Team Jayco AlUla lead by Ben O'Connor stun with second fastest time in Paris-Nice TTT: "I don’t think we could have gone faster"
Cycling
Team Jayco AlUla were probably the pleasant surprise of the Paris-Nice team time trial. Despite being a man down (Luke Durbridge abandoned with broken collarbone in stage two), the men in purple flew through the course in a second fastest time of the day. Great news for GC ambitions of Ben O'Connor who moved up to 4th.
"On the circuit, you had to be careful not to overdo it and then horsepower in the middle was the key thing," says O'Connor in press release. "I don’t think we could have gone faster. It sucked to lose Luke yesterday, he’s a huge engine and there were parts there where I think one extra guy would have helped. I still think it was a great ride."
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"I think overall we can still be proud, we did a really good ride," Mauro Schmid joins the wave of optimism. "Obviously, we missed Durbo quite a bit and I think with him we would have had a good chance, but I still think we can be proud."
Ultimately, only the biggest favorites Team Visma | Lease a Bike were able to dethrone Jayco after a long wait in the hot seat. However losing 15 seconds to a lineup both past and present European ITT champions is nothing to be ashamed of.
General classification after third stage of Paris-Nice:
| Position | Rider | Team | Time |
| 01 | Jorgenson Matteo | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 08:13:52 |
| 02 | Vingegaard Jonas | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 06 |
| 03 | Matthews Michael | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 21 |
| 04 | O'Connor Ben | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 21 |
| 05 | Vlasov Aleksandr | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 31 |
| 06 | Lipowitz Florian | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 31 |
| 07 | Schmid Mauro | Team Jayco-AlUla | + 31 |
| 08 | Zwiehoff Ben | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | + 34 |
| 09 | Skjelmose Mattias | Lidl-Trek | + 36 |
| 10 | Sheffield Magnus | INEOS Grenadiers | + 38 |
| 11 | Foss Tobias | INEOS Grenadiers | + 39 |
| 12 | Powless Neilson | EF Education-EasyPost | + 40 |
| 13 | Arensman Thymen | INEOS Grenadiers | + 40 |
| 14 | Steinhauser Georg | EF Education-EasyPost | + 42 |
| 15 | Narvaez Jhonatan | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 44 |
| 16 | Paret-Peintre Aurélien | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | + 45 |
| 17 | Bissegger Stefan | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | + 45 |
| 18 | Almeida Joao | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | + 48 |
| 19 | Gall Felix | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | + 48 |
| 20 | Scotson Callum | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | + 48 |
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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