Ineos Grenadiers’ new recruit Oscar Onley has confirmed his “main focus” of the season will again be the Tour de France in 2026.
The 23-year-old finished fourth at the Grand Tour last July representing Picnic PostNL, the team he turned pro with in 2023, but broke his contract to join Ineos Grenadiers at the start of this year.
“It’s no secret that the Tour’s the main focus for the year for myself and for the team,” Onley said. “I think we have a really strong line-up there, and quite a few different and exciting goals going into it as well.
“We’ll start here in Algarve, then onto Paris-Nice after that, then hopefully [the Volta a] Catalunya, which is quite a short turnaround after Paris-Nice. It’s a race, again, I really enjoy doing. It’s in the area where I live as well, so I know quite a few of the roads, and then from there, the build-up really starts for the Tour.”
In an interview with the BBC last month, Onley said he feels “very far away” from competing for the yellow jersey at the moment.
“To the front two [Pogačar and Vingegaard], there is a big gap from the rest of us, but I definitely feel that, in the next couple of years, a podium finish is definitely possible if things go the right way for me,” he said.
Onley joined his Ineos Grenadiers team-mates for the first time on a team camp in Tenerife a few weeks ago. “I’ve been feeling quite good since then,” he said on Tuesday.
“I’m looking forward to getting stuck into some racing this week. The main focus is really learning how the team works. I’m still learning where all the drawers are on the bus. I think, from a performance side, I don’t feel any pressure to perform straightaway.”
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