Oscar Onley will not immediately travel to the Picnic PostNL team camp in Spain this week and has been given permission to stay at home, Cyclingnews understands, as discussions about his future at the team and a possible transfer to a rival team continue.
Daniel Benson's Cycling Substack first reported Onley's absence on Wednesday and Cyclingnews also verified that he is not currently at camp. Like many other teams, Picnic PostNL riders and staff are gathering in Calpe, Spain from today, with pre-season training and preparations due to start on Thursday. Onley has just returned from Australia where he spent the winter and most recently took part in the recent Tour of Bright event.
When Cyclingnews' Australian Editor Simone Giuliani asked Onley at that race if he would still be in Picnic PostNL colours in 2026, he said: "For now, yes. We'll see. But yeah, it's still things up in the air a little bit."
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He may still travel to Picnic PostNL's camp at a later point.
Daniel Benson has indicated for some time that Ineos Grenadiers are interested in signing Onley and confident of reaching a deal, even in time for the 2026 season. The British team are trying to reboot their Grand Tour ambitions after several disappointing seasons and following the return of Dave Brailsford and the appointment of Geraint Thomas as Director of Racing.
It is not clear if Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe and key sponsor TotalEnergies have agreed to fund a transfer move for Onley. Mid-contract moves are allowed by the UCI but require both teams and the UCI to agree, and any deal would likely include a fee to break Onley's current contract – which runs until 2027 with Picnic – and a salary that could be upwards of €2 million for a rider of his ability.
Cyclingnews understands that Picnic PostNL have so far refused a number of formal and informal offers for Onley and would be happy for him to stay at the team despite the contract tension. Some kind of contract extension would reward Onley's breakthrough Tour de France performance from this summer.
The 23-year-old Scot is logically keen to capitalise on his success, admitting to Cyclingnews that 15 teams had reached to the team or his agent.
Picnic PostNL could also be open to a rider trading deal if a team makes what they consider is an acceptable offer. Because Onley has a contract with Picnic PostNL until the end of 2027, a three-party agreement is needed between Onley, Picnic PostNL and any new team, with the UCI then giving final approval.
Onley finished an impressive fourth in the 2025 Tour de France, fourth at the Tour Down Under and third at the Tour de Suisse this year. His haul of points helped Picnic PostNL avoid relegation from the WorldTour. Losing him for 2026 would be a major blow but could be mitigated by a hefty transfer fee.
PicnicPostNL was only given a one-year WorldTour licence for 2026 by the UCI on Wednesday as they work to secure a key contract extension with a title sponsor for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
Picnic PostNL team manager Iwan Spekenbrink has often used 'rider trading' to bolster his team's budget and has always preferred to release riders who claimed to be unhappy with the team's way of working and strict protocols, with two riders – Charlotte Kool and Nienke Vinke – already leaving the team early this year.
Despite the UCI trying to regulate rider trading has become more frequent in recent years as riders become unhappy and feel locked into long contracts. Remco Evenepoel ended his contract with Soudal-QuickStep a year early to move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Lidl-Trek signed Juan Ayuso after his fallout with UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
