Oscar Onley

Onley was born in London, England but grew up in Kelso in the Scottish Borders.^[4] He attended Longridge Towers School and Kelso High School.^[5]

He started cycling at the age of ten and joined his local club, the Kelso Wheelers.^[6] However, his preferred sport as a child was cross-country running.^[7] He began to take cycling more seriously after turning 18 and joining the junior ranks; Onley has stated that he simply preferred the training for cycling compared to running.^[8]

In 2019, Onley started a two-year stint with the Van Rysel-AG2R La Mondiale development team, though his 2020 season was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.^[8] He then signed with Development Team DSM for the start of 2021.^[9] Though he did not achieve any significant results in his initial season with the squad, his 2022 season was very strong. This included a stand-out performance at the CRO Race, where he closely competed with that year's Tour de France winner, Jonas Vingegaard, on a number of stages. He ultimately finished third overall in the General Classification and won the Young Rider Classification.^[10] Onley was supported by the Rayner Foundation in 2021 and 2022, during his time with Development Team DSM.^[11]

After spending two seasons with the development squad, he joined UCI WorldTeam Team Picnic–PostNL in 2023, having signed a five-year contract with the team in late 2022.^[12] In 2023, he competed in his first Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España, where he was part of the winning team on the Stage One team time trial.^[13] Onley abandoned the race during the following stage after sustaining a broken collarbone in a crash in wet conditions.^[14]

The following January, Onley took his first individual professional win in an uphill finish on Stage Five of the 2024 Tour Down Under, ultimately finishing fourth overall.^[15]

Onley competed in the 2024 Tour de France, his second Grand Tour.^[5] On Stage 17, he was involved in the day's breakaway and finished fifth on the stage.^[16] He also managed to be in the breakaway on the following stage, and was part of the nine-man group that first reached the foot of the Col de la Bonette, but was unable to stay with the leading riders during the ascent.^[17] Onley finished 39th overall in the General Classification and 10th in the Young Rider Classification.^[18]

In September he raced in the Tour of Britain, the first stage of which started and finished in his hometown, Kelso.^[19] He finished the Tour second overall and won the Youth Classification, which he had been leading since Stage Two.^[20][21]

On 17 September 2024 it was announced that Onley would represent Great Britain in the elite men's road race at the 2024 UCI Road World Championships in Zurich.^[22][23] He finished in 16th place with a time of 6:31:22, 3 minutes and 52 seconds behind winner Tadej Pogačar, making him the highest-placed British rider.^[24]

On 27 July 2025, Onley placed fourth in the 2025 Tour de France, finishing 12 minutes and 12 seconds^[25] behind the winner Tadej Pogačar.

In December 2025, Onley signed for Netcompany INEOS from the beginning of the 2026 season, after agreeing a transfer from Team Picnic–PostNL.^[26]