Australian Tour de France team has first local GC hope
Ben O'Connor has been confirmed at the first Australian overall contender to lead a team from his country at the Tour de France.
Jayco AlUla have announced their eight-rider line-up for the three-week Grand Tour, which starts next Saturday night (AEST) at Lille in northern France.
The Australian team, originally known as GreenEDGE, first contested the Tour de France in 2012 and has had several general classification (GC) hopes since in the three-week Grand Tours - the Tour, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana.
But this is the first time that Australian cycling's only top-tier road team will feature a local GC hope.
O'Connor, 29, is their GC contender and Dutch fast man Dylan Groenewegen will contest the sprint stages.
Fellow Australian Luke Plapp, who won a stage last month at the Giro, will also make his Tour debut.
O'Connor joined Jayco AlUla this season as a proven Grand Tour rider.
He finished runner-up last year at the Vuelta, after coming fourth earlier in the season at the Giro.
His best Tour finish was fourth in 2021.
While this year's Tour is expected to be another duel between Slovenian defending champion Tadej Pogacar and Dane Jonas Vingegaard, who between them have won the last five editions, O'Connor is a podium contender.
Cadel Evans is Australia's only Tour de France winner, making Australian sporting history with his 2011 triumph.
He also finished runner-up in '07 and '08, while Richie Porte was third in 2020. Evans and Porte were racing for European teams when they starred at the Tour.
O'Connor returned to racing earlier this month at the Tour de Suisse, finishing seventh overall.
"We have a really versatile team and I've performed well in Grand Tours in the past so I'll do everything I can to get back to the top five," O'Connor said.
"We also have Dylan to go for the sprint stages. We pretty much have all kinds of stages covered.
"It's always an exciting time, it's the biggest race, and biggest stress, but it's also the biggest reward."
Compatriot Michael Matthews was also supposed to be a key rider in Jayco AlUla's Tour line-up, but he was ruled out this month because of a pulmonary embolism and remains sidelined on medical advice.
Jayco AlUla have had a tumultuous year so far. Amid successes such as the stage wins for Plapp and Chris Harper at the Giro, Matthews' health scare is a significant blow.
Sprinter Caleb Ewan left the team in difficult circumstances at the start of the year.
Team director Matt White, who had been at GreenEDGE since its inception, was stunningly sacked in early May on the eve of the Giro's start.
Jayco AlUla's Tour team: O'Connor, Groenewegen, Plapp, Luke Durbridge (Australia), Eddie Dunbar (Ireland), Luka Mezgec (Slovenia), Elmar Reinders (Netherlands), Mauro Schmid (Switzerland).
