Take4 weeks ago
Onley's 2025 Tour de France went perfectly — fourth place, zero setbacks. His 2026 Vuelta a España gave him two crashes and a stomach bug, and he still finished sixth with the white jersey. The clean run taught him nothing; the rollercoaster taught him how a Grand Tour actually works.
The clearest proof came on stage 4: Onley spent the night before Andorra La Vella sick on the bathroom floor, then rode to fourth place and took the white jersey the same day. He became the first British rider to win the Vuelta a España's young rider classification. Reflecting on the season afterward, his own read cuts against any read of sixth place as a step back — «I think I took last year for granted… everyone has setbacks during a Grand Tour, and it's kind of about how you deal with them.»
Sources
'I think I took last year for granted' – Oscar Onley fights through setbacks with vital lessons learnt from successful rollercoaster Vuelta a España'I was up all night' – Oscar Onley hit by another setback but comes through first Vuelta a España GC showdownVuelta a España 2026 final classification recap
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