Freddy Ovett

We are happy to announce Freddy Ovett as one of our newest athletes to join the USWE family! Freddy, an Australian professional cyclist born in Britain, has had an impressive career so far. He most recently competed for the UCI Continental team L3GION and highlights of his career include placing second in the 2022 Esports World Championships and second place in the Tour de Okinawa. 

Freddys recent decision to switch to professional gravel racing for 2023 made USWE and Freddy a match made in heaven. With an aim to kick-ass on a bunch of upcoming competitions this year, including The Gralloch Scotland (UK) in May, Unbound Gravel (USA) in June, Gravel Worlds (USA) in August and the UCI Gravel World Championships (Italy) in September, its going to be a blast to follow Freddy on his new journey. 

But who is this guy really? Let’s have a little sit down and really get to know each other shall we? 

All right Freddy, how’s your day going?

Good! Yeah, it’s a lot of rain in Spain at the moment so I'm doing some indoor training on Zwift which is fine by me. But yeah, all good!

"I just did a few races purely for fun because one of my good friends told me to"

Tell me about your decision to switch to off-road racing for 2023.

When I was with Legion in the US these last two years, I got to dip my toe into the gravel scene. Because the US is the home of gravel in my opinion, and it's where the biggest races are. I just did a few races purely for fun because one of my good friends told me too. I did really well in some of those races, well enough to score big partners like USWE, Zwift and Specialized.


That success really opened my eyes that this is something I can do professionally, and it’s definitely something I enjoy more. I really like the atmosphere and the people at the races, so it was quite an easy decision.

What will be like the biggest change for you going into gravel?

So, there's just a lot of things every day that I need to make sure are in the right place. First and foremost, it’s my training and my preparation. But the training and racing for me, that comes easy, that's what I love to do. The difference now is that is when you're on a professional team, like I have been these last eight years, all the other things are done for you. Like, you know, managing the flights, the hotels, and the sponsors.


So, the biggest change is just managing my entire career, waking up responding to emails straight away in the morning. But so far, it's going well I think!

What’s your go to pack?

It's a difficult one and I think it will change per race. For the Unbound you need two liters at minimum, you could even look at four liters. The thing is that there's two feed stations so you can swap our your hydration pack for a fresh one at each station. - They're like F1 changes these feed zones! Really quick! So you need to be ready.

 

"They're like F1 changes these feed zones! Really quick! So you need to be ready."

 

There's another race that I'll be doing this year that will kind of be a preparation for homebound, It’s is a 3,360 kilometer race in Jerron, where you can’t bring your own things to the feed stations. On these crazy races you have to be a little more inventive, so I will have to look into bringing one of the bigger packs.

 

 

"You know, the problem with cycling is actually that you have to remember to bring with you so many things."

Also, I’ve used the Buddy, non-stop. And I’m not just saying that! It's so practical for travel, the perfect size. You know, the problem with cycling is actually that you have to remember to bring with you so many things. So, something like that just makes life a lot easier. There's not really any other bag like this, it's so simple that it works. Just a big bag with nothing in the way, just a lot of space. I got a big response when I posted on Instagram about it. Everyone seems to love it. It's simple, but effective.

That's a great thing about USWE, there is so many options. I’m also getting some prototypes sent to me and its super fun to be a part of that process.

 

Freddy uses the Buddy 40L Travel Pack to bring the stuff he needs between races.

Buddy 40L Travel Pack
Backside of Buddy 40L Athlete Gear Pack Buddy 40L Athlete Gear Pack
Buddy 40L Athlete Gear Pack

Thanks Freddy! Its going to be a blast following you on your new off road adventures this coming year!