{"id":911501,"date":"2026-09-30T22:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T22:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/911501\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T22:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T22:24:10","slug":"oscar-onley-on-his-day-in-the-break-with-van-der-poel-van-aert-simmons-i-still-have-to-figure-that-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/911501\/","title":{"rendered":"Oscar Onley on his day in the break with Van der Poel, Van Aert & Simmons: “I still have to figure that out”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oscar Onley<\/a> has made a name for himself after a strong performance for Great Britain at the 2026 World Cycling Championships<\/a> in Montreal. The Netcompany INEOS climber was a surprise name next to Mathieu van der Poel<\/a>, Quinn Simmons<\/a> and Wout van Aert<\/a> in the early breakaway at just over 80 kilometers from the finish. However, Onley looked like he belonged with these classics specialists until deep into the race. Until he ran out of steam, that is.The 23-year-old Onley had just come off the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, which, in essence, didn\u2019t turn out to be the best preparation<\/a> for a strong World Championship result. Most of the top contenders from the Tour of Spain did not compete in Canada, with the exception of two riders. Alongside Onley, Primoz Roglic, representing Slovenia<\/a>, was also part of the group, which ultimately consisted only of Van der Poel, the two of them, and Quinn Simmons.<\/p>\n

Together, they pushed on at full speed, but the group of favourites spotted the danger, and thanks to some great teamwork, the attack was neutralised a good 30 kilometers from the finish. Van der Poel, Onley, Roglic, and Simmons were caught by the top World Championship favourites, and all four were eventually dropped. Van der Poel finished third and Simmons 4th, both left with just enough energy left to make a final push.<\/p>\n

Read more below the photo<\/p>\n

\"van-der-poel-simmons-onley\"\/<\/p>\n

Oscar Onley is in the back of the pack, Van der Poel is in the lead.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0lights went out\u00a0at the World Championships for Oscar Onley”A day out with world champions,” Onley wrote on his social media accounts<\/a>. The Brit looked strong for a long time, but ultimately faltered when it really mattered in the final stretch. \u201cI still need to figure out how to keep my energy up for the last 20 kilometers of races like this,\u201d he said in his candid assessment.<\/p>\n

Onley ultimately finished in seventeenth place and, as a result, did not end up being the top British rider in the results. That honour went to Tom Pidcock, who, thanks to Onley\u2019s presence, didn\u2019t have to do much for a long time in the chasing group. Pidcock was right in the thick of the battle for the world title in the final stretch, but ultimately finished seventh.<\/p>\n

As Onley was dropped before the real race got going, he didn’t feature in our analysis of the crucial 22.2km that defined the race<\/a>. However, this strong outing will hopefully give the 23-year-old Scot a taste for World Championship success, as the brutal mountain route for 2027<\/a> suits his skillset better.<\/p>\n