“You don’t want to give him time for free” - Oscar Onley wary as Mattias Skjelmose launches Vuelta GC raid
Cycling
Oscar Onley was keeping a close eye on Mattias Skjelmose as the Dane tried to turn Stage 13 of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana into an opportunity to regain ground in the general classification.
Skjelmose began the day seventh overall, 7:42 behind red jersey Enric Mas, before making the enormous 43-rider breakaway on a frantic road to Loja. For Onley and the other riders fighting near the top of the standings, allowing a rider of Skjelmose's quality to disappear up the road without resistance was never an attractive prospect.
“I have a lot of respect for Skjelmose,” Onley said after the finish. “He’s a really class rider, so you know you don’t want to give him time for free.”
The Netcompany INEOS leader was not convinced Skjelmose would be able to turn the move into a huge GC gain, however. His position in the standings also made him an uncomfortable companion for the dozens of riders whose own ambitions depended on the break staying clear.
“No-one was gonna want to work with him”
“I also knew it would be difficult for him to really gain a lot of time today because of the amount of riders in the break,” Onley said. “No-one was gonna want to work with him.”
Skjelmose remained ahead as the original escape repeatedly split and reformed, but the peloton began eating into its advantage later in the stage. “I think in the end we brought back the gap quite quickly,” Onley added.
While Skjelmose was testing the GC situation up the road, Onley also had another physical concern to deal with. The Brit revealed after the finish that he was feeling similar discomfort to that caused by his recent crash, albeit this time on the opposite side of his body. “I have exactly the same pains as with the crash of the other day, just on the other side,” he said. “It was kind of funny, and now it’s all good.”
“I hope to have better legs than yesterday”
There is little respite for Onley before the GC battle returns to the mountains.
Stage 14 finishes atop La Pandera, an 11.8-kilometre climb averaging 7.5 per cent, where Mas, Primoz Roglic, Felix Gall and Onley will again be fighting directly for time.
The climb looks considerably more suited to Onley's strengths than Friday's chaotic breakaway battle, although he admitted he wants an improvement on how he felt during the previous mountain test.
“[Tomorrow] it should be quite a good climb for me hopefully,” Onley said. “I hope to have better legs than yesterday. I think it will be a good test.”
Skjelmose's breakaway attack ultimately produced no major upheaval among the leading contenders, leaving the fight to resume on much steeper terrain at La Pandera on Saturday.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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