Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) holds the key to new success in 2026: 'I was furious'

Where Ben O’Connor enjoyed a breakout year in 2024, he fell off his bike more often in 2025 — and his first season at Team Jayco-AlUla did not go as he had hoped. With the start of his racing season in his home country and the right mindset, the Australian says in conversation with CyclingNews that 2026 should be a better year.

Stage wins and second place overall in the Vuelta a España in 2024, and second in the world behind Tadej Pogačar at the World Championships in Zurich, made that year a highlight. When O’Connor moved to Jayco-AlUla in 2025, he hoped to continue that momentum. But his general classification hopes vanished in the Tour de France after a crash, and later he suffered a decisive fall in the Vuelta a España. “I was furious, it’s so depressing.”

In the opening stage of the Tour, things went wrong immediately. He flipped over his handlebars and had to abandon any chance of a good overall result. That anger helped him flip the switch and focus on a stage win instead. “It’s by far the most enjoyable way to race the Tour,” the Australian says. “Racing for the overall actually sucks. It's a fantastic race, until it's not.”

In Stage 18, it finally happened: O’Connor crossed the line first on the Col de la Loze. “At least the Tour de France stage win was the kind of crowning moment in realising that you can always turn races around when things go wrong.” That mentality is something he wants to take with him into 2026. “That’s kind of how I see it now, to set yourself expectations. Going into things tooth and nail, and by just being angry.”

The most important thing is holding onto momentum, says the eventual eleventh place finisher of the Tour. “I think in general, I stay quite consistent. So once you get to that point, just take it with you. If that doesn't happen, you reset, and actually reset fully, so your body is ready to then get back to that point. Objectives, then aims, will follow.”

So the first year at Jayco-AlUla was not what O’Connor hoped for, while 2026 is already the final year of his contract with the Australian team. O’Connor feels supported by the squad. “There's emotional, and there's understanding of emotions and people, how they work. It's been great this year, at least on that side of things.” He hopes to reach the level he showed two years ago again. “I know it's there. It just never really played out.”

His main motivation is success, so he isn’t focused on the expiring contract. “Success is what carries the contract allure, that's why I train and work.” With home races like the Australian National Championships and the Tour Down Under scheduled in January, he will be aiming for that promised success early in 2026.