Picnic PostNL stays focused with Onley: “Whatever happens, we've already had a great Tour"

Onley moved up to fourth place in the GC after the third consecutive stage in the Pyrenees. “It was another tough day. The breakaway didn't happen until the Tourmalet, and then UAE set a strong pace all day. On the final climb, Adam Yates rode at a good pace – I hoped he could keep it up for as long as possible. When Jonas Vingegaard attacked, it was just full throttle to the finish. I did what I could.”

The Scot is taking it one day at a time. “It’s one more stage down and one more day closer to Paris, but it’s still a long way to go and we still have some pretty tough climbs to cover in the Alps next week. I’m continuing to surprise myself. We didn’t really come here with any big GC ambitions pre-race, and today was probably the biggest test of my long-climbing abilities in my career so far. It’s nice to be in fourth and gain some time on a few guys, but it’s a long way to go and a lot can change next week.”

Coach Matt Winston is also proud. "Our sprint group did really well in the flatter start to keep an overview and things under control, and then when we hit the Tourmalet the peloton exploded. Frank and Warren rode really well today and could support Oscar all the way until the final climb which was great. Then in the final it was all about Oscar trying to do his own race and giving everything he had to the finish, and it was great to see him hang on for sixth on the day, which sees us move up to fourth on GC."

After 14 days of the Tour, Winston assesses his team leader's performance. "So far Oscar’s gone 100 percent in every stage, so his fatigue level can go up next week, which can and should be expected and whatever happens going forward we’ve had a really nice Tour de France. He is still riding only his second Tour de France so we are still seeing him develop as a rider."

“Actually with the six guys that have came from our Development program into the Tour – it is all about keeping that progression going, now that they are at the highest level,” he says proudly. “With Oscar doing what he has done so far in the Tour, and with Pavel and Tobi performing in the sprints: you can really see that they are coming to that last level of their development at the top level of the sport.”