'Maybe we don’t have the strongest guy outright, but together we can make things happen' – Oscar Onley and Kévin Vauquelin deliver promising start for Ineos Grenadiers' new GC core

It may have been Filippo Ganna who delivered an actual win for the team, but perhaps the real success for Ineos Grenadiers at the Volta ao Algarve came in the form of two quietly positive showings for their new GC riders, Oscar Onley and Kévin Vauquelin.

Onley and Vauquelin, both new signings for 2026, made their debuts for Ineos in Portugal last week, the start of a campaign which will see them both focusing on the Tour de France as the British team look to return to the podium of the race they once dominated.

Though neither took a stand-out win on debut, it was a consistent week for both riders, with Onley finishing a close second on the final stage to take fourth overall, whilst Vauquelin finished just 18 seconds further down in fifth.

Though Vauquelin sat fourth going into the final stage after a more consistent week and a better time trial, Onley arguably made more of a splash on the race, pulling on Ineos colours for the first time after his headline-making late move across from Picnic PostNL in December.

The young Scot finished fourth on stage 2, and then nearly grabbed the win on stage 5, lunging for the line next to eventual stage and overall victor Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek). He was let down by his time trial, ceding a minute to Ayuso on that day as his first outing on new equipment only netted 24th, but otherwise hit the ground running, considering he only signed for the team under two months ago.

"The first race with the team has been really nice. I only met some people, like Kim and Laurens, at dinner on the first night, so that was also a bit strange, but in the race it really felt like we'd been riding together for quite a few years," he said.

"I was just saying on the bus that every key point we had this week, we really nailed, and that was really nice to see. The way we raced today was exactly why I wanted to join this team. Having numbers in the final and being able to play like we did, it was really nice to see and it sets us up in a good way going forward."

The lack of a win for the team's climbers – only the final surge cost him on stage 5 – didn't seem to deter Onley, though he did admit there are things he needs to work on going forward, perhaps most importantly the time trial.

"Maybe we don’t have the strongest guy outright, but together with our strengths, we can make things happen," he said to media at the race including WielerFlits and Daniel Benson's Substack.

"There’s definitely some room for improvement. I know that I normally improve by doing a few races, and hopefully I can improve for Paris-Nice in a couple of weeks."

My view

Matilda Price

It was interesting to see Onley and Vauquelin race together this week, and I'm intrigued by the fact that Ineos have them on such similar programmes at the start of the season. Their abilities complement each other – where Onley lacks in the TT, Vauquelin is strong, and it's vice versa in the climbs – but in that sense neither looks fully complete as a GC contender just yet, and unfortunately Ineos can't just merge them into one perfect rider. It seems like Ineos are trying to build their working relationship before the Tour de France where – reading between the lines – Onley looks more likely to be the primary leader, though French favourite Vauquelin's time will surely come.

It was a slightly opposite story for Vauquelin, who didn't quite reach the heights on the climbs – he has always been a more punchy rider – but did well in the TT, yielding only 24 seconds to Ganna and beating riders like Stefan Küng (Tudor) and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

He was on the attack on stage 5, trying to set something up for Onley, but still managed to defend his own top-five placing in his first race since injuring his ankle shortly after last summer's Tour.

"A really nice day, and a nice week," the Frenchman said after stage 5. "It was my first race after seven months, so I'm really happy to be in the front, for the GC and the race."

Though a lot of attention and possibly pressure will be on Vauquelin this year as he's touted as one of France's next great hopes in the Tour, he downplayed a sense of leadership at this point in the season.

"We'll go to Paris-Nice for the TTT and I think it's possible to have a good GC with Oscar, because if you see this week, it's good, and now we just need to improve some points."

Thymen Arensman – who has been slightly shunted out of the spotlight with Onley and Vauquelin's arrivals, but is a double Tour stage winner and top 10 Grand Tour finisher – also finished ninth overall in Algarve to make it three Ineos riders in the top 10.

He had a good time trial, but faltered in the climbing stages, though reflected positively on his first race of 2026.

"Happy with this week! Saw a super strong team, really happy with my TT performance and the feelings during the race. I’ll definitely take a lot of positive[s] towards the next race," he said in an Instagram post.

"A puncture in the run in towards the final climb, being out of position and just not the best legs and a punchy climb for me wasn’t a mixture for success. I let my head down on the last climb after I tried to look after Oscar where I could. I’ll take the learnings and remember all the positives this week. Made big steps over the winter and very happy to start this season this way."

Arensman will next race at Strade Bianche, whilst Onley and Vauquelin will link up once more at Paris-Nice as they continue on somewhat parallel paths towards the Tour de France.