Hanging in a tree with a ravine below - Details of Oscar Onley's Auvergne crash revealed

Oscar Onley was one of Netcompany INEOS' leaders at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and was set to be one for the Tour de France. His crash on stage 6 may have derailed fully the climber's plans for the summer, but above all his health was seriously put in jeopardy. More details emerge over his fall, where he reportedly went over a guard rail and was hung on a tree, with a ravine below.

In a post-race interview this Friday, Onley's rival Matteo Jorgenson shared worrying details about his fall: “The downhill was really tricky. I really hope Oscar is okay. I saw him go over the edge and that kind of spooked me a little bit.” The lack of updates caused a wave of concern over the Scottish rider.

“We only saw his bike, and a few meters further on, we looked into a very deep ravine. We were extremely worried. It must really have been one of the last trees he ended up in,” Team Visma | Lease a Bike DS Frans Maassen shared with Wielerflits.

The fall happened just before the final descent to Crest-Voland. There was no footage of it, whilst he took a long time to get back on. However he crossed the finish line, almost half hour later, calming some worries.

This morning however Onley did not start the stage, with the team confirming that he sustained a dislocated shoulder and multiple wounds to his legs. The injuries however are not as bad as they could've been, taking into consideration the location in which Onley crashed.

In a rare interview remark with the media, Dave Brailsford shares the haunting details of the crash and what could be described as a small-scale rescue mission. “Fortunately, Oscar landed in the crowns of a tree during his fall. As a result, he didn't end up in a ravine dozens of meters deep," he explained.

It was a difficult task to bring the injured rider back to the road, but luckily one that was successful. "Our men from the team car, together with people from the organization, were able to very carefully hoist him back up from that tree. In that regard, he was incredibly lucky. It could have ended much worse".