Team Jayco AlUla has plenty to celebrate as the 2026 Tour de France reached its traditional denouement in Paris, with a stage win, two runner-up finishes, and a plethora of top 10s.
With Mauro Schmid’s victory on stage 13, the Australian squad maintained its win streak at the Tour. Team Jayco AlUla has now taken a stage in each of the last three editions of the men’s race – with Ben O’Connor winning in 2025 and Dylan Groenewegen claiming victory in 2024 – while it has now won 12 Tour de France stages in its 15-year history.
An aggressive strategy
Team Jayco AlUla went into the three-week race with the ambition of targeting stage success and brought a stacked line-up that could tackle a variety of terrains. Amongst the eight-rider roster was Luke Durbridge, who has been on the team since its inception in 2012 and was lining up for his final Tour de France.
First on the stage hit list was the opening team time trial, with the riders pushing their limits in a brutally hot Barcelona. While it didn’t go as well as hoped, the team secured an early top-10 finish as Michael Matthews led the squad over the line.
It was an emotional moment for Matthews, who returned to the race for the first time since 2024 following two seasons plagued with injury. Last year he was forced to miss the race, while he only returned to racing shortly before this year’s edition after fracturing both his wrists in a horrible training accident in the spring.
Matthews has been a prominent proponent of the team’s aggressive racing strategy throughout the three weeks of racing, both working for his teammates and taking his own chances. He played an important role in Schmid’s victory in the second week and claimed two top-10 finishes of his own.
Mathew Hayman (Sport Director)
“We came in with an ambitious plan, but we were focused on how we raced as a team. We knew that to win at the Tour de France is always difficult, but with the pedigree of the riders that we had if we were able to commit daily to get our best riders to be able to be in the position to go for a win then we hoped that it would come off. I’m pretty proud of the way that the boys raced every day and then particularly it was highlighted on stage 13 when Mauro Schmid won that it required a whole team effort.”
Magic Mauro
Following the opening team time trial, much of the first week of the Tour de France was dominated by the general classification fight. However, German champion Felix Engelhardt had a turn in the stage two breakaway, in his debut Tour, earning himself the prize for most aggressive rider and a trip to the podium.
Rounding out the first week on a positive note, Pascal Ackermann and Matthews notched up top-10 placings on stages eight and nine respectively. However, the biggest success was still to come.
Having been aggressive throughout the race, Schmid was one of the early riders to make it into a large breakaway on stage 13. Keen to help, Matthews, O’Connor, and Luke Plapp jumped the gap to the leaders after an epic chase on rolling terrain.
What followed was a superb team effort with all four working together over the tough Ballon d’Alsace and then Plapp and Schmid playing the perfect pair in the finale. Schmid put to rest the memories of the close miss in Toulouse 12 months ago, taking a strong win and even doing an iconic wheelie over the line.
Mauro Schmid
“It’s been an amazing Tour de France this year, and I’m super happy to come away with a stage victory after coming really close last year. It is a great team here and we had a really nice atmosphere the whole three weeks, and we raced really well.”
Never back down
Bolstered by the stage win, the team set about adding another one, putting riders into the breakaways as often as it could. It almost paid off again with Schmid scoring two second places on two very different terrains in the final week.
Following another chaotic breakaway stage that saw the complexion of the lead group constantly change, the Swiss Army knife found himself in a sprint battle with former green jersey winner Jasper Philipsen. He took a commendable second place to the Belgian with Matthews not far behind in ninth place.
Schmid was in the breakaway again the following day as the race took on the summit finish of Orcières-Merlette. Well set-up by Engelhardt in the run into the climb, Schmid put in another top performance on the tough ascent and could only be beaten by, former Giro d’Italia winner, Richard Carapaz.
Luke Durbridge
“It was a great final Tour de France. It was super hard to win a stage here so to have Mauro win a stage was pretty special. The boys raced hard every single day, it was an amazing group to be with and an absolute pleasure to be a part of this team and this Tour de France. I couldn’t think of a better way to finish it off.”
2026 Tour de France
1st place, Mauro Schmid – Stage 13
2nd place, Mauro Schmid – Stage 17
2nd place, Mauro Schmid – Stage 18
7th place, Pascal Ackermann – Stage 8
7th place, Michael Matthews – Stage 9
10th place, Team Time Trial – Stage 1
10th place, Pascal Ackermann – Stage 11
10th place, Luke Plapp – Stage 13
Photos: Martino Cortigiani (lead photo) & Sprint Cycling
