Tour de France 2025: Oscar Onley – the ‘introverted extrovert’ riding high

Those who follow cycling closely will know of Onley’s steady progress since taking to the senior ranks in 2023 with his Dutch team.

But his journey started in the Scottish Borders, when local club Kelso Wheelers’ time trial route passed right by his front door and he got involved.

Onley juggled lots of sports as a kid, particularly cross-country running, before committing to the bike.

He described himself as “never the best” as a youngster, but as he grew physically his results picked up.

His big breakthrough came at the Tour Down Under in 2024 when he won on the finish up Willunga Hill for his first professional victory.

The Scot then managed second at the Tour of Britain.

Amid all that he had to deal with two broken collarbones due to crashes.

This year he has bounced back, and last month climbed on to the podium at the Tour de Suisse, winning stage five in the process.

Forged in the rolling hills of the south of Scotland, Onley is most at home when the road gradient makes the legs strain and is based in the high mountains of Andorra.

On the big behemoth mountain ranges, the Alps and Pyrenees, he has announced himself to a wider audience with a memorable Tour de France performance.