And as mentioned, once seeing first hand Onley’s abilities, it didn’t take long for Winston and Picnic PostNL to sit up and take notice. “We already knew he had the potential to be a top rider,” Winston says. “The British system doesn’t involve a lot of bunch racing, unlike in the Netherlands, so in his early years he had to work on his race craft. We first saw his real quality in the 2022 Tour of Croatia, when he went toe-to-toe with Jonas Vingegaard. That’s when we realised: this is heading in the right direction. He’s capable of much more. But thankfully, he remained under the radar until this year.”
Witnessing the growth, teammate Tim Naberman has been mightily impressed by Onley so far, but like Winston, doesn’t believe the Scot has hit his ceiling just yet. ““He’s a really quiet lad. He jokes around at the dinner table and it’s always great to have him around. But when it comes to racing, he’s fully focused,” explains Naberman. “Off the bike, he’s as calm as can be. Just a really relaxed guy to work with, and we get along very well — Oscar’s just a lovely colleague.”
And despite rumours of a departure following his Tour de France breakthrough, Naberman insists Onley is right where he needs to be. Oscar really fits in here,” he says. “He was very inexperienced when he joined us, and this team is brilliant at guiding young riders to become the athletes they are today. That’s been crucial for Oscar. He needed structure, and he embraced it — everything from nutrition and training, to preparing together for races. That’s what helps all of us perform at this level.”
“Oscar has matured very quickly and developed strongly in recent years, but in the last four weeks alone, he’s taken another massive step forward — especially in his leadership role,” Winston adds. “He’s clearly communicated what he expects from his teammates, and that’s been great to see as a coach.”
The team boss does urge a little calm though. Whilst Onley’s performance was impressive, Winston doesn’t want to immediately jump to hailing the Scot as an imminent Maillot Jaune winner. “He has a wonderful future ahead of him, but we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves after this fourth-place finish. We’re not going to sit him down this winter and say, ‘Right, let’s win the Tour in 2026.’ Our focus remains on development,” he explains. “That said, with the way Oscar has ridden this year, we can’t deny that he could become a genuine contender. The competition, of course, is fierce.”
And as for those transfer rumours? “There’s always a risk of other teams trying to poach riders — especially in today’s cycling landscape, with wealthy teams able to buy out contracts. I just hope Oscar sees the value in staying with Picnic PostNL. We’ve had some good conversations about that earlier this year,” he concludes. “He knows how we’ve helped shape him into the rider he is today. I can see how passionate he is about this team — how he leads, how we take his ideas seriously. I’m confident we can continue to work together for a long time and help him become a truly outstanding rider. He fits in perfectly here. He’s found his home. Of course, you never know what the lure of big money will bring, but I hope this Tour has opened the eyes of other young talents as well.”