At just 22 years old and for his second round in France, Oscar Onley is in the race for a place on the podium in the general classification of this large loop. With a mature and thoughtful naturalness, it is distinguished in particular by its love of the collective and its transparency in the sharing of its racing data.
He was in the middle of the infernal train of the Picnic-Postnl when he swallowed the Vingegaard-Pogacar duo. Dead of hunger, the Dutch formation only made a bite of the yellow jersey and its Danish rival during a surprising time dead between the Col de la Madeleine and the Col de la Loze on Thursday. A curious wait-and-see wait in the Visma-Lease which allowed Oscar Onley, the only one who could follow Vingegaard and Pogacar among the favorites in the final of the 18th stage, to invite themselves to the Table des Gloutons of this 112nd edition of the Tour de France.
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Before the start of the 19th stage, this Friday between Albertville and La Plagne, the 22 -year -old Scotland was in fourth place in the general classification, just 22 seconds from Florian Lipowitz, 3rd. The duel between German and Onley will also be one of the big challenges of this end of Tour de France. If the battle for the yellow jersey seems to be devoid of interest in this last straight line, that for third place for the podium – and by ricochet the white jersey of best young – should animate the race to the Champs -Élysées, Sunday.
Passed by young people from AG2R-La Mondiale
“In Oscar, I tell him to take the days as they come,” said his teammate Warren Barguil before the 14th stage between Pau and Superbagnères. “If it continues like that, that’s good. If you have one day less well, do with the shape you have. You can waste time, go to a breakaway and take a stage victory. He won everything on this tower.”
The Frenchman had targeted right, as onley turns out to be this July. A big fan of Andy Schleck, winner of the 2010 Tour de France, the native of Kelso (Scotland) participates in his second big loop. He also has a very low experience of three -week races since the 2024 edition of the Tour France (39th) is the only big round he managed to complete after his abandonment from the 2nd stage of the Vuelta in 2023. During this Tour of Spain, he had undergone the first of his three broken collarbones. “It taught me a lot about how to manage my season, because I came back in good condition after each break. It made me understand the benefits of breaks, and we used it to build my preparation this year,” said the main interested in his 7th place on the individual time trial between Loudenvielle and Peyragudes, in words reported by the Equipe.
Passed by AG2R-La Mondiale during a season for young people in 2020, the Scottish Eclosed at DSM, the old name of Picnic-Postnl. After a promising 2024 (2nd in the Tour de Great Britain, 4th in the Down Under Tour, 8th in the Tour de Switzerland), Onley arrived on this 2025 Tour de France launched like the train of his training at the foot of the Col de la Loze. At the end of June, he finished third in the Tour de Switzerland (behind Joao Almeida and Kévin Vauquelin) after winning the 5th stage in the nose and beard of Joao Almeida and Felix Gall. Enough to fill up on confidence before turning completely on the big loop.
“It’s not a big mouth”
“We discover it day after day, step after stage,” explains Christian Guiberteau, its sports director in Picnic-Postnl. “We obviously know him. He has been with our youth teams since his 18 years. The Tour de France is something else. We had some uncertainties on his limits, of course. But there, we discover that he pushes his limits very, very far.”
Younger runner of his training on this Tour de France, Onley naturally took leadership, well helped by the common experience with the rest of the group. “We have six young people who come from the same training center. They are in a natural bubble,” said Christian Guiberteau. “In the past, there have been races where he helped the sprinters. And there, the sprinters help him place himself at the foot of the pass. His personality? It is not the big mouth (laughing). He is very mature, thought. But he also has his little point of humor internally. But sometimes, he also has his blood in racing. When it was not happy (Thursday) aggressiveness. “
He was better in athletics
Particularly fulfilled within the collective of Picnic-Postnl, onley has just chosen the bicycle for this notion of sharing. “I first did football, then rugby, and then athletics, where I was better than in cycling. But I chose the bicycle because I prefer to train outside with my friends and explore, instead of staying on a track”, he assured in the middle of this large 2025 loop. “I prefer, still now, running training, being able to ride in a bakery.”
The Scottish also detonates by its choice to communicate all its physical data (power curve, developed watts, heart rate) after races, a very rare practice within the peloton. On his Strava account, he also took the opportunity to distill some jokes. “I will no longer buy Red Bull, I do not want to finance these attacks,” he had amused with reference to the work of sap of the Roglic-Lipowitz duo, the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, on the slopes of Mount Ventoux. If he continues like that, his opponents may never shop on the Picnic site, one of the leaders in the large online distribution.
