Tour de France 2025: Full preview of 10 Australian riders including Ben O'Connor's GC bid
Australian-owned Team Jayco AlUla have three Aussies in the mix this year – Ben O'Connor, Luke Plapp and Luke Durbridge.
O'Connor notably has top-five general classification ambitions in his first Tour with his new team.
He finished 4th in the Tour in 2021 for AG2R and then had a stellar season last year finishing 4th in the Giro and then a courageous second overall in the Vuelta a Espana.
But his crowning moment was his brilliant second place to Slovenian champion Tadej Pogacar in the World Road Championship in Switzerland.
It will be the first time that Team Jayco AlUla has had an Australian leading its general classification charge since its inception in 2012.
O'Connor was quietly confident before the teams presentation on Thursday.
'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, which I've been able to do in all three grand tours,' O'Connor said.
Jayco team owner Gerry Ryan is excited at the prospects for his team in this his 14th lap of France.
'There is an amazing vibe that you feel when you rock up to a Tour de France, the excitement is palpable - the party atmosphere that continues on every night with nearly a million raucous fans each day,' he told CODE Sports.
Tadej Pogacar and Team UAE teammates in Lille's city centre during the official teams presentation. Picture: AFP
'Cycling is a global sport and all the major events receive serious media attention but the Tour is on another level and it is crucial for our team, riders, staff and most of all - our partners.
'It is the biggest annual sporting event on the planet and the eyes of the world are watching.
'A staggering 750 million watch the Tour live each day which is just mind blowing.'
Ryan said Jayco was a well balanced team led by O'Connor, who was capable of getting on the final podium in Paris in three weeks' time.
'The team will be all in for Dylan Groenewegen in stage one,' he said.
'The Dutch sprinter is in great form and it would be a brilliant way to start the tour with the first Maillot Jaune (yellow jersey).
'We also have some realistic opportunities for other stage wins with Luke Plapp and Mauro Schmid.'
Ryan said Plapp had recovered well from the Giro d'Italia where his first ever Grand Tour stage win impressed the cycling world.
Schmid, like Plapp, is riding his first Tour and a week ago won the Swiss Time Trial and Road Race championships.
'Then we have Luke Durbridge,' Ryan said.
'Durbo is riding his 11th Tour and he is the engine that keeps the team together.'
Plapp celebrates his stage win at the 108th Giro d'Italia in May. Picture: Getty
Jack Haig is another Australian with the ability to challenge for a top 10 in Paris.
The boy from Bendigo, who finished third in the 2021 Vuelta, is capable but his team duties with Bahrain Victorious will make things more difficult.
Teammate and fellow Aussie Rob Stannard is making his Tour debut and will be looking to get in a breakaway to reveal his all-round abilities.
Nine-time grand tour stage winner Kaden Groves has been named by Alpecin-Deceuninck for his debut TdF.
While capable of sprinting to a stage victory, he will be leading out his Belgian teammate Jasper Philipsen who will be chasing green jersey success.
Jarrad Drizners is back in action with Lotto.
The 26-year-old from Adelaide is riding his second Tour and will be chasing the breakaways.
Harry Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost) is also riding his second tour and will be hoping to improve on his third place in stage 12 in 2021.
Callum Scotson, who has ridden many strong Giros and Vueltas for Jayco AlUla, is set to ride his first Tour with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team.
And this will be Michael Storer's 10th grand tour and second TdF.
Riding for Tudor Pro Cycling, his win in this year's Tour de Alps and 10th in the Giro make him a realistic chance for a top 10 finish.
* Former pro cyclist and veteran commentator John Trevorrow is on the ground in France, bringing expert insights and updates on the Aussie riders throughout the Tour for CODE Sports.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
7 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Tour de France Femmes: Local hero Squiban claims back-to-back wins
Australia's Sarah Gigante has kept pace with the Tour de France Femmes leaders as France's Maeva Squiban delighted home fans with a solo victory in the seventh stage. The overnight victory was Squiban's second in two days, making her only the fourth rider to claim back-to-back stages at the race. Gigante, who moved into the leading group after finishing in the leading pack on Thursday AEST, came home in 16th place for the second day running, one minute and 11 seconds behind the winner. The result meant the AG Insurance-Soudal rider slipped a place to eighth in the general classification, one minute and 14 seconds behind yellow jersey wearer Kimberley Le Court Pienaar. Squiban, 23, made pace on the upper slopes of the Col du Granier to reach the finish of the hilly stage alone, which lifted the UAE Team ADQ rider to second in the polka dot jersey standings, level on 17 points with Dutchwoman Silke Smulders. 'You have to give everything' "Honestly, winning once on the Tour is already huge and now a second was an incredible day. I think it was one of the hardest days of my life, mentally as well as physically. But you have to give everything," Squiban said. "On the last climb, I just wanted to lie down on the ground, and by the end, I think for the last 15 kilometres, I was barely present — I couldn't hear anything in my ear." It was another French one-two as Cedrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) crossed the line 51 seconds behind Squiban to take second place, and American Ruth Edwards was third. A 17-rider breakaway had lit up the 159.7 kilometre stage from Bourg-en-Bresse, with Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) becoming the first Irish rider to win an intermediate sprint at the Tour. The move split on the Cote de Saint-Franc before Squiban's decisive attack on the final climb. Mauritian rider Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) lost ground on the Granier but finished sixth to retain the yellow jersey. Le Court is ahead of Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 26 seconds and Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) by 30 seconds. Mountains classification leader Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) endured a difficult day and was distanced from the peloton before Squiban's climb. Ruby Roseman-Gannon was the only other Australian rider to finish inside the top 100 and she is 68th overall. Sunday's mountain stage will be from Chambery to Saint-Francois-Longchamp. The place to watch the 2025 Tour de France — live, free and exclusive — plus the fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is right here on the SBS On Demand Hub .
ABC News
7 hours ago
- ABC News
France's Maeva Squiban wins second straight Tour de France Femmes stage on final climb
France's Maeva Squiban has delighted home fans with a solo victory on stage seven of the Tour de France Femmes, her second win in two days, becoming only the fourth rider to claim back-to-back stages at the race. The 23-year-old attacked on the upper slopes of the Col du Granier (8.9km at 5.4 per cent) on Friday, local time, to reach the finish of the hilly stage alone, which lifted the UAE Team ADQ rider to second in the polka dot jersey standings, level on 17 points with Dutchwoman Silke Smulders. "Honestly, winning once on the Tour is already huge and now a second win … It was an incredible day. I think it was one of the hardest days of my life, mentally as well as physically. But you have to give everything," Squiban said. "On the last climb, I just wanted to lie down on the ground, and by the end, I think for the last 15 kilometres, I was barely present — I couldn't hear anything in my ear." Do you have a story idea about women in sport? Email us abcsport5050@ It was another French one-two as Cedrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) crossed the line 51 seconds behind Squiban to take second place, and American Ruth Edwards claimed third. Australia's Sarah Gigante came 16th on the stage, 1 minute 11 seconds behind the stage winner. She now sits in eight place in the overall standings, 1:14 behind the yellow jersey, Mauritian rider Kimberley Le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal). A 17-rider breakaway had lit up the 159.7km stage from Bourg-en-Bresse, with Fiona Mangan (Winspace Orange Seal) becoming the first Irish rider to win an intermediate sprint at the Tour. The move split on the Cote de Saint-Franc before Squiban's decisive attack on the final climb. Le Court Pienaar lost ground on the Granier but finished sixth to retain the yellow jersey. Le Court is ahead of Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 26 seconds and Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma Phinney (Canyon-SRAM) by 30 seconds. Mountains classification leader Elise Chabbey (FDJ-Suez) endured a difficult day and was distanced from the peloton before Squiban's climb. Saturday's mountain stage will be from Chambery to Saint-Francois-Longchamp. Reuters/ABC
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
Red Bull cops official warning as Max throws white towel
Lando Norris completed a commanding 'double top' on Friday with the fastest times ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Briton, who is 16 points behind Piastri in the drivers' title race, clocked a best lap in 1:15.624 to outpace the Australian by 0.291 seconds after a tense second session at the Hungaroring circuit. 'The car felt pretty good from the first lap,' he said. 'And all of my laps were decent, but the second session was a bit more messy with more mistakes. But that's all part of practice I guess. 'We have a good understanding and I know what I want from my car, but of course it is difficult to get it. I have a better car than last year, when I was on pole, and so should have a better chance, but there is tough competition.' Just Lando and Oscar almost colliding at Turn 1... in practice 😵 #F1 #HungarianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2025 Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, adrift by nearly four-tenths, ahead of the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari. George Russell was seventh for Mercedes ahead of Racing Bulls' rookie Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull and Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes. All this left four-time champion Max Verstappen, grumbling throughout about his car's poor balance and performance, down in 14th place, 1.167 seconds off the pace and three tenths adrift of his teammate. To make matters worse for the Dutchman, who described his car as 'undriveable', his Red Bull team picked up an official warning into his disposal of a cloth towel from his cockpit during the session. The towel had been left in his car after a pitstop and was a possible danger to his driving if it fell from his lap area between his legs or the car's pedals. Red Bull were warned of the 'unsafe release' of the car from the pits. 'It was just a towel that you normally wipe your face with when you come back in so it was still in the car when I went out,' Verstappen said. 'Instead of leaving it to, potentially, maybe, fly in between my feet, which is the dangerous part, I drove off the racing line and got rid of it in the safest possible way. 'I think the stewards understood that.' From the start, it was clear that the duelling McLaren title protagonists were in no mood to take the session lightly as they traded best laps and, in a final late incident, ran close to making contact as Norris locked up and Piastri swept past him around Turn One. On a bright, dry afternoon, Nico Hulkenberg - who had missed the first session to give reserve driver Paul Aron an outing for Sauber - was first out and within five minutes ran wide and scattered gravel across the track. FP2 CLASSIFICATION McLarens on top, both Astons in the top five ðŸ'� #F1 #HungarianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2025 As Norris and Piastri dominated, endorsing the clear impression that a McLaren intra-team duel was in prospect for Sunday's race, Verstappen was down in 10th, adrift by a second, and reported, when asked about his car's balance, that it was like 'driving on ice'. His teammate Tsunoda was a tenth faster in ninth. Showing signs that he was feeling the pressure, Norris endured 'a moment' when he slid wide on the grass at the final corner and recovered with 15 minutes remaining on used softs.
