Oscar Onley battled and survived a “rollercoaster” Vuelta a España to not only finish his maiden Grand Tour for Netcompany-Ineos, but win the white jersey as best young rider.
The Scottish rider finished sixth overall, having got through illness mid-race and bouncing back from crashes, having only just recovered from the injury which took him out of the Tour de France.
Onley narrowly missed out on victory on stage nine, won by eventual overall victor Enric Mas (Movistar), and was looking good for a top five, before he lost time on the penultimate day. However, he still ended up on the podium.
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“My first Grand Tour with the team, and it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster throughout the race,” the 23-year-old said in a clip posted by his team post-race. “I’m sure every Grand Tour is like that, but I’ve had quite a few setbacks. The way myself and the team have planned around these and bounced back has been something really special. The rider group we’ve had here has been really incredible.
“The way we clicked on the bike, which is not easy to do, especially as there were a few riders I hadn’t actually ridden with before this race. Also the way we’ve been off the bike, like around dinner, it’s something that you can’t manufacture. It’s something that has to happen naturally. For that to happen so quickly has been nice and makes a big difference over the three weeks.”
“Getting second on stage nine on Aitana was obviously good for the confidence, knowing I was capable of that level, but to be that close to the stage win as well was something that kinda grinded on me a little bit,” he continued. “Especially as I didn’t get that close again. It’s something I’ve reflected on quite a bit. Overall, I was still happy with that performance.”
The Vuelta started with Josh Tarling on the team, a week on from the death of his brother, Finlay Tarling.
“We started in a really good way with Josh,” Onley said. “Everyone knows what Josh has been through the past few weeks, so for him to turn up was full respect to him, and I have a lot of admiration for him. He made the decision to pull out in the first week, which we all completely understood and [we] were there for him. He did some incredible things for me in the first week, and it meant a lot to me. To carry the white jersey on is something that I’m proud of as well.”
The next Grand Tour target for Onley will likely be next year’s Tour de France, which begins in his home country; the last time he rode the French Grand Tour, he finished fourth in 2025.
“I think it’s really exciting that it [the Tour] is starting in Edinburgh next year and it’s on home roads,” he said. “It goes maybe 10km from my house so I’m really looking forward to it. There are no guarantees in cycling, we learned this year that you can set out plans at the beginning of the year and you can end up in Granada in September. Who knows what’s going to happen, but I’m looking forward to whatever the circumstances.”
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