“A full circle moment” - INEOS leader Oscar Onley prepares for 2027 Tour de France on his childhood roads
Cycling
Oscar Onley is preparing for a Scottish Tour de France homecoming that once seemed beyond even his childhood ambitions. The Netcompany INEOS leader, fourth overall in 2025, will have the opportunity to begin the 2027 race on roads where he trained as a youngster.
The Tour will leave Edinburgh for Carlisle, bringing the opening stage close to his hometown of Kelso. Onley will be 24 when the race arrives in Scotland, with two Tour appearances already behind him after injury prevented a third in 2026.
“But I never dreamed of having a Tour de France going so close to my home,” he said. “Obviously France and Scotland, it's not exactly close, but it's something I'm really looking forward to and it kind of feels like a bit of a full circle moment to be coming back to the roads that I grew up training on when I was 10, 11 years old. So I'm really excited for it.”
Onley has continued supporting the next generation of Scottish riders during his rise through the WorldTour. Spokes RT, the junior squad he raced for before joining DSM’s development programme, now competes as Spokes RT–Oscar Onley Development.
“I think the fans are really going to get behind the Tour on that first day starting in Edinburgh,” he said. “I hope to see a lot of Scottish flags out, which I'm sure I will. Whenever I do a race and see a Scottish flag, you always kind of take a moment to recognise it. So maybe I won't have time to recognise every flag during that stage, but it's definitely something that means a lot to me.”
🏴🤝🇫🇷 🔜 On the day the @LeTour #TDF2027 route is revealed, proud Scot @OscarOnley talks us through what a home Grand Départ next year means to him. https://t.co/g4W4ay5poa
— Netcompany INEOS (@NetcompanyINEOS) October 22, 2026
Returning after a lost Tour opportunity
Onley made his Tour debut in 2024, finishing 39th while pursuing opportunities in breakaways. Within a year, he was contesting a place on the final podium, finishing fourth for Picnic PostNL behind Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Florian Lipowitz.
“My first dream in cycling was just to go to the Tour de France, and I realised that dream a few years ago in 2024,” he recalled. “Then obviously I went back in the year after and with quite a bit of success, which meant a lot to me.”
His move to INEOS for 2026 brought the prospect of returning with a leadership role in the British team. Instead, a crash at the Tour Auvergne–Rhone-Alpes caused a shoulder injury that ruled him out before the race began.
The second half of his season brought a stage victory and second overall at the Vuelta a Burgos, followed by sixth overall and the best young rider jersey at the Vuelta a Espana despite further crashes and illness. A 2027 Tour start would therefore be his first for Netcompany INEOS, two years after his breakthrough in France.
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Yorkshire memories and Scottish crowds
Britain’s previous Grand Depart came in Yorkshire in 2014, when Onley was 11. He watched on television rather than travelling to the roadside, and has since spoken to riders who raced through the crowds that lined the route.
“I think everyone I've spoken to has kind of mentioned the crowds that came out to watch the race that year,” Onley said. “I think just in any big sporting event in the UK as well, the public really get behind whatever sport it is, so I expect the same next year. And again, to have that in Scotland as well is extra special.”
The London Olympics, held two years before Yorkshire’s Tour start, also featured among his earliest cycling memories. “The main memories are the crowds and the flags alongside the road,” he added. “It's something that I think will stick with all the riders for a long time.”
Asked for a Scottish recommendation for visitors, Onley opted for haggis. “It's probably what Scotland is most famous for, and in my opinion, it tastes nice. I like it,” he said. “So try and get some haggis on the pre-race dinner.”
After the Edinburgh–Carlisle opener, stages from Keswick to Liverpool and Welshpool to Cardiff will take the race through England and Wales. The Welsh stage includes a succession of steep climbs before the finish in Cardiff, offering an early test for the overall contenders before they reach France.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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