As the 112th Tour de France comes to an end, Team Jayco AlUla look back fondly on an epic three-week race, finishing as one of just nine teams from 23 to claim a sought-after stage victory.
Crashes, chaos and overall hopes
As predicted, the Tour began with plenty of nervousness as the peloton navigated northern France, with crashes unfortunately a big part of proceedings. On the opening stage, while sitting perfectly in an elite front split, Ben O’Connor was taken out in a dramatic crash that saw the Australian GC contender struggling with pain in his knee for the remainder of the race.
With his body not 100%, it was soon apparent that the rider from Perth was out of general classification contention before the race had truly begun. There was more unwanted crashes and bad luck in the opening days with Eddie Dunbar forced to abandon following a big tumble on stage seven. It was a huge loss with the Irishman showing his great form by taking a strong fourth place from the breakaway the previous day.
Not allowing misfortune to hamper the race, the squad bounced back, quickly reassessing and resetting the plan to come back stronger with an aggressive style of racing.
Mat Hayman – Sport Director
“We had to change tact a few times. The crash with Ben put us back but we managed to regroup and came out of the rest day with Mauro’s phenomenal ride. Both those riders deserved to win that day. That helped us kick off the momentum with getting in the breakaways.
Ben capped it off with his win and just the way he rode it, to attack the yellow jersey, and get a gap away from a pretty elite GC group. To get a gap is one thing but to hold it on a brutal climb at the end of 5,400 metres is pretty amazing.
Also, the fourth places, second places and the guys in the breakaway and in the mix across the board in general. Dunbar’s ride on a stage that probably didn’t suit him, Plappy’s time trial and just the way the guys continued to fight everyday really says something. When you look across the board, the teamwork, the atmosphere between the riders through thick and thin was something special.”
Breakaway bravery & TT prowess
The man who loves a breakaway – Swiss Champion Mauro Schmid put on a show for the crowds on stage 11, spending the entire stage out front in the breakaway on a day that was described by most of the peloton as “relentless”. The 25-year-old headed towards the finish line in Toulouse with only one other rider and came agonisingly close to a phenomenal debut TDF stage victory, only to have to settle for second place. The close brush with success, and the style in which Schmid raced, it only added to the motivation of the team for the coming stages.
Mauro Schmid:
“I can be happy with my first Tour. Overall, a Grand Tour always has a lot of ups and downs and the win with Ben gave it more ups than downs. I would have liked to be in a couple of more breakaways but from the experience it has been great. I have learnt a lot and can take a lot from this race.
Just one good day in a season can change your life. Coming close to the stage win on day 11 gave me a lot of confidence for what is coming. I still have a lot of motivation, maybe even more motivation now after coming second on that stage. Sometime a setback can give you more motivation and I will take a lot from that day.”
Australian time trial champion Luke Plapp also demonstrated his top form with a long day in the hot seat on stage 13. The 24-year-old spent more than three hours in the top spot on a tough uphill time trial stage into Loudenville. The rider from Victoria eventually finished in an impressive fifth place, beaten by current and former Olympic and world champions in the discipline.
King of the Queen stage
Not content to go home without a stage win, the highlight of the race was, of course, the epic stage 18; the much-feared Queen stage. Battling gruelling wet conditions and more than 5,400 metres of altitude gain, it wasn’t a stage for the faint hearted. That’s where O’Connor showed the world his raw talent and pedigree, jumping across to the elite front group before launching two more attacks to drop all his rivals and head to a special solo win – his second career TDF triumph.
The victory, being on the toughest stage of the race, also made it Team Jayco AlUla’s third consecutive Grand Tour Queen stage victory following on from Eddie Dunbar at the 2024 Vuelta a España and Chris Harper’s win at the 2025 Giro d’Italia.
Ben O’Connor:
“It has been full of ups and downs, from the first day being at the front of the race to on the floor with four kilometres to go. I had some terrible days in that first week. Then being opportunistic, I threw the dice a few times and went into breakaways. To end up with the win, especially on the Queen stage of the race is huge. With the GC falling apart, the stage win makes up for it, doing it on the biggest day of the race and probably the biggest day that I have actually ever done on the bike – It is a proud moment. And, for it to be my first win with the team, it is really memorable.“
2025 Tour de France
1st Ben O’Connor (Stage 18)
2nd Mauro Schmid (Stage 11)
4th Ben O’Connor (Stage 10)
4th Eddie Dunbar (Stage 6)
5th Luke Plapp (Stage 13 TT)
9th Luke Plapp (Stage 9 TT)
11th Overall -Ben O’Connor
