Ollie Conway may already be a world U23 champion, but the British youngster insists his focus for the coming season is simple: earn starts, gain experience and keep moving forward.

The 20-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last year, announcing himself as one of the most exciting young talents in the sport.

His World Cup debut saw him beat the hugely experienced and talented Tyler Mislawchuk in Morocco and anyone who didn’t notice that certainly had to sit up and take notice when he was fourth in his first WTCS start in Karlovy Vary.

And the year was rounded off in the best possible style with that golden U23 double at the World Championships in Wollongong.

Yet despite that success, Conway is keen to keep expectations in check as he continues his transition into senior racing.

Olympic inspiration

When TRI247 put it to him that the list of men’s U23 world champions was like a who’s who of the sport, he batted it back by saying: “At the moment I’m just looking on to the next race.

“I’m not really trying to look too far ahead because anything can happen. You could get injured and suddenly you’re out for a year.

“So I’m just trying to keep moving forward and see where I can get to.”

Still only 20 and at University, he’s been immersed in triathlon for most of his life.

His first inspiration came from watching Alistair Brownlee and Jonathan Brownlee dominate at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

“I think I did my first triathlon in 2013 after watching Alistair and Jonny Brownlee in the Olympics,” he said.

“Since then I’ve just always loved all three sports.”

From there Conway worked his way through regional racing, the British Super Series and international junior competitions before stepping onto the elite pathway.

Lessons from a breakthrough year

His world U23 title last year came after a period of frustration the season before, when a penalty cost him dearly at the junior world championships.

“I came eighth in the junior world and I was quite disappointed,” he said.

“I got a penalty because I didn’t put my helmet on before touching my bike.

“After that I didn’t really bother with an off-season and just trained really hard through the winter. That gave me the motivation to absolutely go for it the next year.”

He believes the success that followed came from simply getting the details right.

“Everything last year – nutrition, training, recovery – I was on top of it all the time.”

Bike strength key to run performance

In terms of performance, Conway believes the bike and run are currently his biggest strengths.

But he also admits the swim is still an area requiring significant work.

“My swim’s not really reliable at the moment,” he told us.

“I’m sometimes front pack, sometimes second pack – and at WTCS level I’m not really anywhere near the front pack yet.

“So that’s something I’m trying to chip away at day by day.”

The biggest lesson he has learned, however, is how crucial the bike has become in modern triathlon.

“I realised how much difference it makes,” he said.

“If you’re biking strong, you’re going to run better off the bike.

“When I first went to uni I thought I could just stay in the pack and run off it. But having a strong bike makes you run that much faster.”

Balancing engineering and elite sport

Conway is also balancing elite sport with studying mechanical engineering at Nottingham University – a combination he admits is far from easy.

“You’re usually really tired from training all the time and the last thing you want to do is coursework,” he said.

He smiled and added: “The main motivator is I’ve got deadlines. Otherwise I’m going to fail.”

Long term, Conway’s ambitions remain clear.

Like many British triathletes of his generation, the Olympic Games remain the ultimate goal.

“That’s always been my dream – to make it to the Olympics,” he tells us.

“Whether it’s 2028 or 2032, I’m going to try and do everything I can to get there.”

The next challenge is stepping onto the WTCS start line more regularly and discovering exactly where he stands among the world’s best.

“I just want to get stuck in with WTCS racing,” he said.

“First get a start – and then see where I stack up against the top guys.”

And before that comes a World Cup return in Haikou this weekend where he will wear bib #5, with the field headed by last week’s brilliant Lanzarote winner David Cantero, the man who preceded him as U23 world champion.