Despite starting the day one man down, Team Jayco AlUla blasted to second place in the stage three time trial at Paris-Nice.
With the good performance against the clock, the squad is in a strong position going into some key general classification stages in the second part of the race. Michael Matthews climbed to third in the overall classification with GC leader Ben O’Connor on the same time as him in fourth place overall.
The team went into the stage without Luke Durbridge, after he broke his collarbone in a crash during stage two. Losing the Australian champion was a big blow, but the team still went into the day with high hopes of a strong result.
Setting off second in the running order, the team immediately went to the top of the timing sheets as they crossed the finish line in Nevers with Matthews leading O’Connor over the line. There was a lengthy wait as several teams tried and failed to topple their tough benchmark.
In the end, only Visma-Lease a Bike was able to better the time of Team Jayco AlUla.
Ben O’Connor
“On the circuit, you had to be careful not to overdo it and then horsepower in the middle was the key thing. I don’t think we could have gone faster. It sucked to lose Luke yesterday, he’s a huge engine and there were parts there where I think one extra guy would have helped. I still think it was a great ride.”
Mauro Schmid
“I think overall we can still be proud, we did a really good ride. Obviously, we missed Durbo quite a bit and I think with him we would have had a good chance, but I still think we can be proud.”
Paris-Nice 2025 stage 3 results
1. Visma-Lease a Bike 30:26
2. Team Jayco AlUla +15
Photo: Sprint Cycling
