Webber eyeing up a pro future

Once a promising rugby player, Oscar Webber’s competitive sporting ambitions were at a standstill until he found an absolute bargain of a S-Works Shiv time-trial bike, in his words, ‘completely by accident’.

You would normally be looking north of £10,000 for a quality Shiv, but after finding one for a fifth of that, Webber was soon tearing along Guernsey’s coast roads in an impressive maiden ‘testing’ season.

The youngster, only just 17, slashed his 10-mile best to 22min. 5sec. and applied new pressure on a Guernsey U18 record of James McLaughlin pedigree.

Chasing the trail of a cyclist who left the professional peloton relatively recently, young Webber also dreams of one day riding full-time.

But first things first – can he beat that coveted mark of 21-16 next season?

‘I’ve set myself quite a good goal with that,’ the teenager said.

‘It looks quite good and I think I can beat it. That’s my main goal in cycling currently, to beat his record.

‘I’m not 18 until August so hopefully there’s enough time.

‘I felt I have had an excellent season but there are always things that I could do slightly better – in most things, I feel there are things I can do better.’

It hasn’t entirely been a smooth ride for Webber junior.

His father, Peter, died in December, and will be remembered fondly by many, not least for his role as a popular Guernsey Rugby Academy chairman.

‘Peter always found time to support any worthy cause and this commitment and passion will be sorely missed,’ the Academy said in a Facebook statement.

Webber’s own rugby career started at the tender age of nine and as an U14, he received valuable recognition from the Guernsey Sports Commission at their annual awards night for 2016.

Injury sparked a realisation that rugby wasn’t right for him and, as Oscar explained, his new interest in cycling was soon matched by his father.

‘When I started cycling, I got him into it and he lost a lot of weight and gained back his fitness,’ he said.

‘That was one of the main paths we bonded through... most father-son relationships are football or watching any type of sport, but we just loved cycling together.’

Young Webber went through the stages of cycling to friends’ houses, and soon buying a proper road bike, but he did not have any competitive hunger until around lockdown time.

That Facebook encounter with a quality Shiv was love at first sight.

‘A really, really good bike for time-trials and I randomly got into it from there,’ Webber said.

‘I never really looked into it [competitive cycling] until I got the bike.

‘I thought I’d use it only recreationally, do a bit around that, but I entered the races and realised I was quite good.’

Webber was breaking 24min. for 10 miles right off the bat. ‘My first performance was quite good, but even at that time, I wasn’t going to be anywhere near the top,’ he added.

But his streamlined progression through the local ranks has seen him shave nearly 2min. off that and even secure a couple victories at the tail-end of the season.

It’s a very individual sport, quite unlike rugby, but these results further enriched that promising first season of Webber.

What’s next? McLaughlin’s mark for the ‘10’ remains an appealing incentive, but looking longer term, Webber hopes to make his mark as a road racer.

‘That’s the thing to be good at, because if you’re not good in road races, then you can’t really progress too much,’ he said.

‘Commonwealth Games, Island Games, I guess quite a few things are in my reach, hopefully, if I train well.

‘I can hopefully go onto professional cycling in some way in the future – all I need is a good team behind me. The cards are on the table for me.’