Onley out of Tour Auvergne with dislocated shoulder three weeks from Tour
Oscar Onley is out of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, registering a DNS on stage 7 the day after crashing and losing time on the first of three mountain stages.
"Fortunately, Oscar landed in the crown of a tree during his fall," Dave Brailsford told Wielerflits. "As a result, he didn't end up in a ravine dozens of meters deep. Our staff from the team car, together with people from the organisation, were able to very carefully hoist him back up from that tree. He was incredibly lucky in that regard. It could have ended much worse."
Onley finished the stage 29 minutes 17 seconds after stage winner Maxim van Gils and his team Netcompany-Ineos was optimistic he'd be able to continue, however post-stage examinations revealed a dislocated shoulder and injuries to his leg.
"We had high hopes that he would be able to ride well yesterday,” director of racing Geraint Thomas said on the morning of stage 7. “The most frustrating thing for him is that he hasn’t really had the chance yet this year to show what he can do, and to discover where he stands ... He crashed on a left-hand bend, into a ravine. It could have been much worse.”
It was a day full of bad luck for the British WorldTeam, which also saw Josh Tarling crash and break his collarbone.
