Oscar Onley's start to his time at Ineos Grenadiers has hit another setback as the Briton was forced out of the Tour de Romandie on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old left the race on stage 1, won by Tadej Pogačar, after suffering from a stomach bug. He had finished 79th in the opening prologue and took to Instagram to explain his withdrawal from the Swiss race.
"Gutted to leave the Tour de Romandie after some kind of stomach bug the last few days," Onley wrote.
"Been a tough start to the season to be honest and hard not to feel like I've let a lot of people down after all the time and investment from everyone at Ineos Grenadiers.
"Looking ahead to the next goals and get back amongst it soon."
Onley, who finished fourth at last year's Tour de France, was a headline signing for Ineos over the winter as he joined Kévin Vauquelin on the incoming list.
He started his 2026 season brightly at the Volta ao Algarve, finishing fourth overall with a second place on the final day.
Last month, he was part of the Ineos squad which raced to team time trial victory at Paris-Nice, though an illness forced him out of the race when he was lying 10th overall after stage 5.
More recently, he made a comeback at the Volta a Catalunya, finishing 12th in Barcelona, before heading to Romandie this week.
Onley is next set to compete for the new-look Netcompany-Ineos squad at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in June as he builds up to another Tour de France bid in July.
Ineos will now look to Spaniard Carlos Rodríguez for a result in Romandie. The 25-year-old lies eighth overall, 41 seconds down on race leader Pogačar, heading into Thursday's second stage.
Despite Onley's recent struggles, his Ineos team have enjoyed a positive start to the season, racking up 17 wins to date with eight riders. Another new signing, French champion Dorian Godon, leads the way with four victories, including at the Tour de Romandie prologue.
The team will soon head to the first Grand Tour of the year, the Giro d'Italia, their first race under their new identity, with Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman spearheading the charge in Italy.
