Jayco AlUla gets new signing Ben O'Connor back on track just in time for the Tour, but also has to swallow a bitter pill

O'Connor has been making a name for himself for a few years now. He turned pro in 2018 with Dimension Data, and in 2020 he made a splash with a stage win in the Giro d’Italia. One year later, he truly proved himself as a Grand Tour rider by finishing fourth in the Tour de France, thanks in part to a long breakaway.

In 2022 and 2023, O'Connor backed up that performance and even stepped up another level last season. He finished fourth in the Giro d’Italia, was second in the Vuelta after wearing the leader’s jersey for two weeks following a breakaway, and also took second at the World Championships in September. Plus, a long list of other top finishes.

At Jayco AlUla, they were already rubbing their hands with glee over having “homegrown” O’Connor as the replacement for Simon Yates, who had left for Visma | Lease a Bike. Still, the first few months of the season didn’t quite go to plan: up until the Tour of Switzerland, his best result had been a tenth place in the Tour of Valencia.

After a high-altitude training camp, we saw in the opening stage of the Tour of Switzerland what a strong O’Connor is capable of. True to form, he jumped into a breakaway group of 28 riders that gained a big time gap. The classic O’Connor move, as we’ve seen in Grand Tours? “Ben is always alert during races, and he told me he saw a large group going up the road,” said Hayman.

“That’s when he decided to go with them,” Hayman continued. “It’s better to be minutes ahead than having to make them up.” Jayco AlUla responded quickly, sending Luke Durbridge and Felix Engelhardt to support. “I’m really glad Engelhardt is here and not sitting at home with good legs, because he’s helped us a lot. He was a last-minute call-up, we contacted him just 24 hours before the race started.”

The Australian team continued to build on its advantage, putting O’Connor in fourth place overall after five stages, behind the French punchers Romain Grégoire, Kévin Vauquelin, and Julian Alaphilippe. On Wednesday, he was one of the last riders able to follow Joao Almeida, who is now just 1:25 behind O’Connor.

“Still, it was a great stage. I had a really good day and was able to attack at the end to take some extra seconds,” said the team leader. “Of course, I lost a bit of time to Almeida, but I’m still in a good position for the rest of the week. I’m looking forward to giving it everything I’ve got.”

The trend is clear: the team leader is finding form. “It’s Ben’s first race since Liège, but he’s been able to prepare well. Why things didn’t go so well before? There were a few small issues. Ben was a bit sick and just didn’t have the same feeling he had last year. But there’s no need for him to panic,” said Hayman.

Jayco AlUla isn’t panicking when it comes to their Tour de France squad, even after losing a key rider last week, Michael Matthews. The Eschborn-Frankfurt winner showed signs of a pulmonary embolism and must stay off the bike for now, though he’s expected to make a full recovery.

“For Michael personally, it’s a real blow. In recent years, there were usually only two or three stages suited to him, but if you look at the first ten days of this Tour… it’s just a shame, especially with the final stage in Paris,” said Hayman. “He’s also a big personality in the team, but for us, the most important thing is that he gets better quickly.”