Mind Matters Podcast Episode 6: Dream livin, Toppy's and HARD yakka: The story of former pro, team manager, coach and father Trent 'Willo' Wilson
A self admitted not very 'talented' bike rider, Trent Wilson had to rely upon his work ethic to make his dream of being a professional cyclist a reality. His racing career spanned 15 years, 2 grand tours, 4 continents and countless countries. We had the time to touch the tip of the iceberg of 'Willo's' stories and advice from a lifetime in the cycling world. Generous with his insights, Willo speaks of the lessons being an athlete taught him early on and how they have carried over to his more recent roles including being a resource for aspiring Aussie pro's through his team of 10years (GPM/Wilson Racing).
skid lids optional in the early 00’s!
Affectionately known as ‘Willo’ Trent Wilson grew up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney in a family with somewhat of a cycling heritage. It was however through his own endeavours that a love for the sport of bike racing evolved. Trent would nag his cycling father Carl Wilson for a bike who would resist until Willo had reached his teens. From then it was evident a passion for the sport had been ignited.
“I’m actually quite happy he didn’t push me too hard, but definitely I suppose you see your parents do something and you think that’s pretty cool and you want to follow.”
Trent Wilson and his father Carl at the Tour Down Under in Adelaide.
Trent (Willo) is forthright in admitting results did not come quickly or easily for him as a young cyclist. He did learn however that the more he put in to his sport the more he got out. This shaped in him an infallible work ethic that prepared him for the top echelons in the sport. His style of long, hard training kilometres with upwards of 32 000km’s per 12months in the legs meant the transition to professional racing and the work involved was not to much of a shock physically and mentally for Trent.
“I think if you’re going to dedicate your younger years to the sport, then you’ve got to really put in and leave it all out there. I mean 32, 33,000Km years.”
Trent at the 2005 Giro D’Italia.
After racing in Australia for a few years and achieving some notable results, Trent caught the eye of the Australian Institute if Sport whom invited him as a scholarship holder to race in Italy. It was here his professional career would flourish. Twice racing what is arguably the hardest pro race in the world the Giro D’Italia, learning the language and immersing himself in the local customs. Willo still travels to Italy on an annual basis as part of a tour guiding business he helps operate ‘Grupetto Cycling Tours’.
Trent and Simon Hammond whom have worked together both with the GPM team and with Grupetto Cycling Tours.
With the peak of Willo’s career falling in the notorious early 2000’s, he is under no illusion that some of his competition were not playing by the rules. The era is renown for it’s drug scandals and Trent is frank about the struggles of competing in this era as a clean athlete.
“You had to make a decision back in that era, and I made a decision that I was going to ride clean and now have two healthy kids.”
Trent at the Tour of Georgia TTT in the USA with the Jittery Joe’s cycling team.
From Italy Willo’s career took a trans continental twist when he moved to the USA to race for one of the country’s bigger domestic teams. It was after racing this circuit for 3 years that the Global Financial Crisis hit and impacted the pro cycling world hard. It was evident that as a 30 year old he either had to take a dramatic pay cut or call an end to his career. Trent honestly describes how this time was for him.. “Then all of a sudden you get slower on the bike and you're getting dropped by the bunch on training rides, and yeah, you're just that every day guy. So that's hard, and if anyone tells you it's not, they're definitely lying to you.”
Willo in the USA.
After a successful career as a rider Willo still had more to offer the sport than just his physical ability. In 2009 he took an opportunity to manage a domestic Australian team then called ‘MACE/McDonagh Blake’ which would become GPM Wilson Racing. This developed into one of the longest running and most highly respected cycling programs in the country. The laconic but hard working reputation Willo had as a rider turned out to be a big benefit as a manager also.
“If a rider bonds with the team then they’re going to ride like best mates and work together, and then the results are going to be better at the end of the day”
From the bike to the car, Willo in his element at a bike race!
Willo has played a role in the pathway of a number of subsequent professional riders through his role as a team manager and agent of sorts for the riders on the team. He developed a good knack for identifying talent and also identifying good attitudes. He shares with us a bit about what would go through his decision process of selecting riders from an inbox full of resume’s and what personality traits generally lent themselves to furthering their career in cycling.
“Commitment. The guys that have commitment are always going to go that little bit further”
Willo with former Australian MTB champion and commonwealth games representative Cameron Ivory. You can listen to Cam’s podcast here.
With pro racing and team management now no longer a factor in Trent’s life his real #1 priority will be taking more time over the years ahead. Willo and his wife Ali have 2 kids Scarlett and Asher whom are somewhat following in their Dad’s footsteps through racing in the local BMX competitions. Willo does tell us how being a Dad has changed his life for the better.
Willo and his wife Ali.
“You tend to look at things from a different angle, and you probably actually have a few more D&Ms with the boys (team riders) than I would have before kids”
Willo’s first taste of team management was with the MACE/ McDonagh Blake Australian team in 2009.
With a breadth of knowledge from the many different roles Trent ‘Willo’ Wilson has played in the cycling life there is a lot of positive info to take from stories like his. If dreaming to be a pro cyclist or anything else really in life Willo’s advice stands true: “make sure when you're done, you’re done. You've left it all out on the road.”
Trent with Australian sprinter Phil Grenfell when managing team bikebug.com.
“Make sure when you’re done, you’re done. You’ve left it all out on the road.”
As a junior with the Parramatta cycling club.
