{"id":368024,"date":"2026-01-13T20:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/368024\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T20:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T20:59:10","slug":"the-first-thing-i-asked-was-to-get-a-welsh-flag-on-my-helmet-vismas-new-olympic-winning-british-workhorse-ready-to-give-everything-for-the-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/368024\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe first thing I asked was to get a Welsh flag on my helmet\u201d \u2013 Visma\u2019s new Olympic-winning British workhorse ready to give everything for the team"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nFor the full overview of how Doull\u2019s role fits into Visma\u2019s wider 2026 structure alongside Jonas Vingegaard<\/a>, Wout van Aert<\/a>, Matteo Jorgenson<\/a> and the rest of the squad, see our main hub: Visma confirm full 2026 plans of Van Aert, Vingegaard, Jorgenson and more.<\/a>From Olympic gold to a life on the road<\/p>\n

Doull\u2019s career will always be tied to one moment. In August 2016, at just 23, he stood on the top step of the Olympic podium in Rio after winning gold in the team pursuit with Team GB.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning the Olympics was the biggest moment of my career,\u201d he said. But that moment also marked a turning point. \u201cI was also hit by the \u2018Olympic blues\u2019 afterwards. The first year out of the Olympic cycle was very hard, and I felt a bit lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Track racing had been his world. The road became his future. Making that transition was not easy. \u201cMaking the jump to the WorldTour and leaving track racing behind was a big step, and I struggled early on with finding the right focus again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over time, though, he found his place not as a headline act, but as something just as valuable.<\/p>\n

\"Owain<\/p>\n

Doull has had a long career with the likes of INEOS and EF\u00a0<\/p>\n

A rider who chose service<\/p>\n

Doull\u2019s road career has been built on reliability. After joining Team Sky and later racing at WorldTour level for several seasons, he became known less for chasing his own results and more for shaping races for others.<\/p>\n

He did have moments of his own, including a second place at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in 2019, but what stuck was something else. \u201cI\u2019m fairly well rounded, so I can help out in most types of races except the high mountains,\u201d he said. \u201cI really get a big high out of helping my captains, and I feel that\u2019s where I have the most value.\u201d<\/p>\n

That mindset has defined his career. \u201cBefore a race, I always think to myself: \u2018Where can I contribute the most?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It is not the language of a rider chasing personal glory. It is the language of someone who has decided what success looks like for him.<\/p>\n

The classics that shaped him<\/p>\n

If there is one part of the season that feels personal to Doull, it is spring. \u201cMy favourite race is the Tour of Flanders. There is no other race like that,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we get to Oude Kwaremont, the vibe is so unique. I\u2019m so nervous and so excited every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years of racing the Flemish classics turned him into the type of rider teams rely on when roads are narrow, legs are heavy and leaders need shelter.<\/p>\n

That experience is exactly why Visma wanted him.<\/p>\n

Why Visma fits<\/p>\n

Doull arrives in yellow and black with more than a decade of elite racing behind him, including Grand Tours, cobbled classics and the biggest stage of all.<\/p>\n

What drew him in was not just the results. \u201cRacing with guys like Jonas, Wout, Matteo, Matthew is really inspiring to me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s such an ambitious group of riders, and I\u2019m really looking forward to getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than ambition, though, it was mindset. \u201cI also think the mindset here fits me really well. The core of my love for the sport is trying to get better every day. That\u2019s what gets me out of bed. That constant desire for improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

That line could have been written as a job description for a Visma domestique.<\/p>\n

Welsh first, always<\/p>\n

Doull does not hide where he comes from. \u201cI speak fluent Welsh, and I\u2019m very proud of my Welsh heritage,\u201d he said. That is why the helmet mattered. It was not decoration. It was representation.<\/p>\n

From a velodrome in Cardiff to Olympic gold in Rio, from Team Sky to the Flemish roads, his career has been long, varied and often under the radar. Now he arrives at Visma not to reinvent himself, but to do what he has chosen to do best. Help.<\/p>\n

He will not be measured by wins. He will be measured by how well leaders are placed, how calm finales become, and how often others cross the line knowing he has already done his job.<\/p>\n

In 2026, Owain Doull<\/a> will not be chasing headlines. He will be building them for someone else, with a Welsh flag on his helmet and a very clear idea of what his value is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the full overview of how Doull\u2019s role fits into Visma\u2019s wider 2026 structure alongside Jonas Vingegaard,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,9046,113658,10258,134770,101,36242,56,54,55,8783],"class_list":["post-368024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-jonas-vingegaard","tag-matteo-jorgenson","tag-olympic-games","tag-owain-doull","tag-sports","tag-team-visma-lease-a-bike","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wout-van-aert"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}