“I don’t think I do appreciate how big this is" - Oscar Onley first Scottish born rider at Tour de France since 1993
Cycling
At the 2024 Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar is attempting to become the first man since Marco Pantani in 1998 to complete a Giro d'Italia/Tour de France double. Although somewhat less heralded, Team DSM-Firmenich Post NL's Oscar Onley will be ending another long wait in the peloton.
Not since Robert Millar (now known as Philippa York), all the way back in 1993 has a Scottish born rider been on the start line at the Grand Depart of a Tour de France. In 2024 in Florence, Onley ends that long wait for cycling's tartan army. “I don’t think I do appreciate how big this is," admits the man from Kelso in quotes collected by The National.
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Onley himself was not sure of a Tour de France debut for a long time. The 21-year-old has suffered three broken collarbones in the last year, not allowing him to get any sort of momentum. "I’ve just been at altitude for ten days so we’ve been stuck up a mountain and you don’t see anyone up there so I’ve been a bit detached,” he says. “The thing with the Tour is there’ll be a lot of people watching who don’t normally watch cycling."
“So although this is obviously bigger than any other race I’ve done, it just feels like the next progression for me so it’s hard to see the bigger picture," continues Onley, who lasted just one stage on his Grand Tour debut, at the 2023 Vuelta a Espana. “I don’t know cycling history from the 1980s and 90s really well because obviously it was quite a long time ago but I do know about the incredible achievements of Robert Millar so it’s pretty surreal to be mentioned alongside a rider like that.”
During the 80s and 90s, the now-Philippa York was a consistent star of the Tour de France, winning the polka-dot jersey and taking three stage wins. Can Onley do something similar this year? “It’s about staying out of trouble, getting through those tough stages in one piece and if the opportunity comes up, I’ll take it," he previews. “I’ll be looking to pick out a few days in the mountains that suit me and hopefully go for a result. The thing with a three-week race is there’ll be days when I don’t feel good. It can be hard mentally feeling like there’s a stage that suits me but I just might not have the legs to follow the top guys that day. In those situations, I need to stay calm and hope the following day, I feel good again. And I’m so excited for the crowds - they’re going to be big so that’ll be amazing.”
“I still feel a little intimidated by the big names sometimes so I have to remind myself that we’re all in the same race,” Onley concludes. “Obviously you need to have respect for these guys but you also have to stand your ground and not be pushed around by them. So I do have to remember that I deserve to be in these major races and there’s no reason why I should let anyone through or give up my position.”
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