"People don’t believe that, but that is the truth" - Oscar Onley is surprising fans, team and himself with brilliant Tour GC run
Cycling
Oscar Onley is a rider that has displayed very strong climbing abilities throughout the past few years but nothing would've prepared him to enter the final week of the Tour de France in fourth place, well within range of the final podium and the youth classification. This came as a surprise to himself and even Team Picnic PostNL.
“I’ve said from day one that we weren’t here to fight for the GC,” team DS Matt Winston shared with Road.CC. “We were going to do a relaxed GC, which basically means we’re not going to throw time away. But if we were to lose time, we’d accept that. But as it happened, Oscar had done a fantastic job. He’s been in the race every single day, and now we’re in the position we’re in.”
Onley finished in the Top5 of the Tour Down Under and UAE Tour; 9th at Itzulia Basque Country and finished inside the podium of the Tour de Suisse - beating João Almeida in a mountain stage as well. Hence, he had proved to have strong form into the Tour, however few would've expected him to be more than a Top10 contender at best. The 22-year old Scottish climber had not previously raced a Grand Tour fighting for the overall classification and it wasn't the exact plan coming into this Grand Boucle either.
“Oscar’s level has shown he’s been able to be in the GC and hold those positions. But we also know Oscar is a super-talented rider, and he’s worked really closely with our team since coming out of the junior ranks with our Expert group". Onley showed tremendous legs on the hilly stages of the first week and has been steadily climbing the overall classification throughout the second week, now ending up in fourth place, 1:25 minutes away from Florian Lipowitz who holds both the third place and white jersey.
But it doesn't come as a shock, taking into consideration what he's done as a youngster. “He’s shown glimpses of that in the past. In the Tour of Croatia a few years ago, he was sprinting against Jonas Vingegaard. So, it’s not surprising that he’s made those steps now".
“We didn’t come here to do a GC, I keep saying it. I think people don’t believe that, but that is the truth, we came here for stage results," Winston adds. "We’ll keep focusing on the day results with the other guys, there’s a few potential breakaway days, sprint days maybe. And when it comes to the GC days with Oscar we’ll race as hard as we can, and see where we end up in Paris".
Read also
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 3visitors 3
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
Loading
1 Comments