Oscar Onley wins Vuelta a España white jersey after difficult three weeks

Despite the wealth of young talent on the start list, the battle for the white jersey at the Vuelta a España never really developed into a genuine contest. As a result, Oscar Onley is set to leave Granada on Sunday as a somewhat understated winner of the young rider classification. The Netcompany INEOS leader encountered too many setbacks during this Vuelta to achieve his bigger objective, and after Stage 20 he sits sixth in the overall standings.

Onley started the Vuelta a España with a podium finish as his main target. The young Scot had finished fourth in the Tour de France a year earlier while riding for Picnic PostNL, giving him every reason to arrive in Spain with serious ambitions. However, after a disappointing opening time trial, things did not go according to plan during the first week, with illness also affecting his performances.

Onley managed to limit his losses to his rivals and then showed signs of recovery on Stage 9 — one day after Tadej Pogačar abandoned the race — when he reached the finish alongside Enric Mas. It looked as though a new battle was beginning, but a crash during the second week set Onley back once again. The Brit was forced to focus on limiting his losses, leaving him with little opportunity to race aggressively.

Things improved again during the third week and, following a strong time trial on Stage 18, Onley appeared to have reason to dream of moving further up the general classification. On Stage 20, however, he could not stay with the very best when the race exploded early. “Everyone expected Carapaz to go. Sepp [Kuss] went first, and Carapaz jumped across. I followed the others, but I just missed ten metres.” That small separation proved decisive as the leading GC riders continued to push on.

That turned out to be a costly gap, because while the rest of the field didn’t slow down, Onley found himself in a chase. “I waited for the group behind me because the gap was quickly getting bigger,” he said in the flash interview. “We had a strong team today, with almost everyone up front, so we were able to link up. They rode really hard, and I have to thank them for the entire race.”

“They were amazing,” said Onley, who, with the white jersey, has something tangible to show for a difficult and somewhat anonymous Vuelta. “The team’s support during the stages was truly incredible.”