‘I was pretty useless’ – Oscar Onley ‘overcooks’ gravel climb at Vuelta a España and pays the price

Onley, who was initially with Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Enric Mas (Movistar) as they gapped key rival Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), dropped back towards the top and then lost more ground on the descent.

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After linking up with a group of stragglers that included Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) for the flat 10km run-in, he crossed the line in 12th place, conceding 1:28 to Pogačar and Mas, and 52 seconds to Roglič, Gall, and Carapaz.

“It was pretty hard. The gravel went on for longer than I thought it would. I probably just overcooked a little bit and paid the price towards the top I think,” Onley said.

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“I just took the descent at my own pace. To be honest, I didn’t want to be alone for the headwinds to the finish, so when I saw Skjelmose and Kuss’s group coming up to me I was quite relieved. I tried to pull with them and then I just started getting cramps, so I was pretty useless.”

Onley (right) crosses the line with Sepp Kuss (Image credit: Getty Images)

Having started the day fifth overall, Onley now drops to seventh, some 5:37 behind Pogačar but 2:03 behind the true reference point for the rest of the GC contenders which is the second place now occupied by Mas. Onley is 1:16 off the podium itself, with Roglič sitting in third place.

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Onley, 23 years old, retained the white jersey of best young rider by just three seconds as breakaway rider Rasmes Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) clung on to gain time, but the Belgian is not expected to mount a sustained GC bid.

Onley’s next closest rival for that white jersey, Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché) fared even worse on the stage, losing a further two minutes.

“He is a strong rider. But there’s still over two weeks to go, so I don’t think it’s going to be a matter of three seconds between any of us by the end,” Onley said of Debruyne.

“I think we’re the same age. I remember racing him as a junior. We were in the break together in the Dauphiné, I think he went second on the stage. I know he’s a strong rider, and the way he rode today is obviously impressive.”