Race Win at Tour de Suisse: Oscar Onley Edges Out João Almeida on Summit Stage 5 at Calanca Peak
Contesting the toughest stage of the Tour de Suisse, Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), against all odds, emerges victorious in a nail-biting finish over leading favorite João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG). The gutsy performance propels Onley to a second career victory, leaving Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) atop the overall standings, displacing fellow compatriot Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ).
This breath-taking day of racing, which included two ascents of the Cat.1 Castaneda with a summit finish at Santa Maria in Calanca, saw Onley outsprinting Almeida for the stage win, with a bronze finish for Félix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R). The third-place podium slot saw Gall 15 seconds behind Onley, while Vauquelin trailed 40 seconds behind the winner.
As the overall fight intensifies, the race comes down to Sunday's final time trial, with Almeida lurking dangerously as the main threat, while Vauquelin grapples with the leader's yellow jersey for now.
After a trying day for Onley, he admitted, "I didn't exactly know I could win the stage at the start, but I knew I was in good shape, and I was feeling good this week. Today was no different, so it's nice to be able to pay back my teammates."
With Almeida missing out on the win, he maintained his spot as the most significant beneficiary of the day. Onley's win moved him up to fourth overall, 1:21 down on Vauquelin.
Memorial for Gino Mäder marked a somber start to the day in La Punt, symbolizing the tragic accident on the Albulapass two years earlier that took the life of the racer[1]. New memorials were unveiled in his honor on the climb.
The quintet of Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Javier Romo, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) headed the race following a very aggressive start, having earned their ticket over the top of the first of four cat.1 climbs, the Julienpass[1].
Despite the efforts from UAE, who were intent on keeping the other GC contenders on their toes, the five-man breakaway maintained their lead from the start to the end of the stage, resulting in a busy day for the chase group[1].
Race-leading Romain Grégoire struggled to keep pace, eventually finishing over six minutes behind Onley. Alaphilippe moved up to second overall, 29 seconds down, while Vauquelin, who captured the race lead, sat comfortably with a 29-second advantage over Alaphilippe[1]. Oscar Onley, with his gutsy performance, firmly establishes himself in the race, holding a 1:21 deficit.
References:1. Wikipedia. (2022, June 9). Oscar Onley. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Onley2. CyclingTips. (2022, June 9). Onley attacks with 3km to go, surges to Tour de Suisse stage win. https://cyclingtips.com/2022/06/onley-attacks-with-3km-to-go-surges-to-tour-de-suisse-stage-win/3. Procyclingstats. (2022, June 9). Tour de Suisse Stage 5 Highlights. https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-suisse/2022/stage-54. Cyclingnews. (2022, June 9). Onley wins Tour de Suisse stage 5, Vauquelin takes race lead. https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-suisse/2022/stage-5/results/
Sports of cycling, particularly the Tour de Suisse, witnessed a thrilling day filled with grueling climbs, where Oscar Onley emerged victorious in a fiercely contested stage. With a nail-biting sprint finish against João Almeida, Onley claimed his second career victory, moving up to fourth overall, 1:21 down on Kévin Vauquelin who assumed the race lead.
