"I'll see if I can get there" - Oscar Onley has eyes locked on a possible sensational podium in Paris
Cycling
While the development of the eighteenth stage of 2025 Tour de France hinted that Oscar Onley would be among the defeated men of the day when Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and 8th overall Felix Gall dropped Onley halfway into the stage, the 22-year-old made a remarkable recovery and dropped all his opponents on the final climb to cross the line 4th on the day.
"I just did what I could there," Onley said afterwards. "I gave it my everything."
"On the Col de la Madeline it was tough." When Vingegaard with Pogacar launched on the penultimate climb of the day, Onley didn't panic and chose tide at his own pace towards the top. "I felt good but I’m just not at the level of those guys when they attack really all out, and I think it showed at the end of the stage that they went pretty hard up there."
The Picnic PostNL eventually came together with a rather large group about a minute and half behind the leaders on top, but accompanied mostly by Pogacar's and Vingegaard's domestiques, it was actually difficult to keep the group going. Thus the team made a rational call and chose to wait for Onley's teammates Frank van den Broek and Warren Barguil further group down the road to then bring everything together before the Col de la Loze.
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"The team did a super job to then bring me back ahead of the last climb. From there, I just dug in and gave what I had to the line."
Onley found way better legs on the final climb of the day and was even able to keep up with the pace of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar as the trio flied up to the highest point on this year's course. In final meters he lost a few seconds to the two stars, but more importantly 3rd Florian Lipowitz lost 1 minute and 39 seconds after his daring attack in the valley.
Suddenly, Onley can dare to dream of a sensational podium with only 22 seconds separing him from a massive success. "The gap now to the podium isn’t much, so we’ll give it everything we have tomorrow to see if we can get on there."
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.
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- Love this guy. He is such a pure racer.mij07-11-2026
- Fair enough. Everyone’s entitled to one and I respect yours! Nothing wrong with being a one week and GT guy if that’s his vibemij07-11-2026
- LOL...it's a predetermined finish ! N one is 'clashing' at these exhibition crits!frieders307-11-2026
- Surely the UCI and the race organisers have a responsibility to ensure the best medical care is available to riders when incidents like this happen. All very well pushing for global expansion but not so good if riders lives are put at risk because medical support is not up to scratch.Andy12306-11-2026
- Well it clearly helps that this was Pidcock's own car, no?Occam06-11-2026
- The American performance at the World's road race was a masterclass in cycling tactics. If it wasn't McNulty, it might well have been Jorgensen or Simmons to take off and win in a solo break.Occam06-11-2026
- What a gimmick
Rafionain-Glas06-11-2026 - Thats only cause he rides for UAE. In any other team he would be captain in many races atleast. UAE is just to crazymiguel06-11-2026
- He seems to be the rare athlete whose passion and curiosity about life beyond his sport equals his extraordinary achievements in it. It would be great for him to risk less of that life. He seems very grateful and joyful for what he has already attained.
MarkFour06-11-2026 - As much as I admire and even revere Wout, the less I know about his backside the better.MidnightRider06-11-2026
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