Team dsm-firmenich PostNL and Oscar Onley – Kings of Willunga Hill

A day for the punchers, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL positioned GC finisher Oscar Onley brilliantly onto the famous Willunga Hill, before he finished it off superbly in a reduced sprint.

It was a controlled stage at the Tour Down Under and the peloton always had the four rider breakaway under control. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL kept their proverbial powder dry for the final, keeping Onley safe as they had done in previous stages. Some fantastic teamwork saw the team never in any danger and going onto the final three kilometre ascent of Willunga Hill, Onley was positioned fantastically. Biding his time and not expending any unnecessary energy, Onley followed some accelerations but never hit the wind until the final 200 metres. Unleashing a devastating kick, he powered to the line to take an incredible first professional win; sitting up to celebrate as he crossed the finish. It is also a special day for the team too, which takes its first win as Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, after some hard work by everyone behind the scenes during the off-season and marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in spectacular fashion.

An elated Onley said: “It’s pretty incredible. We knew I was in good form coming here but against the quality of guys here, I wasn’t sure how it would go. I’m really grateful to the whole team and everyone who helped get me here. It’s going to be tough tomorrow but we have a really good team here and we will do our best to try and go for it again and see if we can move up that one spot. The team knew I could do it, they’ve had a lot of faith in me and have been keeping me calm the last few days. In the hectic sprint stages the rest of the guys have really invested in me to keep me safe and not lose any time, so it’s nice to be able to pay back their hard work here. It’s a pretty iconic climb Willunga Hill so to have my name on the winner’s list is really cool.”