Oscar Onley unexpectedly takes the White Jersey at the Vuelta a España: ‘Spent the whole night in the bathroom‘

Behind Tadej Pogačar, the battle for second place in the Vuelta a España was already in full swing on Stage 4. Felix Gall, Primoz Roglic, Enric Mas, and Oscar Onley broke away on the day’s toughest climb, with Onley managing to gain a few seconds on the ascent and ultimately claiming the white jersey. He admitted that was a big surprise.

Netcompany INEOS rode conservatively, and there was a clear reason for that. “Before the stage, I half expected to lose my overall classification standing entirely, so it was nice to be able to compete in the group behind Tadej,” said Onley.

"I actually got sick late last night and spent the whole night in the bathroom," the Scot admitted. "I'm relieved. I actually felt pretty okay. I surprised myself a little. Luckily, I was able to eat this morning and had a normal meal last night too, so I don't think it's such a big deal."

Onley is now in fifth place, 24 seconds behind second-place Roglic. “Of course, I was a bit behind after the time trial. When I looked at the stages, I had circled this one as an important day for general classification contenders of a similar level. With the descent and the short climbs, I actually expected it to turn out this way, with a small group crossing the finish line.”

"So far, so good. The white jersey matches the shorts, which is always nice," jokes the Netcompany INEOS rider once again. "It's a great goal. Given my ambitions, I hope the white jersey will be a nice bonus. Jarno Widar is, of course, very strong. That final sprint he had... The upcoming stages will be pretty tough, so it’s certainly not over yet,” Onley concludes.