Oscar Onley set to leave Picnic PostNL

Will Oscar Onley still be part of the Picnic PostNL roster in 2026? It has already been a hot topic for several days, following initial rumors that INEOS Grenadiers has set its sights on the talent. According to cycling media Velo, a transfer to the British team is now indeed imminent.

Multiple sources told Velo that Onley and INEOS Grenadiers are virtually agreed, and that the 23-year-old stage racer "could reach an agreement with the British top team within days." Only an unexpected setback could still block the deal, the cycling site writes.

Journalist Daniel Benson reported on Wednesday that the rising GC talent did not show up for a scheduled training camp with his current employer Picnic PostNL. According to Benson, Onley will still travel to Spain—where the team is currently based—but he is in talks with INEOS Grenadiers.

It was already clear in the WielerFlits Podcast episode of November 7 that INEOS Grenadiers was working on bringing Onley onboard. In that episode, we reviewed the five biggest transfers of this window, leaving the fifth spot open. Onley's name was linked to INEOS Grenadiers for the first time then.

Onley (in third position) was the revelation of the recent Tour de France – photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos

The climber is hot property on the transfer market after finishing fourth overall in the Tour de France. Until the last stages, he was battling for a spot on the podium, but Onley has consistently been among the best stage racers in the peloton throughout the entire year. He also finished fourth in the Tour Down Under and Tour of Britain, fifth in the UAE Tour, and third in the Tour of Switzerland, where he also won a stage.

Vague about his own future
Onley stepped up in 2023 from the development squad of Picnic PostNL, the team where he still holds a contract until the end of 2027. Still, that ongoing contract is apparently not a one hundred percent guarantee of an extended stay. "For now, I'm still a member of the team, yes. We'll see. But yeah, it's still a bit uncertain," Onley said vaguely about his future in an interview with Cyclingnews.