Tour Down Under shock as young Scotland cyclist Oscar Onley claims biggest career win

Scotland’s Oscar Onley has climbed to the biggest win of his young cycling career, taking out the iconic Willunga Hill stage at the Tour Down Under.

Welsh rider Stephen Williams finished second and leads the Tour overall on countback from Onley.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Oscar Onley takes Willunga Hill stage in TDU.

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As expected, the race lit up on the last of the two 2km climbs up Willunga Hill on Saturday and the stage came down to a select group.

British rider Simon Yates, the main overall hope for the Australian Jayco AlUla team, attacked first inside the last kilometre but was unable to hold off his pursuers.

Then French two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) went clear, before 21-year-old Onley (DSM-Firmenich) won the sprint to the finish ahead of Williams (Israel-Premier Tech).

It is the biggest win of Onley’s career, and the first time Williams has led the Santos Tour.

Previous race leader Isaac del Toro was in the front group that animated the climb and finished eighth, putting him fourth overall at five seconds.

Ecuador’s Jhonatan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers) is third overall, also at five seconds, while Yates finished sixth to be equal-fifth overall with Alaphilippe at 13 seconds.

The leading Australian is Damien Howson (national team), ninth at 22 seconds overall, ahead of Sunday’s race-deciding final stage that ends with a summit finish at Mt Lofty.

Dane Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step) was the last survivor of a four-man break that went clear early in the 129.3km stage from suburban Christies Beach.

He was caught just before the first of the two climbs up Willunga Hill, with the Australian national team driving the pace at the front of the peloton.

They were riding for Luke Burns, who leads the king of the mountains category and took full points at the top of Willunga Hill with 22.8km left.

There was nearly a crash on the high-speed descent, but no one went down as the peloton prepared for the final climb to the Willunga stage finish.

Australian Chris Harper (Jayco AlUla) and Onley attacked at the base of the climb and Harper had a spell on his own at the front before he was caught by the select group that decided the stage.