Britain’s Oscar Onley will not race this year’s Tour de France after crashing at the Tour Auvergne-Rhônes-Alpes, Netcompany Ineos confirmed on Thursday.
Onley, who finished fourth at last year’s Tour, was set to co-lead Ineos’ team in France alongside Kévin Vauquelin. However, his participation has been in doubt ever since a heavy crash at the renamed Dauphiné earlier this month.
He completed some Tour recons with the team after his crash, but medical tests have since revealed a “significant shoulder injury,” and therefore, he will not be on the start line in Barcelona.
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“I’m gutted not to be able to line up for the Tour de France this year,” Onley said in a short statement released by the team.
“My focus is now on recovering and getting my shoulder in a good place, but I’m really motivated to try and make something out of this season.”
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Onley suffered the injury in a crash on stage 6 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhônes-Alpes, with Ineos director of racing Geraint Thomas revealing that the 23-year-old had suffered a “dislocated shoulder and a bit of a chunk out of his knee.”
He attended a recent team altitude camp, and on Wednesday, posted details of a 43km ‘Morning ride’ on Strava, with a subheading of ‘Road to the Tour… of Guangxi’, sparking a sense of pessimism on social media about his presence at the Tour.
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Ineos has confirmed that Onley has already started rehabilitation on his injured shoulder and is “making encouraging progress”.
However, the timing of the injury means that, a year on from his breakthrough performance at the Tour, which ultimately earned him the transfer to Netcompany Ineos, he will be watching this year’s race from home.
“I am looking forward to watching the boys racing in France in the coming weeks, especially knowing how hard everyone has worked,” he said.
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A selection dilemma for Netcompany Ineos
The British squad were expected to target the general classification at the Tour de France with four riders, but they are facing a selection dilemma after recent crashes and illness.
The British super team hoped that Oscar Onley, Carlos Rodríguez, Kévin Vauquelin and Giro d’Italia fourth-place finisher Thymen Arensman could create a combined GC attack. However, with a week until the Tour de France team presentation in Barcelona, their team leaders have still to be confirmed.
Josh Tarling is also a doubt for the Tour de France after fracturing his collarbone during the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. He quickly underwent surgery but faces a race against time and long days of indoor training to be fit enough to start the Tour. He was expected to play a key role in the opening team time trial stage.
Kévin Vauquelin’s fitness is also in question in the run-up to the Tour (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vauquelin finished 15th at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes after racing hard, but pulled out of both the time trial and road race at the French National Championships due to an illness he picked up in the stage race.
He was tagged in TotalEnergies rider Jordan Jegat’s Instagram story of a 155km motor-pacing ride on Wednesday, but revealed he had been battling illness. He finished seventh at the 2025 Tour, while riding with Arkéa-B&B Hotels.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be participating in the French Championships. A virus and bacteria contracted during the Tour Auvergne Rhône Alpes are still affecting me,” Vauquelin said in his own post on Instagram.
“My team and I have decided to skip the championships in preparation for the Tour de France. It was a difficult decision to accept, but health comes first.”
Filippo Ganna, Carlos Rodríguez, Michał Kwiatkowski, Dorian Godon and Thymen Arensman are expected to be part of the final Netcompany Ineos Tour roster, with the likes of Andrew August possibly drafted into the team to replace Onley.
Netcompany Ineos, like many other teams, are expected to reveal their eight Tour riders after this weekend’s National Championships. Riders are expected to travel to Barcelona on Tuesday for the Grand Départ. The Tour begins on Saturday, July 4.
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