Ben O'Connor is targeting the GC podium at the 2026 Giro
Team Jayco-AlUla has announced that GC leader Ben O'Connor is building his 2026 season around the Giro d'Italia, where he hopes to finish at least one better than fourth in 2024.
"Ben has been on the podium in a Grand Tour before,” said sports director Gene Bates in the team's announcement, referring to O'Connor's second place at the 2024 Vuelta. “He was fourth at the Giro a few years ago and so he knows what it takes. This year, he’s older and wiser, and we’re really looking forward to supporting him to achieve the best result he can overall at the Giro."
The Giro will be O'Connor's 13th Grand Tour, starting in Bulgaria on 8th May and culminating in Rome three weeks later. He can expect to face fierce competition from – among many others – three-time Grand Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, 2019 winner and last year's podium finisher Richard Carapaz, and João Almeida who has never finished outside the top 10 of any Grand Tour he's finished, including podiums at the 2023 Giro and 2025 Vuelta.
