Australian stars lead Jayco AlUla’s 2026 Tour de France squad in bold new colours

Five Australians feature in the versatile eight-rider squad for the race, which starts in Barcelona on July 4.

O’Connor arrives at the Tour looking to bounce back from a disappointing Giro d’Italia. After starting the race with podium ambitions and remaining in contention during the opening two weeks, he faded in the decisive mountain stages and finished 16th overall.

The result was below expectations, but the 30-year-old has already demonstrated his Tour pedigree in the past. O’Connor won the queen stage in 2025 and has two Tour stage victories alongside a career best fourth place overall.

Matthews has also endured a difficult build up. A training crash in March forced him to miss the spring classics, one of the main targets of his season, and he only returned to racing in June.

The four-time Tour stage winner will now make his ninth appearance after missing last year’s edition through illness. If his form allows, his ability to climb and sprint gives Jayco AlUla a proven option on demanding stages that eliminate the pure sprinters.

Plapp returns for his second Tour and will target opportunities in the mountains and breakaways. Mauro Schmid provides another attacking option following a strong first half of the season, which included three victories and the overall title at the Coppi e Bartali.

Pascal Ackermann will lead the team in the bunch sprints, while Olympic team pursuit champion Kelland O’Brien and German all rounder Felix Engelhardt will make their Tour debuts.

Luke Durbridge completes the selection. The experienced road captain will start his 12th and final Tour de France.

“We believe we have selected a truly competitive squad, with riders capable of competing on every type of stage, from the flat sprints to the high mountains,” said head of performance Gene Bates in a press release by the team.

The team will compete in a new limited edition jersey designed by Australian cycling apparel brand MAAP. The design keeps Jayco AlUla’s distinctive purple base but introduces bright electric green flames across the front, back, sides and sleeves. 

The colours are intended to give the squad an even more recognisable appearance inside the Tour peloton. MAAP unveiled the jersey in Paris during Fashion Week as part of its HYPERPERFORMANCE exhibition, which explores the relationship between professional cycling, technical apparel and contemporary design. 

The change was not required because of a clash with a race leader’s jersey. Instead, the team and MAAP chose to create a special look specifically for the sport’s biggest stage. 

Liv AlUla Jayco will wear the same colours during the Tour de France Femmes, which starts in Lausanne on August 1.