Who is Oscar Onley? The Scottish talent who has already battled Vingegaard

Dutch WorldTour squad Team DSM have added eight neo-pros for the 2023 season, their focus on youth and developing talent seemingly stronger than ever.

Over half of the squad is now at the age of 23 or younger, with several gems nestled among their rank beyond the star veterans, Romain Bardet and John Degenkolb. Among them is Scottish 20-year-old Oscar Onley.

The youngster from Kelso in the Scottish Borders has already captured the attention of cycling fans before even making the full-time step up to the WorldTour. Last season we saw him fight for the GC at the CRO Race, battling with Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard on the uphill finishes and eventually taking third place.

Beyond that, Onley won a stage and the points jersey at the Giro della Valle d'Aosta last July and has come up through the AG2R Citroën and DSM development systems.

He'll make his 2022 season debut next week in Portugal, taking on the Figueira Champions Classic (February 12) and the Volta ao Algarve (February 15-19). Cyclingnews caught up with him recently to hear all about his development, his breakthrough, and his future plans.

Cyclingnews: How did you get started in cycling?

Oscar Onley: So I started when I was 10 years old. The local club had a time trial that started almost outside my house. I started there with the 10-mile time trial and I always watched the Tour de France on TV every year. I think my first kind of memories are from 2010 with the battle between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck. That's what inspired me to start cycling, I guess.

Then I progressed from there, from time trials to youth races in Scotland and then around Britain, and then as a junior going across to France and Belgium. As a first-year junior, I was with Spokes. What they're doing in Scotland – it's not easy with the amount of money it costs coming from Scotland to Europe all the time – but they set up a really nice team and they've progressed a lot of riders onto different teams throughout the years. 

So a big credit to them as well as AG2R. I think I was really fortunate with the teams I was on as a junior.

CN: Were Contador and Schleck the riders you looked up to growing up?

OO: I'd say the first rider I looked up to was Andy Schleck with those battles with him and Contador. My mum was always more of a fan of Contador, so I think maybe naturally I went towards Schleck more. But they were kind of the first memories I had of the sport and in the first few years he and Contador were the first riders I kind of looked up to.

CN: As a junior you rode for the AG2R Citroën junior team. What was that like?

OO: I was with them as a second-year junior but unfortunately because of COVID-19 I didn't get to race. But I spent a lot of camps with them and yeah, big credit to them as well because what they're doing in the junior scene is really, really professional. I learnt a lot from that year being with that team.

CN: How did the move to DSM come about?

OO: We had some discussions in 2020 when I was a junior and the way the team saw how I should develop as a rider and how I saw it, we both fitted. That's what attracted me to the team. I already knew some of the riders that were on the team and obviously speaking to them, they all had positive things to say. I could really see myself fitting in well with the team.

CN: How's your experience with the team been so far?

OO: It's been really good for me. I think coming from the Scottish Cycling program, is quite a track and road-based program and so stepping up to this team, it was quite a familiar place for me with all the ways of working within the team.

It's something that suited me well, so I found that transition with the team quite easy. But I would say the transition to U23 racing I found a little bit more difficult because of COVID and the lack of races as a junior. 

At the last two camps with [riders like Bardet and Degenkolb]. I've been learning a lot from those riders and the other riders on the team. When we go to races together, we're picking up little things from what they do and how they race. Hopefully, I can take that into my own experiences when I get the chance to be a leader in whatever races I do.

CN: You've been working with the team for a while now and several of you are stepping up to the WorldTour team for 2023. Does that help with the move?

OO: I knew most of the staff already and, obviously, I know the way of working in the team and also being part of the development team. I think there are six of us moving up at the same time, so we've kind of brought a lot of that culture from the development team up to the WorldTour team. So it's something I'm really comfortable in and really motivated to bring across to the WorldTour team.

I did a lot of races with Max [Poole] in 2022. We work really well together and he's also a really strong rider. Last year I don't think he had as many opportunities as I did to go for his own results, but for sure when he gets the opportunity then he's also going to be up there in races. There's Sean Flynn as well from Scotland so that's also quite special to have two Scottish riders in the same team at WorldTour level.

CN: I heard you had an ankle injury over the winter – how has that affected your season lead-in?

OO: To be honest, it only affected me when I was running so it was OK. It just made me stop running during the off-season. I got back on the bike in November and from that point onwards everything has been going really well. I feel like I'm in good shape now and looking forward to the coming races.

Training camp has been really good, and it has actually been quite easy because being in the development team for the last two years, I obviously know all the development riders stepping up with me and a lot of the WorldTour riders as well. So it's made the initial transition really easy. I already feel really comfortable in the team.

CN: It's fair to say your main introduction to many fans was at the CRO Race last year. Did you expect to be battling with riders like Jonas Vingegaard and Matej Mohorič for the overall win there?

OO: No. I knew going into that race that I was in really good shape, and I was one of the protected riders for the GC within the team, but realistically I was looking at a top 10. I would've been really happy with a top 10 in that level of race. So to finish on the podium and to be trying to make plans to go for the win on that final day was... I wasn't expecting that.

I can take a lot of confidence from that race and the races before that. Now, stepping up to the WorldTour level, it's the same riders that I'm going to be riding against this year. I know that I can be at that level and take that confidence into the races that I do.

CN: What's your early season plan?

OO: I'm starting in Portugal in February. There's a one-day race, followed by the Volta ao Algarve. We have a nice combination there with some sprint ambitions and some GC ambitions as well. 

For me, a lot of it is learning from these bigger riders and also getting my own opportunities on the climbing days. Just seeing what happens, really. Currently, I feel in really good shape, so I hope in the next couple of weeks to build on that. I'm looking forward to racing now.

CN: And for the rest of 2023?

OO: To be honest, results-wise, there's nothing that I or the team have really set out to achieve this year. The main focus is on development as a rider. I want to be a GC rider ultimately in the coming years, so with that in mind then the focus is on becoming a more well-rounded rider.

So, it's about experiencing these hectic finals and climbs, TTs. This year is really just about gaining experience and if I can pick up a result or two along the way, then that's also nice. But the main focus is on development as a rider.

CN: You say that being a GC rider is the goal. Which aspect of that do you lean towards the most?

OO: So far, it's been climbing but I've not done that many long climbs or any TTs in Europe as an under-23. It's quite difficult to say yet where my strengths and weaknesses lie, but I'm sure over the coming years I'm going to find out where my niche is within the sport and then work on the weaknesses and obviously improve the strengths as much as I can.

CN: And finally, is there one race you dream about?

OO: I think the race I enjoyed the most is Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I live in Sittard in the Netherlands during the season, so I train on all the roads from Liège quite often - around La Redoute and that kind of climb.

So firstly, to ride that race would be really nice and then maybe in the coming years to get a result there would also be nice. But again, I don't know whether it's even a race that suits me. First, I need to work that out and then we can start making a plan.

To be honest, I actually normally prefer the longer climbs, but I haven't had that much exposure to them, especially in pro races so far. It's only been these punchy climbs that I've been able to show myself on. But I think I'm going to have a nice combination this year of some punchy climbs and some longer climbs. From there we'll start to have more of an idea of what suits me better.