Rider diary with… Oscar Onley

Earlier in the month Oscar Onley sat down to pen his thoughts on his year so far and the build-up to his first Grand Tour…

Hi everyone!

I thought it would be nice to catch up with you all again to tell a bit more about my first season so far in the WorldTour after stepping up from Development Team dsm-firmenich last season.

Recently, I came back from Kühtai, where I had my first altitude camp with the team. We had three really good weeks up there in Austria with the eight of us and there was a really nice atmosphere. We all got on really well and I think we bonded quite a lot over those three weeks. Several guys of altitude will be heading to the Vuelta, and we know each other already quite some time, as we all stepped up from the Development program. Sean and I know each other even better, because we lived near each other in our home country, Scotland. I think we have an exciting team going to the Vuelta.

Obviously, the training is pretty hard, but it was a good experience and I really enjoy these bigger blocks of training, which work quite well for me. I could really feel that it helped during the week after we came back in Tour de Pologne. I felt quite fresh at the end of the stages for the whole week and also after the races I didn’t feel too fatigued. I really liked to be able to fully focus on my training, nutrition, recovery and stuff. We had an amazing chef there who made our lives much easier by serving our breakfast, recovery and dinner, and so we could get the most out of each day of training.

Most days in Kühtai we liked to have a similar program; started with breakfast at 08h00 and we rolled out around 10h00 for a ride between four and six hours. The chef made us lunch when we came back and, in the afternoon, we sat down a bit and watched whatever race was on the tv at the time. Some of us would then also do some nice sauna sessions, which will help us in the upcoming heat during the Vuelta. In the evenings after dinner, we often played card games together, which always was the same one because we couldn’t decide on other ones. We ended up with the same game for three weeks, but by the last week – when we were all a bit tired – that was also the easiest thing to do. All in all, quite simple days but nice to really focus on training.

Gaining confidence and experience

Looking back to my year so far, I can draw the most confidence from my ride in Tour de Romandie a few months ago. Maybe I didn’t have the best results there, but how we rode as a team was really good. I think I did quite a good job for Romain and Max there in the Queen’s stage and it gave me a lot of confidence that I could play a role in the front of the race with the top guys. More and more I have the feeling to go for a result in finales, whereas in the past I would rather stay a bit back and be happy to finish.

The more experienced riders help me a lot with my development, guys like Romain Bardet where you can learn much from already by just looking what he does before the race. Romain doesn’t tell you what to do straight up, but you can just pick up things from him. He also did these races we did together quite sometimes, so he knows the parcours well and knows where to be at the right time. That’s pretty valuable for the younger guys as me: sometimes we might waste our energy, are positioned badly, or are caught out a little bit. Having guys like him in the team, is really helpful.

Looking critically to my season, I really gained much experience from Tour de Hongrie in May, where Max and I were going for GC. We made some mistakes and from that we learned a lot in the races afterwards. As pair we were one of the strongest in the race, but eventually didn’t take the most out of it.

I can be satisfied with my first season competing in the WorldTour, which had some ups and downs, like anyone in any sports. Looking to where I was last year, I have made a big step and the fact I’m preparing for a Grand Tour now – while I was in the Development program last year – is a big credit to the team, who got me in this position. I have had some okay results and have been quite consistent across the races, but as an athlete you’re always aiming to do better with more regular wins. So that will be the focus for the future.

I’m really excited to have extended my contract with the team and this shows the trust they have in me. Obviously, I have been with the Development program the last two years, so I know how the team works and I know all staff and riders well in the team. So, it was quite logical to extend, and I’m really excited for the future together.

Grand Tour debut

Next up on my roster is the Vuelta. It’s my first Grand Tour and I’m a bit nervous. Three weeks is quite a big step up from what I have done previously but with the last few weeks of training, I am having the best preparation possible to be in good shape over the Vuelta. I think it goes the same as other races, but then over three weeks instead of one week. That’s the main difference. Ultimately in the race, I’m racing with the same guys as all year.

Obviously, the heat will play an important role during the Vuelta, but luckily, I have become a little bit more used to these temperatures lately as I moved to Girona. Today, for example, I’ll go out for a training and will do a heat session when I come back. That’s something I’ve been focused on quite a lot now.

My goal in the Vuelta will be to win a stage, which I know is a big goal, but if I can find the right day, then I believe I can have a good shot. It’s kind of strange for me to say out loud, because it’s such a big thing and far away, but we’ll see how far I will come in achieving that. There are a few interesting stages for me, but it depends on how the race is going and what the situation will be for the GC guys. Ultimately, they will decide if the break can stay away, so I need to be flexible and not focus too much on one particular stage.

Onley did start La Vuelta on Saturday but had to abandon the race after stage two. A few days later he looked back on his unfortunately short GrandTour debut.

Winning the first stage

The start of the Vuelta was amazing. To win the team time trial was really special. I think going into the stage we were not expecting too much, but when we saw the weather, our chances of getting a result increased. After our turn we were very happy with the way we rode, we executed the plan well in the wet conditions and stuck as one unit. Obviously, the weather plays a big factor in the final result, but we were really happy, and a lot of emotions came up when we realised we had won the stage and would lead the race in stage two. Going into that stage, we were all again on a real high with all the leaders’ jerseys in the team and wanted to enjoy the day as much as possible. This is not something that happens often and to have it after my first stage at my first Grand Tour was something crazy actually.

Abandoning La Vuelta

Unfortunately, I came down in a crash and broke my collarbone and was really gutted to leave the race. I mean, we all put in a lot of work at altitude to be at the Vuelta and after the Tour de Pologne I was in a really good place physically. I was really excited to see how it would go over these three weeks, so to leave already on stage two is really tough. We managed to sort the surgery really quickly, which took place on Monday afternoon. Everything went fine with that. Now I’m back in Girona for a few days before I fly back home to Scotland where I’ll spend most of my time in the coming period. Hopefully I can get back on the bike soon when it’s okay to do so and I’m already looking to the possibilities of racing at the end of the season. I don’t want to end the season like this, so I’m really motivated to come back in the next few weeks and try to finish the season in a good way.