Onley enters the Tour de France’s final mountain stage as a red rag for Red 'Bulls' Lipowitz and Roglic

Primoz Roglic went on the offensive early in the day but eventually drifted back into the peloton. Meanwhile, Lipowitz did everything he could to follow Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard on the Madeleine, but he ended up isolated and burned through a lot of energy. Onley, on the other hand, could rely on a few teammates in the valley, while Lipowitz was left to fend for himself.

“The stage was super tough,” said the German. “I felt pretty good, and when I joined the group with Jonas and Tadej, they were watching each other. I tried to ride my own pace, but on the final climb I ran out of gas. Onley and Tobias Johannessen were strong. Tomorrow is another day. I hope I recover well, and then we go again.”

Lipowitz isn’t blaming himself. “I gave everything today, so I don’t think I could have done anything differently. We’ll see tomorrow,” said the white jersey holder. “Primoz also showed that he’s strong. We’ll make a plan for tomorrow and see what happens.” Onley is now just 22 seconds behind Lipowitz, while Roglic remains about one and a half minutes further back.

Onley managed to stay with Pogacar and Vingegaard for a long time on La Loze, gaining significant time on his direct rivals. But it came at a cost, he had to go deep. “I just gave everything today. The Col de la Madeleine was really tough. I felt good, but I’m simply not at the level of those guys when they go full gas.”

“You could see that at the end of the stage as well. The team did an amazing job bringing me back before the final climb. From there, it was just fighting and giving everything until the line. The gap to the podium is small now, so tomorrow we’ll do everything we can to close it,” said Onley.

Coach Matt Winston added: “I’m really proud of how the guys rode today. It was an incredibly tough stage. Oscar couldn’t follow the accelerations on the Madeleine and had to find his own rhythm. He was with a few riders, but they weren’t cooperating. So, after the descent, we decided to wait for Frank van den Broek and Warren Barguil, who brought him back to the favorites’ group in impressive fashion.”

“That allowed us to position him perfectly for the final climb, where everything could be decided. Oscar managed his nutrition really well today, which allowed him to empty the tank on that last climb. A fantastic performance with a fourth place as a result, and now just 22 seconds from the podium. We, as a team, can be extremely proud of that. Tomorrow we’ll do everything we can to move up another spot,” said Onley’s coach.