Oisin O’Callaghan joins Trek-Unbroken DH!

Oisin O’Callaghan’s life is filled with transitions at the moment. He’s joining Trek-Unbroken DH after six years with his previous team. He’s just moved outside of Dublin. And he has a new puppy: A speckled dachshund named Alfie.

The latter seems to be the only one causing him any trouble. Alfie went rogue during O’Callaghan’s interview with the Trek Race Shop, zeroing in on O’Callaghan’s personal effects with his tiny puppy teeth. O’Callaghan’s move to Trek-Unbroken, by contrast, has been smooth. He was already well-acquainted with the team staff and mechanics from the World Cup circuit. And he knows his new teammates well. He raced with Lachie Stevens-McNab and Ollie Davis during their junior days, and with Matt Walker at many of the same races around the United Kingdom. 

After his previous team folded, O’Callaghan needed a new home. He quickly set his sights on Trek.

“I just felt like everyone there was a good group of people,” O’Callaghan said. “Everyone was doing their jobs. And obviously the setup was what I was looking for, bike-wise and everything, going back to something that I was familiar with in 2018-2019 when I was on Trek. And to be honest, the minute I hopped on the bike, it felt so comfortable.”

O’Callaghan has felt connected to Trek nearly his whole life. His dad runs a Trek store, and he rode a Session before his call-up to the World Cup circuit. He’s now come full circle, with a goal of winning a World Cup race again after summiting the podium in Snowshoe in 2023. 

The prototype Session he’ll be racing has evolved a lot from the bike that sparked his career. Yet when he tested it for the first time after Mont-Sainte-Anne this past October — and again at team camp in California at the end of November — he once again felt a twinge of the familiar.

“The new bike is very different. The one I rode was a full 27,” O’Callaghan said. “And the new one, with it being high pivot and everything, is a little different. But to be honest, I did feel very similar characteristics straight away. I just felt at home, to be honest, which was really nice.”

O’Callaghan is ready to hit the ground running with Trek-Unbroken. He sat down with the Race Shop to talk about his journey to the team, leading the charge in Irish mountain biking, and why he’s primed for a big 2026. The following conversation was edited for clarity and length.

Hey Oisin, how’s it going?

Oisin O’Callaghan: Sorry for being delayed, it was just chaos. I have a new dog, and it was absolute carnage with my old dog when I brought him in. So it was just a few minutes of absolute carnage of dogs running around trying to keep everything under control. 

No worries. To start off, how did you come to Trek?

O’Callaghan: I suppose you could say it happened last year. I was in discussions with other teams, and then things changed and I ended up staying where I was. 

Then my team folded, which wasn’t ideal, especially when you’re trying to race a season and you’re not being paid. I still had good connections with Trek from talking with Andrew [Shandro] and others last year, and luckily, Trek were fast to get contracts going. For me, I just wanted to go straight to Trek. 

I actually rode Trek when I was younger. I had my mind set on Trek, really. It’s honestly just the whole group of people and everything is so good. And I feel like everyone’s dedication to win is a lot higher. They’re willing to do as much as they can.

What made Trek so attractive?

O’Callaghan: The group of people was one. I obviously get on really well with Lachie, Ollie, and Matt. I grew up with Lachie and Ollie racing as juniors together. I’ve heard great things about [Trek team manager] Ryan Gaul — RG — and obviously now working with him, when I ask him something, it’s sorted straight away.

I just felt like everyone there was a good group of people. Everyone was doing their jobs. And obviously the setup was what I was looking for, bike-wise and everything, going back to something that I was familiar with in 2018-2019 was when I was on Trek. 

And to be honest, the minute I hopped on the bike, it felt so comfortable.

Tell us more about your previous experience with Trek.

O’Callaghan: My dad actually owns a Trek bike shop. I was too young to race World Cups then. It was two years before I was racing World Cups. I got Trek frames through the shop, and I was racing in European and British races on a Trek. 

It seems like you’re completing a circle in your career.

O’Callaghan: Yeah. It’s nice to hop back on the bike brand that got me onto the World Cup circuit. And I always liked Trek. I just really like that bike. It was the old, full Viper Red carbon Session. I just loved it.

What about the new bike? How’s it feel in comparison to that older Session?

O’Callaghan: The new bike is very different. The one I rode was a full 27. And the new one, with it being high pivot and everything, is a little different. But to be honest, I did feel very similar characteristics straight away. I just felt at home, to be honest, which was really nice. 

The minute I hopped on it in Mont-Sainte-Anne after the World Cup, I was like, ‘This is a real race bike.’ You can ride through the breaking bumps, and not feel any massive feedback through the pedals. Everything was just built to go fast on a rough track —

— sorry, one second. The puppy’s grabbing hold of some brochure from the ground. He’s 10 weeks old, so he’s in full puppy mode —

— the minute I hopped on, I was like, ‘Wow.’ Instantly I was like, I don’t even have to touch the brakes there. It’s smoother. And the full RockShox setup, everything about it is smoother. The suspension is just a little bit plusher. And then the frame too. It’s made to absorb the breaking bumps, which is obviously a massive, massive help.

What were your first impressions of the team when you joined team camp in California?

O’Callaghan: It felt really comfortable, almost like a family. Obviously all the mechanics are English, and I know most of the mechanics, which is a big help. And then Lachie and Ollie, obviously I knew from growing up racing juniors. And Matt I know from him being English and doing similar races. 

Pretty much everyone I knew before I even got the team, so it didn’t feel like it was a new environment. Everyone just jells really well. 

What is your setup on the new bike?

O’Callaghan: Setup-wise, the bike is obviously really adjustable. Like, crazy adjustable. I’ve kind of already found my happy spot on the bike that I’m going to run pretty much 95 percent of the time. I kind of knew it when I tested it in MSA. 

I wouldn’t say I’m massively fussy either. Once I find something that suits me and feels good, I tend to stick to that. I like to have one good base setup. You sometimes see people changing stuff all the time, and they can turn into an absolute nightmare. 

I got the bike set up into the highest pivot point, middle progression and plus three mil(limeters) on the reach. I don’t know what my standard front end size is, but I know I’ve got plus-three in the reach.

You’ve won a World Cup and had podium finishes last year. How do you hope Trek can take you to the next level? 

O’Callaghan: I suppose for next year, obviously, I have some big goals. It’s been two years since I was on the top of the podium, which will be the main goal. So I’d like to win a World Cup again, be on the podium at least once, outside of winning a race. And I’d love to get a World Championship medal as well. With me being fourth in the overall coming into the summer break, I would love to finish top five in the overall, too.

I know that being the reigning Irish champion is a point of pride for you, too. What’s the competition like with the other really fast Irish riders in the scene?

O’Callaghan: The Irish scene has really ticked off more and more since 2020, you could say. I won Junior World Champs, and lots of young kids really took off into it. 

There were no proper fast Irish downhill riders, to now, all of a sudden, we have two guys who go can 1-2 on the podium [O’Callaghan and Ronan Dunne went 1-2, respectively, on the Snowshoe podium in 2023], and they’re doing Top 5 or Top 10 most weekends. Just those few results in a short period of time really made the sport more recognized and made it grow. Because even in the last two years, the amount of new funding for new trails has been unreal.

Do you get recognized in Ireland now? And do you feel any kind of weight or pressure as one of the faces of the sport in your home country? 

O’Callaghan: Yeah, obviously, it’s quite a big thing. You look at France, there’s so many World Cup racers from France. In Ireland, it’s largely me and Ronan racing in local races. And if I was a young kid growing up with the likes of my idols when I was younger, which was Stevie Smith or Steve Peat, it would have been pretty insane. And to have Irish riders at your local race that have won races and are fighting every weekend to be on the podium, it’s a big thing.

And obviously, it’s nice to come back and race at home, too, and get that recognition, and to be also doing the Irish mountain bike community proud.

Racing away from home for so much of the year, I have to imagine it’s pretty cool to come back and see the impact you made locally over the course of the year.

O’Callaghan: And even nowadays, the amount of Irish people that come out to watch World Cups is getting bigger and bigger, which is a crazy thing too. There’s so many people coming out just for the weekends to support us. And obviously you feel the need to perform. When there’s people flying the whole way from your country to a race, you kind of feel — not pressure, but you want to deliver a good weekend.

So what does your offseason look like now post-team camp?

O’Callaghan: This is the first winter where I’m living somewhere new, just outside of Dublin. And obviously it’s been good so far, having somewhere you can go and — I swear to God, the puppy, Jesus Christ — it’s good having somewhere new to ride after riding the same places since I was a kid, pretty much.

And obviously, that was the main reason to move. Just a fresh change of scenery on the bike, to mix up the offseason training and to get things going. And with the whole setup being new, I’ve been pretty eager. I’ve been doing lots of laps already on the bike, even before I went to California. So I’ve been busy just smashing runs once or twice a week. Now we’re getting to that time of the year where training is in full swing. So it’s 2-3 gym sessions a week, two trail rides a week, and then downhill and e-bikes on any other day, or maybe a moto day.

What are you most excited about for next year? That can mean anything — a race, a goal, a vibe, whatever.

O’Callaghan: I would say it would be just to try to meet my goals, and try to better last season, and just to appreciate and to experience it with the new team and to give something back to all the people who work behind the scenes.

Excellent. Enjoy the remaining offseason, and good luck with the puppy.

O’Callaghan: My dad took him out a few minutes ago. This is the most chaotic he’s been since we got him. I don’t know what has got into him.