Former Visma climber, Colle delle Finestre winner, and in 2026 he became Tom Pidcock's right-hand man
Cycling
Chris Harper was one of Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team's signings for the 2026 season, and a successful one at that. The Australian rider was able to be a leader on his own terms, aid Tom Pidcock in his, and provide the team with much needed climbing firepower to back up the Briton.
Harper turned professional in 2017 with IsoWhey Sports SwissWelness Team, staying within the Australian continental scene for several years. In 2019 he joined Team BridgeLane, having a breakthrough years on several continents. Right at the start of the year, only Michael Freiberg prevented him from a career-changing victory at the national championships.
In the spring he flew to Japan to win the Tour of Japan - winning a summit finish at Mount Fuji as well; and later on flew to Europe where he would go on to win the Tour de Savoie Mont Blacn - as well as the final two summit finishes of the race.
His talents were obvious and within the World Tour there was also no doubt of what Harper could achieve. Team Visma | Lease a Bike themselves signed the Melbourne native into the 2020 season, a year in which they dominated the Tour de France - until the final competitive day.
The pandemic did not fully get in his way, as he managed to compete in the national championships and three stage-races before Covid-19 stunned t he peloton. Late in the year he made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italian, although he did not finish it.
Chris Harper racing in 2026
Team Visma | Lease a Bike turn Chris Harper into a strong World Tour figure
Harper was fourth at the 2021 UAE Tour, a first major opportunity to lead the Dutch team, and was only beaten by Tadej Pogacar, Adam Yates and João Almeida - who in the future would all team up at UAE Team Emirates - XRG. It was his only standout result of the year, although his role in the team was mostly that of a domestique.
2022 was his final year at Visma, where he was selected to the Vuelta a España. The Australian was a key support rider for Primoz Roglic, but the Slovenian ultimately withdrew in the final week. Harper looked for more freedom and leadership, and returned to an Australian setup with Team Jayco AlUla.
He focused on the Tour de France in 2023, making his debut and racing into 16th position in the overall classification - racing in the breakaway on two occasions in the final week. 2024 started off with two second places at the national championships, but then finally picked up speed in the spring.
Harper was 12th at Paris-Nice, and was then sixth at the Volta a Catalunya, won by Tadej Pogacar that year. A concussion at the Tour of the Alps did then disrupt his plans, as he was out of the Giro d'Italia and could not find his best form at the Tour de France. He started but did not finish neither Tour or Vuelta.
Harper wins on the Colle delle Finestre
2025 saw Harper have an early start to the season with plenty goals, but no victories. The Giro d'Italia was a major focus, but he did not arrive in his best form. Harper had a rather absent race, but finally on stage 20 he found himself in the ideal breakaway. On the final mountain stage of the race, he was the strongest out of the breakaway, attacking and carving the winning gap on the Colle delle Finestre, and crossing the line first in Sestrière.
Harper would however leave Jayco at the end of the year, and join Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. After a busy start to the year, he once again picked speed entering the Giro d'Italia. Harper was seventh at the Tour of the Alps, and was in the mix for the Top10 at the Giro. Ultimately, he fell from 12th to 17th on stage 19.
His form was stellar following the Corsa Rosa however, as at the Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica, he was racing to prove his form into the Tour de France. The Australian worked hard to control the attacks on the final climb, pacing Tom Pidcock into the final kilometers where he then made the difference and attacked to victory.
Harper's performances earned him a selection to the Tour, where he was Pidcock's main support in the mountainous stages. He was forced to abandon the race still in its first half however, suffering from a finger injury. His season ultimately ended in July.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Fuuuuuuck, Ciccone and Pidcock on the same team, attacking like crazy and taking it to the other competitors? Yes, please.Occam11-11-2026
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- Awesome. Because you didn't like him, he sucks. Good Lord, you're tendentious. And you write like a 15 yo locked in his room after school.Occam11-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas11-11-2026 - What a win! It's been been so long in the waiting but I'm so glad for Cameron that he's finally got that victory. Sad to see Brand crash out like that. It didn't look too bad initially but there was clearly something very wrong. It could be like van Aert's last yearRafionain-Glas11-11-2026
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