"I was quite surprised when I saw others dropping" - Oscar Onley shocks with a fifth place on Hautacam
Cycling
The winner on Hautacam was far from a surprise, but the rest of top-10 behind Tadej Pogacar was in a complete chaos. While the hopes of some favourites were buried during stage 12, Oscar Onley was among those who rose to the top on Thursday and the 22-year-old Brit suddenly became a serious contender for a final podium.
"I feel pretty tired," Onley exhaled after crossing the finish line in an impressive 5th place. Since Picnic PostNL was the only team not present in today's breakaway, Onley could enjoy full attention of his teammates who made sure the Brit didn't miss anything at least in the early phases: "It was hard all day but the guys looked after me as best they could."
UAE Team Emirates - XRG exploded the group of favourites for Tadej Pogacar on the early slopes of Hautacam, and the Slovenian was not seen again until the finish line. But further behind, a group of four riders formed to fight for the last podium spot available which included Onley. Ultimately Florian Lipowitz was the strongest, but Onley cannot be sad with his fifth place on the day and sixth overall.
"I felt good but maybe I just went a bit over my limit about halfway up, but it was still a pretty good day," he assessed. The only mistake he refers to was following the attack of Lipowitz, rather than riding his own pace.
Oscar Onley on Hautacam
Something he attributes to the numerical advantage of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe at the front of the race: "It’s difficult when there are two guys there from the same team, so I had to try and get away from at least one of them if I could."
While Onley can count himself among the victors today, many riders have struggled in the heat and some fell out of the GC completely. "I was quite surprised on the first climb when I saw a few others dropping, but I guess they probably suffered in the heat. I think the team managed that part pretty well for us today."
But the real test for the aspiring GC contender will come tomorrow with a hard mountain time trial to Peyragudes, Onley knows: "If I can recover well then I’ll give it a good shot tomorrow in the TT."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 3visitors 3
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment