The Flying Scotsmen – Oscar Onley and Sean Flynn take on Tour de France

A relatively low in population nation that begins with S, is famous for its lakes, old castles and mountainous hiking routes, where in the winter you might often find people skiing, and which has a number of riders on the start list for the Tour de France that you can count on one hand. No, this isn’t Slovenia we’re talking about, it’s Scotland. And for future reference, they’re called lochs.

Sean Flynn and Oscar Onley will be proudly representing not only Team Picnic PostNL on the roads of France this summer, but also their home nation of Scotland. Last year Oscar became the seventh Scottish rider to make an appearance at the race and while he returns for a second Tour this year, Sean makes his debut – becoming only the eighth male rider to do so.

Ahead of the start of the race in Lille, we caught up with the duo to find out what makes this race so special to them, their national pride, what makes each other tick, and what would make it a successful trip around France.

Summer holidays and TV viewing

Like a lot of young kids in the UK, and particularly those north of the border, their first time experiencing the sport was either by watching it on TV or by chance happening to be on holiday in France at the time. Oscar and Sean very much lived up to those stereotypes.

Casting his mind back to 2008 when he was just eight years old, Sean remembered being “more excited by the free stuff from the caravan” (stingy Scot stereotype, check) than the actual cycling he was witnessing. However, by the time 2012 race rolled around Sean was very much engrossed while on another holiday in France as he was “quite into cycling” by that point. Funnily enough, he recalls that he watched the finish into Boulougne-sur-Mer, where this year’s stage two finishes, although he jokes it probably won’t give him and the guys too much of an advantage.

Oscar took the other path into following the sport, instead first watching the coverage in 2010 where he can remember Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador battling it out in the mountains in their white and yellow jerseys.

More than a bike race

It becomes clear when speaking to them both that the Tour de France, is as Oscar puts it, “more than a bike race.”

Without many people back in Scotland following the whole calendar from Tour Down Under in January to the Tour of Guangxi in October, the Tour “transcends the sport of cycling” as Sean explains.

“When you meet people and you say that you’re a professional cyclist, the first thing they ask is – have you rode the Tour de France? Since the news came out about me riding, there of course have been friends and family who have messaged me, but also people that I’ve not spoken to in a long time saying how cool it is. I even had the headteacher from my old high school send me a message.”

Oscar further backs up that notion: “For these three weeks, the general public are a lot more aware of cycling, and it’s really a chance to showcase the sport and yourself at the highest level.”

Despite their own young ages, both hope to be a source of inspiration for the even-younger generation back home.

“When I was younger, and it was probably the same for Oscar, there was British success at the World Tour but still when we went to races in the UK, we felt a bit like outsiders as Scots. It was still a big thing for a Scottish rider to do well at a national race in Britain. So to make it to this level, then I hope that makes it a bit easier for people to believe in it, and chase that themselves,” expresses Sean.

Oscar concludes: “I think in sport in general, Scotland punches above its weight, and I guess for myself and Sean we also have the opportunity to inspire more young people to start cycling as well.”

Thankful for their roots – it’s just the start.

When posed the question of what it’s like to be only the seventh and eighth riders from their country to compete at the Tour, but to now be part of a surge in riders at different levels of the sport competing across Europe, both Sean and Oscar were quick to point to one beneficial influence at the start of it.

“I think Scottish Cycling played a big part in that. They were really fundamental for myself, and I guess also for Sean too, in the pathway that they provided when we were youth and junior riders,” says Oscar.

Sean agrees: “I think the support and organisation that they had was great. All of the initiatives they have in place and the effort they put into creating a development structure that really helps a lot too now in more guys coming through the ranks.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised in a few years if it’s not just two but three, or four, or five Scottish riders up there. I’m obviously biased but I think we carry ourselves in a certain sort of way and the values that we have, such as hard work, grit and determination, that helps us to do well.”

More Scots in the WorldTour, but also further afield too, wouldn’t surprise Oscar either: “I think in the next couple of years we’re going to see more and more riders, not just in road cycling but also on the track and mountain biking. I think we’re getting a bit of a snowball effect.”

Cool, calm and collected – most of the time

Depending on which website you read, Scottish stereotypes can depict the population as incredibly dull, quiet and reserved people; or as some “raging lunatics” who are always loud and up for anything. Like most things read online, the answer is somewhere often in the middle – and depends on the company, or who’s getting the fried mars bars in.

When asked about Oscar, Sean only spoke highly of his compatriot: “Oscar really brings that sense of focus and determination. I think that rubs off on everyone around him and brings them up. He’s maybe not the loudest voice and a bit shyer, but he lets his legs do the talking. His work ethic and drive are really inspiring so I try to implement that not only at races but also at home too. We all know how hard he works and that inspires us to go the extra mile to step up to that. It’s also nice to have another Scot around, you can relate to each other on various levels.”

Regarding Sean, Oscar said: “Off the bike, Sean is just a nice guy and is calm and relaxed; we get on well together. Then on the bike he can be quite the opposite and be aggressive and assertive when he needs to and do some of the dirty work that you need to do when you’re up in the mix – and that’s something really important. He’s a bit of an all-rounder too which is something quite invaluable. He’s also a proper team player and someone that works hard for the team and the leader in every race. It’s something I have a lot of admiration for, because he is often suffering incredibly hard without going for a result himself.”

It’s clear that the two get on well both on and off the bike, and a bit of that Scottish stubbornness goes a long way when having to do six-hour training rides in the rain. Funnily enough though, Oscar didn’t have anything about Sean that grinds his gears, but there was something the other way around…

“Sometimes he’s so good that he just finds things easy. At Tour de Suisse there was a day it was full gas from the start, but Oscar said to us at the finish ‘oh that was quite easy until the last climb’, and we all looked at each other having been on the limit since kilometre zero in the sprint group. Sometimes he doesn’t know his own strength, but then again, when he’s on your team and putting in those types of rides, then you can’t be annoyed at him for long.”

It takes Tour

Looking ahead to getting La Grande Boucle underway, the team comes in with confidence to go stage hunting in both the sprints and the more hilly and mountainous terrain, where Sean and Oscar both hope to play their part.

“From a team point of view, it would be great for us to get a stage win,” explains Sean. “I’d love to be able to do that either with the sprint guys in the lead-out or play my role getting the climbing group into the breaks on the tougher days. Looking back on the sprint win at the Vuelta, that was special, as I really felt like I played my part. Of course, if the opportunity arises in a break day to personally get a nice result too; that would be the cherry on the cake.”

“I think for myself, if I’ve raced to the best of my ability and showcased myself in the breaks or mountain stages, maybe I don’t come away with a result. But if I can say at the end of the three weeks that we did everything I could to get a result, then I will be happy with that,” concluded Oscar.

Final words of wisdom

We concluded our chat with the guys by asking them for any words of encouragement for their fellow countryman. Sticking much to the earlier outlined personality types of who is more the talker, Sean wanted to say this to Oscar.

“Try to stay calm, don’t stress too much because we’ll look out for you and we know how strong you are when we get to your terrain. So just trust us and follow. Let us do the work when it’s tough and stressful, then when the moment comes unleash the power you have. We know how hard you work, so whatever the result ends up being, there will be no one questioning you that you didn’t give it your all.”

Really nice and sweet, right? Clearly there’s a bit of some Edinburgh based flair there as the Border’s man said…

“Just keep riding mate.”