Ineos Grenadiers’ new recruit Oscar Onley has confirmed his “main focus” of the season will again be the Tour de France in 2026.
The 23-year-old finished fourth at the Grand Tour last July representing Picnic PostNL, the team he turned pro with in 2023, but broke his contract to join Ineos Grenadiers at the start of this year.
Ahead of his season debut at the Volta ao Algarve on Wednesday, Ineos Grenadiers shared an interview with Onley to the media, in which he outlined his upcoming race calendar.
“It’s no secret that the Tour’s the main focus for the year for myself and for the team,” Onley said. “I think we have a really strong line-up there, and quite a few different and exciting goals going into it as well.
“We’ll start here in Algarve, then onto Paris-Nice after that, then hopefully [the Volta a] Catalunya, which is quite a short turnaround after Paris-Nice. It’s a race, again, I really enjoy doing. It’s in the area where I live as well, so I know quite a few of the roads, and then from there, the build-up really starts for the Tour.”
Ineos Grenadiers' signing of Onley pointed to a bid to restore their previous Grand Tour success. The team, formerly known as Team Sky, won seven out of eight Tours between 2012 and 2019, thanks to Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal. The last five editions have been shared between Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
In an interview with the BBC last month, Onley said he feels “very far away” from competing for the yellow jersey at the moment.
"To the front two [Pogačar and Vingegaard], there is a big gap from the rest of us, but I definitely feel that, in the next couple of years, a podium finish is definitely possible if things go the right way for me,” he said.
"And there's also two other Grand Tours in Italy and Spain where sometimes the competition's slightly less deep. If it goes the right way, then why can't I try to win one of those?"
Onley joined his Ineos Grenadiers team-mates for the first time on a team camp in Tenerife a few weeks ago. “I’ve been feeling quite good since then,” he said on Tuesday.
“I’m looking forward to getting stuck into some racing this week. The main focus is really learning how the team works. I’m still learning where all the drawers are on the bus. I think, from a performance side, I don’t feel any pressure to perform straightaway.”
The five-day Volta ao Algarve begins on Wednesday and runs until Sunday.
