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Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Scottish cycling sensation, 22, stuns the world's top cyclists as he eyes Scotland's best EVER Tour de France finish
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SCOTTISH cycling sensation Oscar Onley remains on course to equal Scotland's best EVER Tour de France finish after a gruelling stage to Mont Ventoux. Onley may have been born in London but he was raised from a young age in the town of Kelso, identifies as Scottish and came through the Scottish system. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Oscar Onley (right) tracks Florian Lipowitz of Germany Credit: Getty 2 Oscar Onley of Team Picnic PostNL before the 16th stage of the Tour de France Credit: EPA A natural climber, he finished a creditable 39th as he was selected for his first Tour de France 12 months ago. And he's still sitting in a remarkable FOURTH spot in the toughest bike race in the world with just FIVE stages to withstand after one of the toughest climbs in cycling. He came in 14th on the sheer slopes of Ventoux, some 2 minutes 29 back on stage winner Valentin Paret Peintre. But that was still enough for him to limit his losses on former yellow jersey winner Primoz Roglic in fifth spot to just 38 seconds. And that means he survives in fourth with just four days and then the traditional procession to the Champs Elysees in Paris on the final day to come. No Scottish rider has ever secured a podium spot for one of the 1-2-3 in the General Classification on the Tour. Robert Millar, now known as Philippa York, finished fourth back in 1984, in addition to picking up the polka dot jersey for the top mountain climber on the tour that year. Onley is 11 minutes and four seconds behind imperious Slovenian leader Tadej Pogacar, who looks set to claim a FOURTH yellow jersey. But with a couple of big days in the Alps still to come he's still got hope of finding the two minutes he needs to overtake Germany's Florian Lipowitz to get third. He's also chasing Lipowitz in the race for the white jersey, the privilege of the best young rider in the race. Mark Cavendish & The Royals help celebrate Edinburgh hosting the Tour de France in 2027 Amazingly Onley actually could have had a career as an elite cross-country runner instead and only started riding a bike after being inspired to start cycling by the fact that the time-trial route for his local club, Kelso Wheelers, went right past his house. He raced in Europe as a junior before joining the development team of his current squad, Picnic PostNL, in 2021. The Tour de France is coming to Edinburgh in 2027 and he's previously spoken of his delight and hope to be on the start line. He said: 'The Tour de France coming to Scotland is really exciting and can have a huge impact on inspiring people to get on bikes and potentially start a new wave of talent coming out of Scotland. "Scotland has hosted the Tour of Britain a few times over the past years and always puts on a good show, Le Tour offers a great opportunity to showcase the country on a bigger scale." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
New Straits Times
16-07-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Young Scot Onley surprises with top finishes in Tour de France
TOULOUSE, France: Scotland's Oscar Onley has impressed during the first week of the Tour de France, sitting seventh overall after 10 stages at just 22 years old. The Kelso-born rider delivered standout performances as he claimed third and fourth, in stage seven and four respectively, on the wheels of defending champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). "Mur-de-Bretagne (on stage seven) was really circled as a stage that could suit me but you also have to be realistic that Pogacar, in these kinds of finishes, is in a different league," Onley told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "I'm just enjoying what I'm doing and to be able to be up there with Pogacar and Vingegaard is an honour." The Picnic PostNL rider also secured sixth place in stage two, adding to an already impressive tally of three top-10 finishes in his second appearance at cycling's most prestigious race. "I was hoping to get a good result, but a good result was maybe a top 10, top five from the bunch. But now I've kind of shown that I'm a little bit higher up and I can set my goals a little bit higher," he said. Onley, who won a stage at last month's Tour de Suisse and claimed third overall, has shown consistency in World Tour one-week races this year. However, his main aim remains a stage win on the Tour de France. "I think it's still the main goal. There are going to be a lot more opportunities coming up in the next couple of weeks. I just have to take those opportunities when they come," he said. "I didn't come here with any ambitions for the GC (general classification). If there's an opportunity to slide in the breakaway one day, then I'll try and take it." The British rider is one minute and 18 seconds behind Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) who currently sits fifth. "I think a top five would be something really special, but I don't know if that's really possible," he said, adding that the experience is bolstering his confidence as a potential Grand Tour contender. "I think that's the goal in the next couple of years. And now I'm starting to realize that maybe it's a little bit more possible than I thought." The first high mountain stage in the Pyrenees on Thursday should give some insight into Onley's strength in longer climbs.
The Star
15-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Cycling-Young Scot Onley surprises with top finishes in Tour de France
FILE PHOTO: Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 5 - Caen to Caen - Caen, France - July 9, 2025 Team Picnic PostNL's Oscar Onley in action during the stage 5 time trial REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) -Scotland's Oscar Onley has impressed during the first week of the Tour de France, sitting seventh overall after 10 stages at just 22 years old. The Kelso-born rider delivered standout performances as he claimed third and fourth, in stage seven and four respectively, on the wheels of defending champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). "Mur-de-Bretagne (on stage seven) was really circled as a stage that could suit me but you also have to be realistic that Pogacar, in these kinds of finishes, is in a different league," Onley told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "I'm just enjoying what I'm doing and to be able to be up there with Pogacar and Vingegaard is an honour." The Picnic PostNL rider also secured sixth place in stage two, adding to an already impressive tally of three top-10 finishes in his second appearance at cycling's most prestigious race. "I was hoping to get a good result, but a good result was maybe a top 10, top five from the bunch. But now I've kind of shown that I'm a little bit higher up and I can set my goals a little bit higher," he said. Onley, who won a stage at last month's Tour de Suisse and claimed third overall, has shown consistency in World Tour one-week races this year. However, his main aim remains a stage win on the Tour de France. "I think it's still the main goal. There are going to be a lot more opportunities coming up in the next couple of weeks. I just have to take those opportunities when they come," he said. "I didn't come here with any ambitions for the GC (general classification). If there's an opportunity to slide in the breakaway one day, then I'll try and take it." The British rider is one minute and 18 seconds behind Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) who currently sits fifth. "I think a top five would be something really special, but I don't know if that's really possible," he said, adding that the experience is bolstering his confidence as a potential Grand Tour contender. "I think that's the goal in the next couple of years. And now I'm starting to realize that maybe it's a little bit more possible than I thought." The first high mountain stage in the Pyrenees on Thursday shouldgive some insight into Onley's strength in longer climbs. (Reporting by Vincent DaheronEditing by Christian Radnedge)
Straits Times
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Young Scot Onley surprises with top finishes in Tour de France
TOULOUSE, France - Scotland's Oscar Onley has impressed during the first week of the Tour de France, sitting seventh overall after 10 stages at just 22 years old. The Kelso-born rider delivered standout performances as he claimed third and fourth, in stage seven and four respectively, on the wheels of defending champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). "Mur-de-Bretagne (on stage seven) was really circled as a stage that could suit me but you also have to be realistic that Pogacar, in these kinds of finishes, is in a different league," Onley told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "I'm just enjoying what I'm doing and to be able to be up there with Pogacar and Vingegaard is an honour." The Picnic PostNL rider also secured sixth place in stage two, adding to an already impressive tally of three top-10 finishes in his second appearance at cycling's most prestigious race. "I was hoping to get a good result, but a good result was maybe a top 10, top five from the bunch. But now I've kind of shown that I'm a little bit higher up and I can set my goals a little bit higher," he said. Onley, who won a stage at last month's Tour de Suisse and claimed third overall, has shown consistency in World Tour one-week races this year. However, his main aim remains a stage win on the Tour de France. "I think it's still the main goal. There are going to be a lot more opportunities coming up in the next couple of weeks. I just have to take those opportunities when they come," he said. "I didn't come here with any ambitions for the GC (general classification). If there's an opportunity to slide in the breakaway one day, then I'll try and take it." The British rider is one minute and 18 seconds behind Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) who currently sits fifth. "I think a top five would be something really special, but I don't know if that's really possible," he said, adding that the experience is bolstering his confidence as a potential Grand Tour contender. "I think that's the goal in the next couple of years. And now I'm starting to realize that maybe it's a little bit more possible than I thought." The first high mountain stage in the Pyrenees on Thursday should give some insight into Onley's strength in longer climbs. REUTERS
The National
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
Kelso cyclist Oscar Onley climbs Tour de France rankings
Oscar Onley, a 22-year-old from Borders town Kelso, has been making waves at this year's tournament with standout performances that have highlighted his rising status in international cycling. In Tuesday's Stage 4, a 174km route from Amiens to Rouen, Onley finished an impressive fourth, crossing the line just slightly behind some of the sport's biggest names – Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, and Jonas Vingegaard. READ MORE: Met Office warns Scots against going 'taps aff' as temperatures to hit 30 degrees All four riders completed the stage in exactly three hours, 50 minutes and 29 seconds, with Onley narrowly missing out on a podium finish by milliseconds. Speaking to Cycling Weekly about his positioning, Onley said: 'It's not really sunk in yet. It's always nice to be racing against these guys. 'I really get a kick out of racing against the top guys, so it's always good fun.' He addressed the challenge of competing against two riders who have won the last five Tours de France between them and whose teams have claimed nearly a third of the stage victories in that period. When asked by the sports publication if it felt demoralising to chase wins against such well-established opponents, Onley said no. 'Maybe because I'm young, I'm naive and I still think that I can do anything,' he said. His fourth-place finish on Stage 4 – his best result so far – suggests he's close to living up to that belief. He continued: 'I don't want to get ahead of myself – I know my place, and it's a different story on other climbs.' Explaining his approach to the race, Onley said: 'I'm just trying to get results, whether that's stages or overall, in the end, we'll see after three weeks. 'It's really just [about] picking the days that suit me and going all in for them, and trying to relax on the days that aren't so important.' READ MORE: 'I'm so sorry': Yungblud cancels Scottish show and album launch The result came after a solid sixth-place finish on Stage 2, a 209km stretch from Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer, which propelled Onley to seventh place in the overall general classification, 55 seconds behind the race leader. By the conclusion of Stage 4, Onley maintained his position in the general classification, tied for seventh with Joao Almeida, highlighting his consistency in this Grand Tour. Onley's Tour de France success builds on an already impressive 2025 season. Earlier this year, he won a stage at the Tour de Suisse and finished third overall. He also claimed fourth place at the Tour Down Under and fifth at the UAE Tour. Riding for Team Picnic PostNL, Onley has showcased his climbing ability and race intelligence, making him a key contender to watch as the race progresses. With the first individual time trial scheduled for Stage 5 on Wednesday, his performance in the sport will be closely observed as it could be crucial to his overall Tour de France ambitions.
