— ‘Fun’ the secret of his success —

Oisin O’Callaghan’s achievement is extraordinary, a world champion and professional sports man, all before he has completed his Leaving Certificate.

The Ardpatrick teen has returned from a very successful summer of raiding Europe for cycling glory and silverwear. 

He has finally come back home, as the World champion, wearing the coveted rainbow jersey for the next two years signifying that he is the best in the world.

Living just a few hundred metres from the Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails, he has credited this, along with the help and assistance of his dad Chris, as the reasons for such success.

“I live 500 metres from Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails. My dad started a bike rental service and I ended up with him every weekend, just riding tracks with my friends and it was really fun.

“We were having some laugh at the weekend, sliding around. And it just went from there,” he explained. 

Full story in this week’s Print & Digital Edition