[the_ad id="5357"]
[ad_1]
Dutch WorldTour squad Team DSM have added eight neo-pros for the 2023 season, their focus on youth and developing talent seemingly stronger than ever.
Over half of the squad is now at the age of 23 or younger, with several gems nestled among their rank beyond the star veterans, Romain Bardet and John Degenkolb. Among them is Scottish 20-year-old Oscar Onley.
The youngster from Kelso in the Scottish Borders has already captured the attention of cycling fans before even making the full-time step up to the WorldTour. Last season we saw him fight for the GC at the CRO Race, battling with Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard on the uphill finishes and eventually taking third place.
Beyond that, Onley won a stage and the points jersey at the Giro della Valle d’Aosta last July and has come up through the AG2R Citroën and DSM development systems.
He’ll make his 2022 season debut next week in Portugal, taking on the Figueira Champions Classic (February 12) and the Volta ao Algarve (February 15-19). Cyclingnews caught up with him recently to hear all about his development, his breakthrough, and his future plans.
Cyclingnews: How did you get started in cycling?
Oscar Onley: So I started when I was 10 years old. The local club had a time trial that started almost outside my house. I started there with the 10-mile time trial and I always watched the Tour de France on TV every year. I think my first kind of memories are from 2010 with the battle between Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck. That’s what inspired me to start cycling, I guess.
Then I progressed from there, from time trials to youth races in Scotland and then around Britain, and then as a junior going across to France and Belgium. As a first-year junior, I was with Spokes. What they’re doing in Scotland – it’s not easy with the amount of money it costs coming from Scotland to Europe all the time – but they set up a really nice team and they’ve progressed a lot of riders onto different teams throughout the years.
So a big credit to them as well as AG2R. I think I was really fortunate with the teams I was on as a junior.
CN: Were Contador and Schleck the riders you looked up to growing up?
OO: I’d say the first rider I looked up to was Andy Schleck with those battles with him and Contador. My mum was always more of a fan of Contador, so I think maybe naturally I went towards Schleck more. But they were kind of the first memories I had of the sport and in the first few years he and Contador were the first…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…
[ad_2]