The last mountain test of the Tour de France saw the peloton tackle an abridged 93 kilometre route starting from Albertville and finishing atop La Plagne. With 3300 metres of climbing packed into the stage, it was sure to be a tough day of racing. Due to the shorter nature of the stage, the action and pace was on once the early intermediate sprint point had been passed.
Attacks flew from the front of the peloton and a strong group that featured fifth-on-GC Roglic went clear. Team Picnic PostNL remained calm and rallied around Oscar Onley in the yellow jersey bunch, which pegged the gap to the leaders at one minute. Over the first few climbs a long descent and valley road followed, where Roglic was reeled in by the base of La Plagne.
Frank van den Broek did an incredible job of supporting Onley in the now leading peloton of around 15 riders, coming back to help pace once Pogacar attacked. That strong pull saw Onley return to the race leader as the kilometres ticked down. With around six kilometres to go Pogacar attacked once more and alongside Vingegaard and Lipwitz, Onley was able to follow – with the first four on GC riding together. Coming into the finale the screw was turned once more and despite an incredibly brave and resilient effort, Onley had to let go of the wheels and ride at his own tempo.
Pushing all the way to the finish on La Plagne, he crossed the line in a great fifth place. That result puts Onley and Team Picnic PostNL in fourth place on GC heading into the weekend’s two final stages; far exceeding pre-race expectations from many – on what has been an exceptional race for the whole team.
