The podium announcer raises his voice as he reads out Oscar Onley’s name before stage two of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men. The Picnic PostNL rider smiles and waves, and in front of him, the crowds roar back. It’s the loudest noise they’ve made all morning in Stowmarket, pitched under the rain beside the town’s cinema. The reception, Onley knows, is likely to become more regular for him.
After his performance at the Tour de France this July, where he finished fourth as the best-placed Brit, often holding pace with Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, the 22-year-old has noticed his celebrity grow. No longer is he just a promising young climber, now he’s a bonafide GC contender.
“I kind of realised what I did only a few weeks ago, really,” he tells Cycling Weekly. “I was just out training and realised. I’m really satisfied with how the Tour went. It was beyond anything I expected, so I’ve got to be happy with how it went.”
The Scot's life since has been “pretty normal”, he says. One of the big differences he’s noticed, though, is that he’s getting stopped more in the street by cycling fans.
“It’s definitely more interesting,” he smiles. “A lot more people recognise me now, just out and about, when I’m in Girona or Andorra. Obviously they’re quite big cycling areas, but it’s been nice and something I didn’t really expect to happen.
“When I was in the Tour, I was kind of in that bubble in there. You don’t really appreciate everyone watching and how much attention the race gets.”
As he warmed down after stage one of the Tour of Britain in Southwold, two children in yellow Tour de France jerseys nervously approached Onley to say hello. Recently, he recalls, a fan recognised him outside an ice cream parlour. “That was one of the more awkward photos,” he laughs, “when I was standing there with three scoops of ice cream.”
This week’s Tour of Britain is a form builder for Onley, who will race for Great Britain at the UCI World Championships in Rwanda at the end of this month.
Runner-up at the stage race last year, he’s hoping to be “up there” in the general classification this time round, too.
“I just want to go out there, have fun, and try and race aggressively when I can,” he says. “Obviously, in the Tour [de France] you’re not really in control of what happens during the stages. I’d like to come here this week and be a little bit more in control, and be able to be more of an animator in the race.”
The six-day Tour of Britain will conclude on Sunday in Cardiff. The race is available to watch for free in the UK on ITV4, ITVX and YouTube. It is also being broadcast on TNT Sports.
