Oscar Onley, who enjoyed an eye-catching season at U23 level, will turn professional earlier than anticipated, signing a long-term contract with Team DSM.
The British rider, who turned 20 in October, had planned to spend one more season with DSM's development team before looking to make the step up in 2024.
However, such as been his progress, with strong results at U23 level combined with breakout appearances in pro races - notably at the CRO Race - he has been fast-tracked to the WorldTour. Not only that, but he has been given a five-year contract, another indication of his talent and the potential that DSM see in him.
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Onley's contract will run through to the end of 2027, making it among the longest in the sport at present, just a year short of the long-term deal signed by Juan Ayuso with UAE Team Emirates last season.
"I’m really excited to be stepping up to the WorldTour with Team DSM next year. I’ve learnt so much on and off the bike in the past two years with the Development program and I’m looking forward to building on this in the coming years," Onley said.
"We have a clear plan for the future where we will continue to focus on my development to experience and learn in different situations. The team have a lot of confidence and trust in me and I’m confident we can get the most out of my ability in this environment."
Onley, who hails from Kelso in Scotland, moved to Europe to join AG2R's junior team in 2019, before switching to DSM's Development squad in 2021. He had a solid first season but the breakthrough came in 2022, with fifth in the Circuit des Ardennes, 9th in the U23 Giro d'Italia, a stage win at the Giro della Valle d'Aosta.
He then earned some guest appearances with DSM's pro squad, and took them, placing seventh at the Sazka Tour and 24th at Tour of Britain, but it was the CRO Race that announced his potential to the world. On both uphill finishes he finished runner-up to none other than Jonas Vingegaard, pushing the Tour de France champion all the way, and finished the race on the final podium.
"Oscar joined us in 2021 and immediately fitted into the team well. He’s a determined and hard-working youngster who is always curious and asks questions about how to improve in every aspect of his racing life," said DSM's head coach Rudi Kemna.
"We’ve seen this come to fruition this year with some good support riding and very impressive performances when he has been the team’s finisher, especially in the latter part of the year.
"It’s also important to remember that Oscar is still young, so we want to take the time for him to grow as an athlete and person in a natural way as he makes the step up to WorldTour level with our Men’s program."
Onley graduates to DSM's WorldTour squad alongside two others - Tobias Lund Andresen and Lorenzo Milesi - as Dutch team finalise their roster for 2023.
Lund Andresen caught the eye at junior level and the Norwegian earned the call-up after a solid two years in the Development squad. Milesi, an Italian rouleur, joined in 2022 and proceeded to win a stage at the Tour de l'Avenir.
The trio bring the total number of graduates from the DSM's Development squad to the WorldTour squad, and bring the number of riders for 2023 to the UCI maximum of 30.
DSM have now made nine signings for 2023, following Max Poole (neo-pro), Patrick Bevin (Israel-Premier Tech), Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto Soudal), Matthew Dinham (neo-pro), Sean Flynn (neo-pro), andAlex Edmondson (BikeExchange-Jayco).
They are losing eight riders: Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Casper Pedersen (Soudal-QuickStep), Nikias Arndt (Bahrain Victorious), Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe), Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), Joris Nieuwenhuis (to cyclo-cross), Asbjorn Kragh Andersen (retires) and Mark Donovan (Q36.5)
