Oscar Onley impresses in his first outing with INEOS Grenadiers - "We did it in a really good way for our first time together"

Oscar Onley had his first big test with INEOS Grenadiers this Thursday afternoon and it was a successful one. Whereas Kévin Vauquelin and Thymen Arensman were not on the cameras often, the Scottish climber performed amongst the best on the Volta ao Algarve's first summit finish and is within range of finishing on the final podium.

After a winter in which he spent a lot of time in the unknown, and was only signed by the British team near the year's end, he quickly got back up to form and started off his season in Portugal. The Alto da Fóia on stage 2 was the first goal, and perhaps the most accurate test of form he would be finding.

What he found was a climb that was raced rather explosively, in which everything was decided in the final 5 kilometers. “Things were going well but unfortunately one of the UAE riders crashed just in front of me meaning I was a little far back when the front guys attacked," he said in a press release.

"From there I just rode my own pace back up to the guys, but I don’t think it changed anything for the results". His own pace was a strong one however. Juan Ayuso attacked and was followed by eventual winner Paul Seixas and fan favourite João Almeida. Behind, the first man to show up on screen was Onley himself.

As the pace in front calmed down slightly, the INEOS rider managed to bridge across to the front trio, together with Matthew Riccitello. Then in the final sprint he lost a few seconds, but managed to finish the stage in fourth place nevertheless. He sits in the same position when it comes to the overall classification.

“It was really enjoyable riding with the guys today, I’ve always seen how the team take on the race so often and it was nice to be a part of that today - just staying safe and in good position". He is now the team's main GC hope, and will also get to be the protected man in the remaining two road stages.

But before, there is still a decisive time trial in which he will test his new setup. "These kind of days are important for us as GC riders to learn how we all ride and how we can work best together, so I think we did it in a really good way for our first time together.”