Meet Oscar Onley, the Scottish cyclist set to make his Tour de France debut

THIS year’s edition of the Tour de France gets under way in Florence, Italy on Saturday.

And it’s about time another great Scottish cyclist wrote their name all over the greatest race in the history of cycling.

Those with long memories will remember Robert Millar – now known as Philippa York – finishing fourth overall in the 1984 tour, and taking the polka dot jersey reserved for the King of the Mountains.

Since then, time trial and solo break specialist David Millar had some memorable moments, winning four stages and wearing the leaders’ yellow jersey on more than one occasion.

Tao Geoghegan-Hart, a product of Hackney with Scottish and Irish heritage, won the Giro D’Italia and finished 60th on his only Tour de France appearance.

But now it’s over to Borderer Oscar Onley to ensure that the Scottish flag is flying once again in cycling’s biggest race.

The three-week tour starts in Italy tomorrow and ends with a time-trial from Monaco to Nice.

And Onley, part of the Dutch dsm-firmenich PostNL team, might be only 22 but he’s ambitious for a stage win.

He might have been born in London, but the natural climber sees himself as a Scot through and through and the accent is unmistakable.

He has come through the Scottish system – and he knows that any Scots he encounters in France will be roaring him on.

This has been his breakout year on the tour, with a stage win on the Tour Down Under, and an eighth place overall finish at the Tour de Suisse.

But even more remarkably he’s had to contend with TWO broken collarbones along the way.

His fellow countryman Sean Flynn is part of the same team, but hasn’t been chosen for the eight-man Tour party.

The eight-man group for the Tour includes French heroes Warren Barguil and Roman Bardet.

In an article for his team website, Onley said: “I can say that I’m going for experience but to be honest, I’m optimistic, I’m ambitious and I want to go for a stage win.

“If I play my cards right, and everything lines up on a certain day then I don’t see why I can’t go for a stage.

“There are few that I’ve picked out but obviously it’s difficult when you’re looking for a breakaway because that’s not guaranteed every day.

“Finding the right day will be tough but then it’s all down to the legs and I hope that I’m good enough to be up there.

“As a rider who has come up through the Scottish scene and raced there throughout my youth, it’s quite a big moment.

“There’s myself and Sean Flynn on the team, so there’s two Scots in the WorldTour.

“But at the Tour I hope that it shows to the younger riders who are coming through the ranks that it is possible and that you’re not that far off from something that’s quite big.

“Back home I know that there will be a lot of people excited in my hometown of Kelso, also in my local club and across Scotland as well.

“It’s quite exciting for them to see someone coming through I think.”

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