"It was a shitty day": Netcompany INEOS teammates fight for Oscar Onley following the Brit's hard crash
Cycling
The sixth stage of Tour of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes was quite the rare experience with a 60-headed breakaway getting up the road on an introduction-day to the mountains. But that doesn't mean that the peloton had stopped - quite the contrary. A high pace maintained by Decathlon CMA CGM throughout the day contributed to big gaps among GC favourites, and Kevin Vauquelin was one of the victims, losing 1:32 to Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas.
In every sense of the word, it was a terrible day for Netcompany INEOS. Starting early, their only representation in today's breakaway was a strong rider - but not a climber - Dorian Godon, who could not realistically hope to fight for stage victory.
But the real disaster struck on the short descent from penultimate climb Côte d'Héry-sur-Ugine, where team leader Oscar Onley crashed hard and is not expected to appear at the start of stage 7.
Oscar Onley was able to finish stage 6 of #TourAuvergneRhoneAlpes despite suffering a crash on the final descent.
— Netcompany INEOS (@NetcompanyINEOS) June 12, 2026
He will be further assessed by our medical team and we will provide an update in due course. pic.twitter.com/CaNO6WVJid
Worries for Onley
Thus, back-up leader Kévin Vauquelin quickly moved up the hierarchy with Carlos Rodríguez at hand. But the Frenchman did not find his pace on the last climb to Crest-Voland and lost a heap of time. Even his teammate Rodríguez finished 13 seconds ahead of the 25-year-old.
"I managed the penultimate climb well, but on the last climb I was completely exhausted," Vauquelin told DirectVelo. "I know I wasn't 100%, so I paid the price, but I tried to fight until the end. It was really tough. I thought I had better legs. I'm a little disappointed."
In addition to Vauquelin's difficulties, the British team also had to deal with the crashes of Joshua Tarling and Oscar Onley: "It was a shitty day," commented the Frenchman. "I don't know how Oscar is doing, he ended up over the guardrails. I fought with all my strength for them."
Hope to finish the race on a high
The 25-year-old is nevertheless looking ahead and hopes to recover in the final two stages: "I hope things go better this weekend. It's a preparatory race, you need days like this. The goal will be to give my all over the next two days."
Kevin Vauquelin in old INEOS Grenadiers jersey earlier in 2026
The stages 7 and 8 will be a chance at redemption for many riders with yet another set of unrelenting parcours. Tomorrow, riders tackle Grand Colombier. The entire race will culminate with a short, but brutal stage on Sunday, featuring Col du Pré, Montée de Bisanne and Col de Aravis, before the race is decided on Plateau de Solaison.
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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- Every great cyclist has at least two Giro/Tour doubles, and in modern cycling or what we call modern cycling, Miguel Indurain is the only guy to do it twice. I think Tadej should go for it and commit if he is putting up good numbers somewhere around January/February.awp04-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - He lives in MonacoRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- It's also highly significant for Lorenzo Finn as he won there last year. Also Mateo Ramírez and Henrique Bravo if they goRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
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