Team Jayco AlUla go for Ben O'Connor with Simon Yates set to leave according to latest reports
Cycling
The decision of Simon Yates' future is one that has been contemplated for a long time within Team Jayco AlUla. According to the latest reports, the Aussie-based outfit have finally made their decision.
According to reports by Daniel Benson of GCN, Team Jayco AlUla have decided to part ways with the former Vuelta a Espana winning Brit, who has raced his whole career in the professional peloton to date with the team. What's more, Team Jayco AlUla have already reportedly secured the services of their Grand Tour general classification replacement in the form of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team's Ben O'Connor, who finished 4th at the most recent Giro d'Italia.
Having brought in the likes of Caleb Ewan and Australian National Champion Luke Plapp in the most recent off-season, this signing of O'Connor, if it transpires, marks a continued effort by the team to assemble the best of the Australian talent. Whilst O'Connor doesn't have the Grand Tour winning pedigree of Simon Yates, a 4th placed finish at the 2021 Tour de France, alongside the aforementioned podium near miss at the most recent Giro d'Italia have proven the 28-year-old can compete with the very best over three weeks of racing.
Should the move go through, GCN reports that O'Connor will be able to expect team leadership at either the 2025 Giro d'Italia or the 2025 Tour de France, with the likes of Plapp, Ewan, Michael Matthews and Dylan Groenewegen also providing leadership options for the other Grand Tours of next year.
For Yates meanwhile, things are a little more unclear. The 31-year-old, who won the 2018 Vuelta a Espana and finished 4th at the 2023 Tour de France, has been linked with various teams such as Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Israel-Premier Tech and even the Tudor Pro Cycling Team although the likes of INEOS Grenadiers and the team of his brother, Adam Yates, UAE Team Emirates have both denied any interest. A developing story to keep an eye on, as teams inevitably begin searching for a new Grand Tour leader for next season.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 4visitors 4
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
Loading
🚨Revolving doors: Simon Yates out, Ben O’Connor in at Jayco AlUla No confirmation until August 1 but this makes sense for all parties, especially Jayco as they look to the future. Yates will aim to go out on a high at the TDF. globalcyclingnetwork.com/racing/news/re…🇦🇺🇬🇧
1 Comments