Borderers Oscar Onley and Callum Thornley win Scotland’s first Tour of Britain jerseys since 1990

Oscar Onley during stage two of this year’s Tour of Britain, from Darlington to Redcar, going up Saltburn Bank (Photo: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)Oscar Onley during stage two of this year’s Tour of Britain, from Darlington to Redcar, going up Saltburn Bank (Photo: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)
Oscar Onley during stage two of this year’s Tour of Britain, from Darlington to Redcar, going up Saltburn Bank (Photo: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)
​Borderers Oscar Onley and Callum Thornley won Scotland’s first Tour of Britain jerseys for 34 years ahead of the six-day event’s finale in Suffolk on Sunday.

Onley, with Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL, and Thornley, representing Trinity Racing, were the first Scottish cyclists to claim tour jerseys since Glasgow’s Philippa York, alias Robert Millar, back in 1990.

Slovenia’s Matevz Govekar won the last stage of the tour, from Lowestoft to Felixstowe, in 3:22:18 and Aberystwyth’s Stephen Williams claimed overall general classification victory.

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Kelso’s Onley, 21, was runner-up in the general classification standings, Scotland’s best performance in the tour since York’s second place in 1990.

Oscar Onley during stage six of the 2024 Tour of Britain, from Lowestoft to Felixstowe, going through Wickham Market (Photo: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)Oscar Onley during stage six of the 2024 Tour of Britain, from Lowestoft to Felixstowe, going through Wickham Market (Photo: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)
Oscar Onley during stage six of the 2024 Tour of Britain, from Lowestoft to Felixstowe, going through Wickham Market (Photo: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

He also secured the tour’s white jersey for best young rider, with the jersey for king of the mountains going to Thornley, also 21, of Peebles.

Stage six of 2024’s tour – launched with a 113-mile circular stage starting and finishing in Kelso on Tuesday, September 3 – saw the remaining 99 riders of the peloton go 98 miles through Suffolk, with Denmark’s Rasmus Pederson finishing second to Govekar, 24, and South Yorkshire’s Ben Swift third.

Edinburgh’s Sean Flynn was tenth over the concluding stage and also ended up tenth on the general classification leaderboard.

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Onley was gratified to get to within 16 seconds of Williams’ overall winning time of 21:25:14, saying: “It’s been a fun week of racing.

Callum Thornley during stage three of the 2024 Tour of Britain, from Sheffield to Barnsley (Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)Callum Thornley during stage three of the 2024 Tour of Britain, from Sheffield to Barnsley (Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)
Callum Thornley during stage three of the 2024 Tour of Britain, from Sheffield to Barnsley (Picture by Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com)

“I didn’t really know what to expect coming into the race. It’s not really a parcours that suits me that well.

“There were plenty of opportunities to race and we really tried that on most of the days, and I’m quite happy to come away with second.

“The crowds are always really good in Britain, and especially on the first day at home for myself, I heard a lot of shouts and had a lot of friends and family out on the road.

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“I think I got the best possible result. I’m hoping to be selected for the world championships.

“I think I got a good week in the legs and I’m just trying to hold that form now up until worlds if I get selected, then after that, I have a few more races for the team, so there are still a few more weeks of racing.”

Thornley, 59th in general classification, said: “It was great to pull off winning the jersey and get a bit of TV time and publicity for the team and myself.

“It’s been a great week for the team and it was good to finish it off like that.

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“I held my own out there a little bit. It shows what I can do at this level.

“I hope I’ve got my name out there this week and showed people what I can do.

“It was nice to get the king of the mountains jersey. I think I backed it up with that top-ten finish in stage three and I tried to get involved today as much as I can.

“It’s just been a fun week of racing. It’s been nice and open.”

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Welshman Williams, 28, the first Briton to win the tour since 2016, added: “It’s been a good week and we managed to take everything out of a stage race, a couple of stages and the general classification, so I’m really happy and proud to have this race.

“I’m proud of how the boys rode all week – they were fantastic. It’s me standing on the podium and winning it but it was definitely a team effort.

“After the Olympics, it was definitely a target of mine to get back into racing and I knew I was coming here in decent form.

“Luckily I had the legs to show it and pull it off, but at the end of the day, everything has to go right, and everything did go right, so I’m really happy.”

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