Oisin Ferrity

Oisin is having the ride of his life following Youth Commonwealth Gold

Inspired by his dad, Dungannon student Oisin Ferrity began actively cycling in 2012 when he was seven. His dad had taken up the sport as a hobby in 2010 and Oisin wanted to have a go too and found he was rather good at it.

Mountain biking was Oisin’s first love, and he focussed on MTB for 5 years before making the switch to road racing. A very driven and modest young gentleman, Oisin concentrates on the next race and gets on with the job of doing his level best to win or be near the top. He describes it as a tunnel visioned approach – but in a good way.

“What I love best about cycling is the freedom it gives. You can get out onto the road, clear your head and see places you wouldn’t normally go to.”

Oisin began to immerse himself in road racing in the 2016/2017 season, but it was during the pandemic that he decided to make it a serious sport. He opted to move from Island Wheelers Cycling Club (his dad’s club) in Dungannon, to Omagh based Caldwell’s Cycles where he is coached by experienced international cyclist Marc Potts. Also from Co Tyrone, Marc successfully competed in a range of World and European cycling championships during 2017 and 2018.  He was the only cyclist to compete in all three disciplines of track, road and mountain bike at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Naturally Oisin is thrilled to have secured a road racing Gold Medal in Trinidad during August at the 2023 Youth Commonwealth Games, “The course really suited me. It was reasonably flat and worked for my style of cycling.”

Prior to the Youth Commonwealths Oisin had competed in ‘Nations Cup’ events in Belgium and Germany with ‘not great results’ so winning a Gold in the Caribbean was even sweeter.

He is proud to be a Mary Peters Trust athlete emphasizing that additional funding helps athletes ‘to do things properly.’  Funding from the Trust enabled Oisin to travel to Belgium immediately after the Youth Commonwealths as part of ‘The Belgium Project. It’s a cycling initiative that provides opportunities for talented young riders to experience races, undertake training and meet like-minded sports people in Belgium where cycling is a massive sport – both professionally and for leisure.

“It was amazing. I did a lot of training and really enjoyed watching races particularly in Roselare in the west of Belgium. In fact, I managed to attend six races during the three-week period. The style of road racing was ‘kermesse’ which is typical of Belgium. These are short circuits – around 80/100 km.”

Oisin trains 12 to 15 hours a week, both on the road and in the gym. When he’s off school he can fit in some extra hours. His school, St Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon, is naturally delighted with his Youth Commonwealth Gold. Currently in his Upper Sixth year, Oisin is studying biology, chemistry, maths and geography with a view to potentially taking up a pharmacy degree which he would like to defer for at least a year whilst he concentrates on cycling.

“I’d love to secure a professional contract ideally in Spain (the climate is so good for cycling). But to do that I’ll need to find an agent to negotiate the best deal.”

Helping Oisin along the road to that dream will be coach, Marc Potts as well as his mum, dad, younger brother and older sister.

Until then Oisin’s next big goal is to do well at international U23 races during 2024. As Oisin turns 18 during November 2023, he moves up a category and can expect new and exciting challenges. Oisin’s hero and cyclist of the moment is professional rider Mathieu Van der Poel from Holland. With a massive range of international wins under his belt including Tour de France and Giro d’Italia individual stage wins, it’s Mathieu’s sheer joy of riding a bike that inspires Oisin. “I definitely admire his attitude, skill and technique and am in awe of his incredible wins.”