Netcompany-Ineos rider Oscar Onley expects an increase in time trialling kilometres to be a “main factor” in deciding the 2027 Tour de France.
Next summer’s route, unveiled in a presentation in Paris on Thursday, includes two individual time trials totalling 71km: 33km on stage seven between Blois and Chambord, and 38km on stage 16 around Toulouse. It is the most kilometres of time trials in a single Tour de France since the 2012 edition (96.1km) won by Bradley Wiggins.
“I think the time trials really stand out as a main factor,” Onley told Cycling Weekly in Paris. “Obviously, there are time trials every year in the Tour, but with two long, fairly flat TTs, I think that’s something that’s going to create different opportunities for riders and, I think, can create different scenarios.”
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This July’s Tour opened with a team time trial in Barcelona. It also had a 26km individual time trial on stage 16, won by the discipline’s world and Olympic champion, Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), who went on to finish second overall.
“I think for Remco, he’s going to be really happy looking at that,” Onley said of the 2027 route’s time trials, “especially with it being flat as well. He then has a greater advantage over the rest of the GC riders.
“For myself, I’m actually fairly confident because I know how much work the team put into TTs, and the work they’ve put into my TT set-up this year. I know they’ve already got plans for me this week to look at the TT set-up again.”
Four-time Tour winner Chris Froome, also speaking at the route presentation on Thursday, echoed Onley’s thoughts. “My first impression is that, of course, there are some really big mountain days, but what stood out was the time trial kilometres,” he told Eurosport.
“I think that’s partly because Tadej [Pogačar] has been so dominant in the mountains, so maybe now bringing more time trial kilometres maybe keeps the GC battle more alive for a bit longer.”
(Image credit: Charlie Forgham-Bailey/SWpix)
Onley has emerged in Froome’s wake as Britain’s strongest GC contender in recent years. Fourth overall at the Tour in 2025, the 24-year-old was ruled out of leading Netcompany-Ineos at the race this summer due to a shoulder injury. He then recovered to win the young rider’s classification at the Vuelta a España with sixth place.
Asked how his first season with the team has been, he said: “I’ve really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I’ve seen probably more of the medical staff than I’d like to, but the support they’ve given me throughout the whole year has been something that is really valuable.”
Next year’s Tour will start with three stages across Great Britain, with a Grand Départ in Edinburgh. The opening stage bears particular sentimentality for Onley, whose home in Kelso, in the Scottish Borders, is only around 10km away from the route.
“I know almost the whole stage,” he said. “Other than maybe the last 10km into Carlisle, I’ve ridden every road there, so I’m really excited for it. These are the roads that I grew up training on.”
One road that stands out is the Côte de Melrose, a 2.2km climb at 6.7%, and the only KOM on stage one. “I’ve done a lot of efforts up there and it’s one of the climbs that I spent a lot of time on when I was younger riding around Kelso,” Onley said.
“I’ve not really spoken to the team yet, but I am going to have to make a plan around [riding on home roads] because it’s easy to kind of get carried away in the moment and it’s probably the last thing you want to do on stage one of a Grand Tour. But I also want to take everything in. I’m not going to have this opportunity again in my career. So yeah, I really want to make the most of it.”
Discover all 21 stages of the 2027 Tour de France with our route guide.
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