Australian Tour de France team has first local GC hope
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).
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).
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).
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).
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'It's a small place, and Australia government funded money, it would be good that it has a lot of mileage through organisations, sports bodies and the population, not just for the benefit of rugby league. 'It would be nice to have it on equal par with the funding to rugby league. What I would like [the Australian government] to consider is rugby union has been the national game for a long time in Tonga, Fiji and Samoa ... to have a consideration how much impact it has had in the past and what impact it will have in the future, especially the near future of the 2027 World Cup [in Australia].' In Samoa, rugby union is 'still the sport that determines the mood of the nation', according to Seumanu Douglas Ngau Chun, who heads the 15-a-side game there. But he said it would not be able to compete with the deep pockets the Australian government has given rugby league in the Pacific. 'Samoa only has a population of 200,000 people, with a limited private sector. Seeing that kind of investment going to league it concerns us. That means it might be a nail in the coffin for rugby here in the Pacific, especially for Samoa. As a struggling nation we are concerned,' the Samoa Rugby Union CEO said. 'We're tired of sending our elite players overseas to end up playing for the All Blacks and for other countries. With this kind of proposal that we're making to Australia, this will benefit our people to remain on island. But we'd also have access to top-quality assistance from Australian rugby.' The three island nations have drawn up a proposal for funding be boosted to a level where they could draw closer to Australia and New Zealand in international rugby union, as well as to enable Tonga and Samoa to push for their own Super Rugby franchises rather than see more players enticed to play for overseas teams. It is understood they will put forward a proposal for $150 million in assistance from the Australian government. Sewabu cited Fiji rugby union's tour of 1952 which drew large crowds and helped lift the Australian game up from financial troubles and fierce competition from rugby league. 'Our two countries have been rugby partners since 1952, when Fiji's visit helped keep rugby union alive in Australia,' he said. 'Today we face a new crossroads and can again work together for the good of Pacific rugby.' He said he hoped Australia could return the favour to 'protect the game we love that has so much historical, cultural and social significance to our people and our country'. An Australian government spokesperson said it already partnered with Rugby Australia and Oceania Rugby including with financial support in what was 'a great example of the power of sports diplomacy in bringing the Pacific family, of which Australia is a part, closer together'. 'Rugby union is something we have in common with our fellow Pacific family members. We share a rich history, whether it be through Tonga's iconic victory over the Wallabies in 1973 or through former World Cup-winning Wallaby Toutai Kefu, whose father Fatai played in the 1973 Tonga team. Again, this weekend, those ties will be strengthened further when the Wallabies and Fiji compete for the inaugural Vuvale Bowl. 'Australia is a proud member of the Pacific family. Australia continues to be the Pacific's largest development partner, and security partner of choice. The Pacific is best served by Pacific-led institutions and processes.' Loaded with NRL players, the Tongan and Samoan national rugby league teams have made great strides in the past decade, with Tonga recording historic wins against Australia and New Zealand and Samoa shocking England to reach the Rugby League World Cup final in 2022. About 50 per cent of NRL players now are from a Pasifika background. Rugby union, however, retains a firm link to the Pacific nations' cultural identities and power bases. Rabuka himself is former international for the Flying Fijians, the country's national rugby union team, and Tongan rugby's president is the country's prime minister, 'Aisake Valu Eke. The chairman of the Samoa Rugby Union is Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, the long-serving former prime minister bidding to reclaim the top job at an election on August 29. The Australian reported that one of Fiji's three deputy prime ministers, Manoa Kamikamica, told a forum at the Perth Sevens rugby union tournament in January that the NRL's government-funded Pacific handout was 'the biggest threat our sport has ever faced'. Rabuka, speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, was more phlegmatic, pointing to the potential benefits of Fijian players being paid more. 'We are concerned that they might be pulling some of our people away,' he said. 'It may affect rugby union, but I don't think very much. But it could help the economy.' Loading Albanese, a fan of NRL team the South Sydney Rabbitohs, has used rugby league as a tool to safeguard Australia's national security interests in PNG in particular as Beijing seeks to expand its influence. But as cash-strapped Pacific rugby unions confront the prospect of state-sponsored rugby league, it has left a gap for China to step into the breach. 'We need to expand our horizons and see who is willing to help us,' said Tongan rugby chief Aholelei, who toured Chinese cities in June to explore commercial, player pathway and coaching ties. 'That's the reason we embarked on the tour of China. Kindly, the Chinese government helped us to partake. It was very insightful and thee's a lot of help there for us ... we're really optimistic about that impending partnership with China.' Douglas said Samoan rugby was also exploring an MOU with China after being approached by officials from Beijing's embassy in Apia.
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'It's a small place, and Australia government funded money, it would be good that it has a lot of mileage through organisations, sports bodies and the population, not just for the benefit of rugby league. 'It would be nice to have it on equal par with the funding to rugby league. What I would like [the Australian government] to consider is rugby union has been the national game for a long time in Tonga, Fiji and Samoa ... to have a consideration how much impact it has had in the past and what impact it will have in the future, especially the near future of the 2027 World Cup [in Australia].' In Samoa, rugby union is 'still the sport that determines the mood of the nation', according to Seumanu Douglas Ngau Chun, who heads the 15-a-side game there. But he said it would not be able to compete with the deep pockets the Australian government has given rugby league in the Pacific. 'Samoa only has a population of 200,000 people, with a limited private sector. Seeing that kind of investment going to league it concerns us. That means it might be a nail in the coffin for rugby here in the Pacific, especially for Samoa. As a struggling nation we are concerned,' the Samoa Rugby Union CEO said. 'We're tired of sending our elite players overseas to end up playing for the All Blacks and for other countries. With this kind of proposal that we're making to Australia, this will benefit our people to remain on island. But we'd also have access to top-quality assistance from Australian rugby.' The three island nations have drawn up a proposal for funding be boosted to a level where they could draw closer to Australia and New Zealand in international rugby union, as well as to enable Tonga and Samoa to push for their own Super Rugby franchises rather than see more players enticed to play for overseas teams. It is understood they will put forward a proposal for $150 million in assistance from the Australian government. Sewabu cited Fiji rugby union's tour of 1952 which drew large crowds and helped lift the Australian game up from financial troubles and fierce competition from rugby league. 'Our two countries have been rugby partners since 1952, when Fiji's visit helped keep rugby union alive in Australia,' he said. 'Today we face a new crossroads and can again work together for the good of Pacific rugby.' He said he hoped Australia could return the favour to 'protect the game we love that has so much historical, cultural and social significance to our people and our country'. An Australian government spokesperson said it already partnered with Rugby Australia and Oceania Rugby including with financial support in what was 'a great example of the power of sports diplomacy in bringing the Pacific family, of which Australia is a part, closer together'. 'Rugby union is something we have in common with our fellow Pacific family members. 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Rabuka himself is former international for the Flying Fijians, the country's national rugby union team, and Tongan rugby's president is the country's prime minister, 'Aisake Valu Eke. The chairman of the Samoa Rugby Union is Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, the long-serving former prime minister bidding to reclaim the top job at an election on August 29. The Australian reported that one of Fiji's three deputy prime ministers, Manoa Kamikamica, told a forum at the Perth Sevens rugby union tournament in January that the NRL's government-funded Pacific handout was 'the biggest threat our sport has ever faced'. Rabuka, speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, was more phlegmatic, pointing to the potential benefits of Fijian players being paid more. 'We are concerned that they might be pulling some of our people away,' he said. 'It may affect rugby union, but I don't think very much. But it could help the economy.' Loading Albanese, a fan of NRL team the South Sydney Rabbitohs, has used rugby league as a tool to safeguard Australia's national security interests in PNG in particular as Beijing seeks to expand its influence. But as cash-strapped Pacific rugby unions confront the prospect of state-sponsored rugby league, it has left a gap for China to step into the breach. 'We need to expand our horizons and see who is willing to help us,' said Tongan rugby chief Aholelei, who toured Chinese cities in June to explore commercial, player pathway and coaching ties. 'That's the reason we embarked on the tour of China. Kindly, the Chinese government helped us to partake. It was very insightful and thee's a lot of help there for us ... we're really optimistic about that impending partnership with China.' Douglas said Samoan rugby was also exploring an MOU with China after being approached by officials from Beijing's embassy in Apia.
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