlain looks ahead to a 2024 with the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale development team, where he hopes to build a strong foundation as he steps up into a new racing realm.
Before heading to Europe and joining his teammates at the Continental level development squad – which slots in between Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale's junior and WorldTour teams – the rider will be lining up in Ballarat, Australia to see if he claim the green and gold stripes once again even as he launches into U23 competition. Chamberlain will line up at the U23 men's time trial on Thursday January 4 and in the U23 men's road race on Saturday January 6 as the lone representative at the race of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale development team.
Cyclingnews spoke to Chamberlain in the regional Victorian centre – before the official launch of the Australian Road National Championships late in 2023 – as he took stock of the year and looked ahead to the next step in what is shaping up as a supremely promising cycling career.
Cyclingnews: Tell us about your path into cycling. When did you start riding and when did you start racing?
Oscar Chamberlain: I've been riding pretty much my whole life. I got a bike, a Spider-Man bike, when I was a real little guy. I started racing in, I think, under nines. My parents both ride a bike, so I started because of them. They just took me on rides on the weekends and then it grew from then. I started racing the crits in Canberra and once I started getting good, I started to focus more on it and pretty much since under 15's I started taking it pretty seriously.
CN: When you say you started taking it pretty seriously as an under 15, was it at that stage where you started to think I actually really want to try and do this as a profession?
OC: I was doing a lot of sports around that time. I played a bit of footy, some rugby, cricket even. So I was doing a lot of sports but I think cycling just clicked and I was getting good results so I decided that that was what I wanted to focus on.
CN: Once you had decided what you wanted to focus on, what was your pathway to Europe?
OC: I was pretty lucky. My parents love to travel, so almost every year they did a family trip over to Europe, and France specifically, and because they love riding their bikes they also brought my bike as well. The biggest stint I did in Europe as a kid was six months in France. I went to school there as well. It was about five years ago. I joined a little French club and did heaps of racing in Europe and then each year I would do the Assen Junior Tour, the biggest junior event available, and then from there I built a good relationship with the Cannibal team, Cannibal B Victorious as they are now, so I spent a couple of years with them and then moved over to AG2R this season.
CN: When you got to the point where you racing U19’s with Cannibal in Europe in 2022 you got a win pretty early on at the E3 Saxo Classic Juniors. How important was it to get that success, was that the type of result that made AG2R pay attention?
OC: That was probably one of the the biggest points that changed the trajectory of my future. I mean, it's pretty rare to have an Australian racing in Europe [in juniors] let alone sort of being at the pointy end so to win one of those big races definitely caught the eye of some people and it was definitely a turning point.
CN: Many other riders of your age would have been held back a little after being caught in Australia through COVID-19 (national team trips for development riders were halted as the nation closed its borders amid the pandemic )
OC: I was pretty lucky. I mean, not many Australians get the opportunity to go overseas for as long as I did and I think that also played a part in my motivation. I put a lot of pressure on myself and didn't want to let people down. I wanted to just capitalise on the opportunity that I had.
CN: Now, moving onto the opportunity presented by the 2023 season, your final year as an U19, how important was it for you to keep up the momentum?
OC: 2022 was quite a bit of learning, still as a first year under 19. This season I also tried to learn as much as possible and with AG2R – I think they are the best junior team in the world right now, that's what the results say – so I had really good opportunities with them. Ijust tried my best in every race and it was a pretty, big experience. I spent eight months or so in Europe ... It was quite a big, big step from 2022.
CN: Obviously the Worlds ITT win is a massive highlight, but there seem to have been so many along the way in the 2023 season, like the second at Paris Roubaix Juniors behind a team mate. What were the big highlights for you, and it it doesn't need to be just about results but also the things you got from the year?
OC: Obviously Worlds was super special to end the season on. The beginning of season was a bit sort of rough. I was just getting used to the team and getting used to being in Europe all by myself. But second at Roubaix behind my team-mate was super cool and I guess another highlight was the Watersley [Junior Challenge] Nation Cup race, it was a pretty cool win because it was where I was based and that was super special, also because it was a week before Worlds.
CN: After the build up you had with that Watersley win, and the experience you had at the home Wollongong World Championships the previous year, how did you feel going into the World Championships this year?
OC: It was obviously still pretty nerve racking. You want to come into Worlds with hopes that you're going to win – I think if you don't think you're going to win, you're not going to – so it was always in the back of my mind. After already having done one it was a little bit easier than the first but, yes, it was super stressful but it was also so much fun.
CN: What was the feeling like when you knew you were going to be going up to the U19 time trial podium to collect the rainbow jersey?
OC: It was pretty crazy. I had coach in my ear during the TT saying there's going to be seconds in it. When I got to that hill, I just gave it everything and across the line I was in the lead. I didn't know how much I was in the lead by, but I knew there was some strong guys behind me. While I was trying to recover it was still in the back of my mind 'like, this is possible' and then once it sort of became reality it was a pretty cool feeling.
CN: Coming off a year like that, out of under 19's and into a different ballgame, how do you approach it? Does coming off such a stellar season leave you heading into under 23's with a degree of confidence?
OC: I've got a good confidence boost now. I'm pretty keen to have a good year next season but, it is going to be a big step up into the under 23 category, but I'm ready for it and I'm excited.
CN: Starting out 2024 with the Australian Championships, what are your expectations going in to that?
OC: It's definitely one of the highlights of my year, the Nationals. Obviously to win would be pretty cool, to wear the jersey is super special. I'm not really sure exactly my goal specifically, but I mean obviously I'm going to try to win and if I can that would be super cool.
CN: And the TT is one thing, but going into the road race without teammates ... how do you approach that?
OC: Well it was a bit similar in 2023. I had no team-mates and it's a bit harder just solo. But I think it's an art to not have many team-mates around you and still try to perform well. Last year I made a few mistakes and that sort of showed in the result [ed. - he still came a more than respectable fourth]. But yeah, hopefully I've learnt some good things from last time and yeah, hopefully I can do a good job.
CN: Looking more generally at the year ahead, and your future in the sport, what are your targets and expectations?
OC: Next season it's going to be a time for me to learn as much as possible and not rush things. There's a trend now that the WorldTour is getting younger and younger – I think for me there's no point to rush there. The more time I spend trying to learn and improve on that aspect will be beneficial. My love is for the Classics. I think that's where my future is going to be, obviously TT's as well and maybe some shorter stage races. But yeah, definitely the classics is where I want to do well.
CN: If there was one race you could pick above any other to win in your career, what would it be?
OC: I think the World Championships road race is definitely one that I would really love to win. You get to wear the stripes and then after the year, if you don't get it again, you still get to wear the stripes on your arm. I think that's super special. But if it's not that, then Paris-Roubaix in the elite men's would be something super cool.
