Patient and measured effort as Oscar Onley and Team Picnic PostNL climb to stage victory at Tour de Suisse
Team Picnic PostNL secured a brilliant win on Thursday afternoon, where a good team ride set-up Oscar Onley who rode a patient and measured climb in the finale, powering to stage victory at Tour de Suisse.
After strong performances in the previous days with third and then second stage places, Team Picnic PostNL set their sights one place higher for stage five of Tour de Suisse. Helping to control a strong breakaway up the road, the team ensured GC finisher Onley was well positioned for the first passage of the finish climb. On that ascent, Onley rode within himself and made sure to crest within the group but not go over the limit. More riders came back on the valley road that followed which then set up a final showdown on the last climb. Biding his time, Onley seized his moment around halfway up and went clear solo at the head of the race. A strong Almeida bridged to him, and the duo worked well all the way to the finish; both looking to put as much time into the others as possible. With something left in the tank, Onley came off of Almeida’s wheel with 150 metres to go and kicked hard, with a punchy uphill sprint that just held off his charging opponent come the line. After catching his breath, Onley could celebrate a great win for the team after a strong ride by everyone involved; as Team Picnic PostNL and he move up on the GC ahead of the final three stages.
A delighted Onley expressed: “I knew I was in good shape and feeling good this week, but obviously with someone like Almeida who’s shown how strong he is already this week; then we knew it would be tough. Also, with a strong break up front there was a chance that the win might not have came from the bunch in the end. I felt good all day and just gave it a go on the last climb. I don’t win often and had quite a few podiums or close results this year, so to pull it off today is really nice for myself and also for the team, and my teammates too. They do a really good job every day, and today was no different so it’s nice to be able to pay them back. I was quite disappointed after that first stage to lose time on the GC. Warren and the coaching staff on the team were really supportive of me though, and said how long and hard the week is, and that we could try and get back into it come the weekend. We’re just trying to chip away at it each day.”
Team Picnic PostNL coach Pim Ligthart added: “That was a really nice win today. Like every stage so far the guys were really committed to our goals and to each other, and showed some good teamwork, keeping Oscar safe and protected ahead of the second last climb. Oscar was patient today and didn’t spend any extra energy that he didn’t need to before the last time up the climb. On the ascent, he rode it really smart too and it paid off. It’s a well deserved win for him but also the whole team. It’s been a really nice week here so far, and we’ve rode well each day as a team, so we’ll look to keep that momentum up for the rest of the race.”
Stage 5
1 ONLEY Oscar Team Picnic PostNL 4:33:28 –
2 ALMEIDA João UAE Team Emirates – XRG ,, –
3 GALL Felix Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team 0:2 –
GC
- Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa – B&B Hotels) – 20:12:10
- Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 20:12:39
- João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) – 20:12:49
