'It used to annoy me when people said 'enjoy it', now cycling is my job, I understand': Oscar Onley on his rise through the ranks

Oscar Onley is a 22-year-old professional cyclist from Kelso in Scotland. Onley currently rides for the Dutch WorldTour squad, Picnic PostNL. Formerly supported by the Dave Rayner Foundation, he finished second at last year’s Tour of Britain Men and won the best young rider classification. Onley also won stage five of the Tour Down Under and made his debut at the Tour de France.

This interview is part of our Q&A series.

CW: For those that don't already know, how did you get into cycling and when did you realise that turning pro was going to be an option for you?

I started cycling when I was about 10 years old, the local club, Kelso Wheelers, their time trial started almost directly outside my house, and so I joined that when I was old enough, but my mum would always watch the tour on TV every year so I can I had a little bit of an idea about cycling, but I wouldn't say I knew much about it.

I got hooked on it quite quickly. But I was definitely not the best rider growing up. I always wanted to become pro, but I didn't really believe it was possible, but I think if you looked at my results, other people wouldn't believe it was possible. But I guess when I joined the AG2R junior team, then you start talking a little bit more in that kind of context about turning pro and what you want to do in the future. And then I guess probably when I joined DSM on the development team. Then for sure it was a goal, but again, it still felt a very, very long way off, especially in my first year.

I'd say probably actually signing that first pro contract was when I realised I can turn pro. I always had it in my head, but I was never confident that it was going to happen. I was always aware that there's a lot of things that can unsettle that, but for sure it was something I wanted to continue and try and do.

CW: Can you remember your first ever race that you rode? How did you get on?

I was 10 years old. It was the Youth C race at Ingliston Park in Edinburgh, I think they still go ahead every year. I remember I was 10th and Alfie George, who's now on a team out in France, won the race by a long way.

CW: Can you remember your first ever racing bike? Could you tell us a bit about that.

It was orange, I want to say Coyote or something brand. I must have been about 10 years old when I got it, I just remember it being really heavy. It was bright orange and had a bit of white on there and maybe a little bit of black as well.

CW: Who was your first cycling hero?

Probably Andy Schleck. I guess when I first started watching the Tour de France, it was him and Contador that were going for it. For some reason I took more of a liking to Schleck than Contador and I always wanted him to come out on top in their battles. I guess the first memory I have of the Tour was actually on the Tourmalet when they were going head to head in the mist. That's something that kind of sticks out in my memory actually.

CW: What's the best place that your career has taken you to date?

I went to Japan recently for the Saitama Criterium. I really enjoyed that trip to Japan, getting to see Tokyo and seeing a different culture. I've also been to China with the team as well, and it's something different to Europe. Europe's very impressive, and there's a lot of different cultures and countries. But when you go to Asia, then it's something completely different. It was really cool to see that.

CW: What would you be doing now if you weren't a cyclist?

That's a scary question. The more I think of it, the more that it scares me actually. I'm not really sure but it wouldn't be in an office.

It'd be something practical, probably one of the trades I guess. But my dream after cycling is to set up a cafe somewhere, that's what I want to do after my career. I've not really got much further than the thought, but that's something that I'd like to try and pursue in the future.

CW: What do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy cooking. I always try and try and make some different recipes when I have the time and can be bothered to do that. I also enjoy reading. I'm reading a book called the Power of Geography, and basically it's about geopolitics around the world and other stuff I'm quite interested in.

CW: What's the best piece of advice that you've ever received in your career?

A lot of people say to enjoy it. When I was younger that really, really annoyed me, because I thought that was just an obvious thing to say. Now that I'm a little bit older, and now that it actually is my job, I guess I understand what they mean when they say enjoy it.

It’s because there are parts that are obviously really hard, so if you don't enjoy it then you can't make a career out of it. There's days you don't enjoy and there's moments you don't enjoy, but you have to enjoy the whole process and the whole way of living I think and for me that's the key.

CW: What do you hope to achieve this year?

I want to win a stage of the Tour de France I think. I got the experience from the Tour last year, and I hope to step up a level and hopefully be a bit closer to the front end in those races and those high level races. If I could win a stage there then that would be a really satisfying goal to achieve.

I had a few days, a few days in the break last year, but only really one day competing for a result. In the end I was fifth but I had a few days where I was getting into the break, but I didn't really have the legs to finish it off.

So that's now the next part of the puzzle, continuing in the break and making it to the end of the race.