Onley aims for the top: malaise overcome

It's been a tough season so far for Oscar Onley at Netcompany Ineos, and the first stages of the Vuelta a España have been no exception. But the good news for those who line him up on their fantasy cycling teams is that the worst seems to be behind them: the Scotsman has found his form just when he needed it.

On the eve of stage 4, Onley had a difficult night due to intestinal problems, but despite everything, he managed to finish fourth in the toughest stage so far, the Andean stage. This result allowed him to slip only momentarily in the general classification, settling into fifth place, 3:45 behind leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), but only 13 seconds behind third-place Enric Mas (Movistar) and 24 seconds behind second-place Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). To complete the picture, the Briton also took the young rider's jersey: a detail that in fantasy cycling's eyes is worth significant extra points.

The position remained unchanged even after stage 5, which ended with a bunch sprint won by Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike). But the most interesting news for those following Onley closely is that the twenty-three-year-old appears to be making significant physical improvements.

“I’m pretty much back to normal, I think,” Onley said after Stage 5. “I feel good on the bike, and clearly yesterday I looked like I had pretty good legs, so yeah, I’m still in good shape, I think.”

But be warned: it wasn't a trivial stage, despite the sprint finish. Three first-category categorized climbs and a third-category climb just 5 km from the finish, all compounded by crosswinds, made the day anything but easy for the teams to manage.

"We told ourselves before the start that, with the wind and the climbs in the finale, we had to stay fully focused. And once again, the guys did a perfect job in every section where we needed to be ahead, and we were. Ben Turner and Josh Tarling in particular pushed really hard today, so it was a really positive day," Onley said after comfortably passing through the group.

"The first goal was to protect myself, and then after the last climb we would evaluate the situation."

With the group heading towards the sprint and Axel Laurance well placed, the Frenchman also tried to play his cards for the stage victory, but found himself forced to chase alone in the final kilometers.

"He did really well considering he was alone for the last 5km," Onley commented about his teammate, who finished in fifth place: a placing that, for those who have him in their squad, could bring some interesting bonus points.