Oscar Onley’s rapid learning curve
Onley started cycling at 10 years old after becoming interested in the sport when his mum watched the Tour de France on TV every year, he told Cycling Weekly in 2023. First memories are of the 2010 race, in which Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck went head-to-head in an absorbing battle.
Onley quickly joined a club, but it was cross-country running that was his passion. A simple realisation that cycling training was more enjoyable than running set him on his current two-wheeled path.
Continually learning about himself, what drives him, what motivates him, enables a quick progression in a sport of high demands.
In an even more nuanced understanding of what exactly he enjoys about the hard work necessary to reach the upper echelons of his chosen sport, Onley revealed:
“I just really enjoy the process of training, sometimes even more than racing. Having a clear plan and seeing the progression through the weeks, that’s something I’m quite interested in. It’s not so much the numbers, just that feeling in the legs after getting in from a hard session, that’s what I enjoy.”
Learning to trust those around him, trust the process as athletes are so fond of saying, has been imperative, too.
“You need to have a lot of trust in (your coaches) – because when they’re sending you out to do five hours in the rain, you have to have faith that it’s going to make you better,” he acknowledged.
Enjoying those fleeting special moments of success is also key to the whole package of being a successful racer with Onley playfully captioning a photo on Instagram of him straining with exertion to beat UAE Team Emirates XRG’s Joao Almeida at the Tour de Suisse in June:
“Celebration needs some work 🫣.”
A more reflective comment followed:
“Stoked to get the win today after so much investment from everyone @teampicnicpostnl recently 🙏 and a nice cup of confidence for myself 📈”
And the hardest thing that Onley has found so far?
Putting into words his appreciation of the support team vital for a successful rider.
“I’m not the best with words” stated Onley on a video posted by Team Picnic PostNL, “but I’ll give it a go”.
“You guys have helped me throughout the race in more ways than one. A word on the radio, a bottle at the right time, pulling in the wind every day, and a little push when it mattered most. Keeping the morale high throughout the three weeks has also been really important, and you guys have been really good at that. You didn’t just get me through these stages, you carried me through them.
“People are going to see my name on the results. But this this isn’t my tour. This is our tour.”
All the elements then, for a career filled with success for the young rider, with the biggest lesson of all front and centre in his mind:
“I was never the best rider [as a junior], I just enjoyed cycling, so I kept striving. When you enjoy it, that’s where the progress comes from. It’s too hard a sport to do if you’re not enjoying it!”