Oscar Onley ‘pretty disappointed’ on final day but takes positives from Tour Down Under

The day after winning his first WorldTour race, Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL) was brought back down to earth on Sunday when he struggled to follow the race-winning move at the Santos Tour Down Under and saw his overall hopes ride away from him.

Winner on stage 5, Onley started the final stage level on time with Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) and knew the GC lead was within reach, but lost contact in a decisive moment on Mount Lofty, and couldn’t find his way back into the action.

“Del Toro attacked first, and then the guys that went with him were on his wheel and I just couldn’t follow his wheel,” Onley said after the stage. “Then the other guys in my group tried to make me do the work, which I get, but I was just empty, I couldn’t really do anything.”

After such a high on stage 5, outsprinting some of the biggest names in the race, Onley had little explanation as to why his legs weren’t there on Mount Lofty, but the effects of a difficult day in the Adelaide Hills clearly showed for the young rider.

“Maybe I just wasn’t on my best day, I don’t know to be honest, I just couldn’t follow. [The climb] was probably a little bit too short and wasn’t really steep enough.”

“It was pretty hard,” he said of the stage. “It took a while for the break to go and then it was just kind of on all day. It was pretty hectic in these laps as well with the descent, and the roads were always twisty, it was on the pedals all day.”

Showing fatigue on the final, tough day of a WorldTour stage race, in which you took a stage victory, is hardly a poor result for a 21-year-old, but it’s not always easy for riders to put that into perspective so quickly.

“In a few hours I’ll be happy with it, but for now it’s pretty disappointing,” Onley admitted. “But I think when I look back over this week I’ll be happy. I’ve taken a big step I guess.”

Read more: 'I want to go for those podiums and wins' says Oscar Onley

As well as taking the positives from his stage 5 win, the stage 6 disappointment may be just as important for Onley, with plenty of lessons to be learnt from a bad day, just as much as a good one.

“I’ll go over the race today and see what I could have done better, and in the week in general there’s things I can take away,” he said.

Though the initial disappointment may take a few hours or days to wear off, Onley has set himself up for a strong year, and is already looking forward to his next opportunities.

“I’ve got some more exciting races coming up that maybe can suit me better, so I’ll focus on them.”

For more about the 2024 men's Santos Tour Down Under, including the route, startlist and final standings, visit our dedicated race hub.