Australian Ben O’Connor returns to action as he leads a strong and experienced Team Jayco AlUla at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya starting on Monday.
The 29-year-old lines up off the back of a gruelling Paris-Nice and he’ll be supported by a robust climbing group across the seven days of racing in northern Spain.
Veteran Alessandro De Marchi and Dutchman Koen Bouwman will bring with them a wealth of experience as well as their climbing abilities alongside Ethiopian talent Hagos Berhe.
Danish trio Chris Juul-Jensen, Asbjørn Hellemose and Anders Foldager will each continue their spring racing programmes, with latter also giving the team options in the fast finishes, while Juul-Jensen has proved to be one of the most dependable domestiques in the pro peloton.
Team Jayco AlUla at Volta a Catalunya
Hagos Berhe (ETH)
Koen Bouwman (NED)
Alessandro De Marchi (ITA)
Ander Foldager (DEN)
Asbjørn Hellemose (DEN)
Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN)
Ben O’Connor (AUS)
Chris Juul-Jensen:
“It goes without saying that with a squad like ours, there’s plenty of reason to be motivated and expect and hope for a good result, both stage wise with Anders and with the GC in mind for Ben.
I think everyone is looking forward to seeing what Ben can achieve during the week in Catalunya. It’s a hard race, but it suits him, and he’s motivated for sure, and hungry to get a big result and his first for the team.
We’re all excited to help him achieve that goal and I can’t wait. It’s going to be good fun and serious racing with a good group of lads, everyone has been training hard and we’re now starting a very important part of the season and it’s no secret that we’re racing for top results.”
Steve Cummings (Sports Director):
“Ben is coming into the race off the back of a tough Paris-Nice, he’s really motivated and we’re hoping he can take a step forward from last week. There’s also some good opportunities for Anders in the fast finishes and reduced group sprints.
Bouwman is coming back from a small injury, so it will be good to have him back and we have an experienced roster with the likes of De Marchi and Juul-Jensen, some good road captains.
On the GC we will try and aim for the best result we can with Ben, stage three in particular will be a big test and as I said, the reduced sprints look good on paper for Anders. It’s a great chance for him, he’s not got a win at WorldTour level, but this will be a good test for him to see how he stacks up against the fast guys at this level.”
Photo: Sprint Cycling
