Oscar Onley (21) took his first professional win at the Tour Down Under on Saturday. The young British rider from DSM-Firmenich PostNL was the best in the queen stage with the traditional arrival on Willunga Hill, after a sprint with the favourites. His compatriot Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) finished second, but is the new leader down-under.
With the stage at Willunga Hill, the Tour Down Under had its queen stage on Saturday. The slope has been a sharp judge in the Australian season opener for years, Richie Porte once won it for six consecutive years.
In the final, the group had to fight twice at 7.5% against the infamous 3.4 kilometer pimple. The first pass led to a notable thinning out, and in the second the favorites immediately threw their trump cards on the table.
Simon Yates was the first to shake the tree vigorously. The former Vuelta winner put the very young leader Isaac Del Toro in difficulty and created a leading group of eight riders.
About 500 meters from the finish line, Julian Alaphilippe thought his moment had come. The French spring flew away with the speed of light, but just as quickly stopped again. The young Oscar Onley managed to quickly catch up with Alaphilippe and sprinted with authority towards his first professional victory, ahead of Stephen Williams and Jhonatan Narvaez.
With an uphill stage remaining until Mount Lofty, Williams are the new overall leader. Soloy is second with the same time, Narvaez and Del Toro third and fourth just 5 seconds apart.
2024-01-20 07:26:00
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