One of the big signings of the recent off-season, much is expected of Ben O'Connor for Team Jayco AlUla in 2025. After making a real breakthrough in 2024, finishing runner-up at the Vuelta a Espana and the World Championship road race, the Aussie is set to kick off his new season at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana.
“It will be my first time at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana but above all it’s my first race with my new team," previews the new Team Jayco AlUla leader in a pre-race press release posted on his team's official website. "Since I started my professional career, I always knew that, sooner or later, I would be part of the GreenEDGE family. For us Australian riders, Team Jayco AlUla remains the reference team, and I am very proud to be here."
Given it's his first race though, O'Connor is looking to make a big impression. "My goal is to give my best and get the first big result of the season," he says, announcing his plans with determination. "We have a very competitive team, which can do well at the TTT and then it will be up to me to be strong on the many climbs of the Spanish race.”
"It’s early season of course but we still have ambitions here. It’s the first race for Ben O’Connor with the team and his preparation has so far gone all to plan. We will aim to do a good race with him in the GC. First, we have the super important TTT on stage one. This will set the scene for the following stages and how a big part of the rest of the race unfolds," adds Team Jayco AlUla sports director David McPartland. "The week overall is solid one with three of the five stages comprising more than 3,000m of climbing. There is also the last stage and potentially one of the lighter mountain stages where we may see a reduced bunch sprint and for that we have another new member in Jelte Krijnsen for a result.”
Ben O'Connor
Jelte Krijnsen
Robert Donaldson
Michael Hepburn
Christopher Juul-Jensen
Jasha Sütterlin
Filippo Zana
🔮 RACE PREVIEW
— GreenEDGE Cycling (@GreenEDGEteam) February 3, 2025
🎤 Ben O'Connor: "For us Australian riders, Team Jayco AlUla remains the reference team, and I am very proud to be here. My goal is to give my best and get the first big result of the season."
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