Oscar Onley secures 2nd in GC on attacking final Tour of Guangxi stage

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL lined up for their final day of racing today on the last stage of the Tour of Guangxi, following yesterday’s impressive podium finish by Oscar Onley. Today’s final stage took place on a local circuit around Nanning, which included a punchy climb. The race began at a fast pace, with the peloton splitting on the first ascent, where a strong group of six riders broke away to form the day’s breakaway. To protect their position in the GC, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL helped with the chase in the peloton, showing excellent teamwork. The breakaway was caught on the final climb of the day, leading to a series of counterattacks, but Oscar and Max Poole did well to cover all the dangerous moves. As the race entered the final ten kilometres, the pace steadied, and Max Poole, in collaboration with other teams, set a high tempo in the reduced peloton to set up a sprint. He ensured that Oscar was in a safe position for the sprint, allowing him to finish securely in the bunch and secure his first GC podium at the WorldTour level – a fantastic achievement for the graduate of Development Team dsm-firmenich PostNL.

After the finish, Onley expressed: “The boys did another great job today, controlling the race and ensuring nothing got out of hand. Max was really helpful on the last lap with all the attacks, as we stayed calm and tried to follow the moves in a smart way. I’m happy to come away with my first WorldTour podium, and it gives me a lot of motivation for the coming season.”

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Callum Ferguson added: “We can be pleased with taking a second place on GC at the Tour of Guangxi. We’ve worked really hard all week to keep Oscar and Max in contention, and we did that at a very high level. We also focused a lot on the sprints and had some constructive discussions. I’m happy with what we’ve achieved this week; overall, it’s been very positive. To see one of our Devo graduates podium in another stage race is incredibly exciting, and we look forward to what’s to come.”