Jonas Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike can add another rival for the Giro d’Italia

O'Connor has finished in the top ten of a Grand Tour three times in his career, but his best result in the Giro was fourth place. In 2024, he also aimed for a podium place for the then-Deceuninck-Quick-Step team. But he just missed out. For the 2026 Giro, the ambitions are very high: Ben is eager to return stronger and more mature and compete for the overall victory.

A bold ambition, knowing that Jonas Vingegaard has already confirmed his participation in the Giro on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dane will be looking for his third and final Grand Tour victory in his Giro debut, having already won the Tour de France twice and added the Vuelta a España to his list of achievements in 2025.

In the past, Jayco AlUla has never shied away from big ambitions. With Simon Yates, it was almost always clear that the team wanted to compete for the overall victory, and with O'Connor, that chance is also considered achievable. “Maybe it’s just the Italian allure, or maybe because it was the Grand Tour I always believed I’d perform well at.”

“The 2024 Giro and the fourth place overall was a good result, but no one likes finishing off the podium. I’d love to change that in the future and can’t wait to be back there this year,” said O'Connor, who started his season in the Tour Down Under, where he finished tenth in the general classification. He also finished fourth in the time trial at the national championships in Australia.

O'Connor's best result dates back to the Vuelta a España in 2024. Thanks to an early stage victory from the breakaway, the climber ended up in the red leader's jersey and defended it well into the third week. In the end, only Primoz Roglic was able to pass O'Connor in the general classification.

In 2025, the year O'Connor switched from Decathlon to Jayco AlUla, everything was set for the Tour de France. However, O'Connor crashed in the opening weekend and had to chase the peloton. In the third week, he won the mountain stage with a finish on the Col de la Loze in impressive fashion. However, he just fell short of a top ten finish in the general classification.

In 2021, O'Connor finished fourth in the Tour, in much the same way as his second place in the 2024 Vuelta. By winning a stage from a breakaway group, he gained minutes in the general classification before settling into the rankings. In the Giro, he will ideally do it the traditional way: battling it out with the GC contenders.

Why does O'Connor think he can compete for the Giro win? Well, the route that has been presented should suit him well. “The 2026 Giro d’Italia features a 40km individual time trial and a massive 49,150 metres of climbing: the perfect combination for the Team Jayco AlUla climber,” writes his team. He himself says: “Having that long crescendo into the final week of big mountains is something that’s always suited my style.”

In addition to Vingegaard, several other GC contenders have already confirmed their participation. On behalf of UAE Emirates-XRG, João Almeida will participate, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe will go for Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari, INEOS Grenadiers will, almost traditionally, go with Thymen Arensman as their leader, and as an outsider and potential breakthrough, we are also adding Max Poole of Picnic PostNL to the list.