Ben O’Connor and Paul Double will headline Team Jayco AlUla at the forthcoming Volta a Catalunya, which takes place between 23 and 29 March.
The weeklong Spanish stage race will mark the beginning of O’Connor’s build towards the Giro d’Italia later in the spring, where he will be targeting an overall podium. The Australian, who will be the team’s main leader, has been working hard at altitude over the last month after last racing in February at the UAE Tour.
Paul Double will also be afforded his own opportunity in the general classification alongside O’Connor. The 29-year-old closed out the 2025 season in style with the overall win at the Tour of Guangxi and has enjoyed a solid start to this year after taking fifth overall at the Tour of Oman.
Providing support for O’Connor and Double in the mountains will be climbers Rudy Porter and Koen Bouwman. German puncheur Felix Engelhardt will also play a key role on the rolling terrain and could be given his own chances on the punchy terrain if the opportunity arises.
Rounding out the squad will be the very experienced Chris Juul-Jensen and Patrick Gamper, who will form the engine room of the team over the flatter parts of the route.
Team Jayco AlUla for Volta a Catalunya
Koen Bouwman (NED)
Paul Double (GBR)
Felix Engelhardt (GER)
Patrick Gamper (AUT)
Chris Juul-Jensen (DEN)
Ben O’Connor (AUS)
Rudy Porter (AUS)
Ben O’Connor
“Catalunya is probably the stage race that I’ve done the most in my career. I always love it, I always enjoy it and I’ve done well here in the past. In the end, I want to be climbing with the best boys on these big climbs here in the Catalan Pyrenees. They’re long climbs and they suit my dynamic. I always enjoy it and, to cap it off, finishing in Barcelona is a great and fun circuit. It’s not exactly the same course that we’ll do at the Tour de France but it’s close enough. It’s a great way to end the race in a city with a short, punchy circuit. Excited for it and preparation has been good. I’ve been up in Tenerife for a little while since the UAE Tour so hopefully it all pays off. In the end, my goal is to be climbing with the best guys and let’s see where we end up.”
Neil Stephens – Sport Director
“At the Volta a Catalunya, we have three relatively flat stages followed by three mountain stages, two of which are hilltop stages, plus the hilly final stage in Barcelona, which is always raced full gas. The race builds up as we go right until the intense final stage. We’ve got a strong line-up and team leader will be Ben O’Connor. He started the year with some hard racing in Australia and the UAE, but he’s had a bit of a break and some time at altitude so now he’s looking forward to starting his Giro campaign here. We’re not sure how he’ll compare against the other climbers at this point but he’s looking forward to getting some good climbing in the legs.
Paul Double will be something of a co-leader. He showed his climbing skills when he won the Tour of Guangxi last year but he’s still yet to be proven in the longer Pyrenean climbs that we’ll see in Catalunya. We will support him in taking that progression and he’s looking forward to taking on that test, too. We will try to be present in most of the stages and hopefully we can finish the week on a high in Barcelona.”
Volta a Catalunya 2026
23-29 March – 7 stages
Photo: Sprint Cycling
