Ben O’Connor has today confirmed his goals for the 2026 season with the Giro d’Italia general classification his main objective.
The 30-year-old was a stage winner at the Italian Grand Tour back in 2020 and finished fourth overall in 2024. Now, the rider from Perth is eager to return stronger and more mature and challenge once again for the overall title, this year with Team Jayco AlUla.
Having kicked off his season in his native Australia at the Tour Down Under, O’Connor will now shift his focus and preparations to May and the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria.
“The Giro d’Italia always finds our soft spots,” O’Connor explained. “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.”
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. Living and training at altitude, the return of several mountain top finishes above 2,000 metres is also a welcome addition with O’Connor hoping to shine on the hardest of days.
“Having that long crescendo into the final week of big mountains is something that’s always suited my style,” O’Connor continued “And it’s been replicated again for 2026, especially the Dolomiti stage.”
With no fewer than 12 Grand Tour starts under his belt, the four-time Grand Tour stage winner knows what it takes to pace himself over three weeks. O’Connor has come close to a GC victory before with his stunning second place finish at the 2024 Vuelta a España, plus another near-podium finish, with fourth place at the 2021 Tour de France.
“Ben has been on the podium in a Grand Tour before,” said Sporting Manager Gene Bates. “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.
His season is built around this early goal, he had a strong start in Australia and we’ll be helping him to build over the next months to arrive in Bulgaria in the best shape possible, and with a team ready to assist him over the challenging edition of this year’s Giro.”
Team Jayco AlUla performance staff believe 2026 can be the year that O’Connor steps onto the Giro podium and the team will be backing him as team leader all the way from Bulgaria to Rome.
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