Netcompany-Ineos leader sheds 29 minutes after spooky crash in Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Netcompany-Ineos can be breathing a sigh of relief after their Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes GC leader Oscar Onley finished stage 6 following a crash that Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) witnessed.

“The downhill was really tricky. I really hope Oscar Onley is OK. I saw him go over the edge, and that kind of spooked me a little bit,” Jorgenson said after seeing Onley fall on the descent from the Côte d’Héry-sur-Ugine inside the final 10km of the 182.3km mountain stage to Crest-Voland.

It was a tense wait for information until Onley was seen crossing the finish line 29 minutes and 17 seconds after stage winner Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

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Netcompany-Ineos issued a brief statement on social media, writing, “Oscar Onley was able to finish stage 6 of #TourAuvergneRhoneAlpes despite suffering a crash on the final descent. He will be further assessed by our medical team, and we will provide an update in due course.”

It was a terrible day for the British team, who lost Josh Tarling to a crash earlier in the stage. The Briton was seen gingerly cradling his left arm, and the team confirmed he was being assessed for injuries. The race communique confirmed the fracture, with Tarling being taken to a hospital Chambéry, while Onley was transported to Albertville for x-rays.

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Then, the team’s other GC leader, Kévin Vauquelin, was unable to hold on when Decathlon CMA CGM’s Paul Seixas attacked on the final climb to Crest-Voland, and lost 1:32 to the Frenchman and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

He dropped from second place overall to 15th place behind new race leader Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). Vauquelin is now 3:50 behind Tuckwell, and 44 seconds behind Seixas.

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