Sean Flynn and Oscar Onley are getting Scottish cycling back on the road as they become the first male cyclists to represent Scotland on the global stage for six years after signing for Dutch outfit Team DSM.
The UCI World Tour is road cycling’s equivalent to football’s Premier League. It comprises the top teams with the best riders in the biggest races, such as the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
The duo join Milngavie’s Anna Shackley who rides in the Women’s World Tour for Team SD Worx and become just the third and fourth Scottish men in the top division in the past two decades. David Millar competed in the World Tour for more than a decade before his retirement in 2014, riding 12 Tours de France and winning four stages. Andy Fenn was Scotland’s last representative until his contract at Team Sky ended in 2016. And the achievement of picking up the baton is a significant one for Flynn.
“For me it means quite a lot because I know how many good riders there have been before me who haven’t made it to that level,” he says. “It does make me really proud.”
And Edinburgh-born Flynn believes that other Scots will follow in their pedal-strokes. “I do believe that once people see others do it they step up themselves and it just feels more achievable,” he added. “It definitely spurs people on.”
The pair are among a new generation of Scottish cyclists making their mark across a number of disciplines. And Onley, 20, gives credit to
Scottish Cycling for their role in developing top talent.
“Both of us came through the Scottish Cycling programme,” he reflects. “I hope they can also feel proud of this because they’ve put a lot of time and effort in and now they’re starting to see the rewards.
“To go from having no riders from Scotland in the World Tour to having two in the same year on the same team is quite a big thing.”
Kelso’s Onley had a sensational season in 2022, establishing his potential to be a world-class climber. In October, Onley went head-to-head with Jonas Vingegaard, the 2022 Tour de France champion, at CRO Race in Croatia. He came up just short, finishing second to the Dane on two stages.
“I think it was quite a big moment in my career,” he admits. “It got a lot of attention and I hope to now take that confidence from that race and step up next year and try and prove myself again in these higher-level races. Next year is just about gaining as much experience as I can and learning from each race and from the bigger riders in the team as well.”
Flynn, 22, had his best season yet in 2022, sprinting to his first professional win early in the year. The success left him wanting more.
“Towards the back end of the season I was definitely getting a bit hungry to win something again,” Flynn says. “That’s the only thing that I would say I felt was missing.”
For the past two years, Flynn has been aiming for results in the sprints at Continental level, cycling’s third tier. He’s confident that he can make the step up, but knows that in moving to a top team, he will need to play a support role initially.
“I just want to really get stuck into helping the team as much as possible and to prove myself as a valuable member of the team, learning along the way, so that in my second year I’m better placed to go for some more of my own results.”
In August, the inaugural Cycling World Championships will be held in Scotland. For the first time ever, the famous world champion rainbow jerseys for the track, BMX, road and mountain bike disciplines will be fought for in one event. It promises to be a huge occasion and with the terrain suiting his abilities, Flynn is motivated to be there.
“I think about it almost every day. The fact that [the road race] is starting in Edinburgh – to be there on the start line would just be incredible. That’s never going to happen again in my career. It’s definitely a big motivation for me.”
