The 2024 Tour de France will see the number of Australians on the start line halved from last year’s bumper crop but forget any notion that this means the nation will fade into the background at the biggest race on the calendar.
Among the six Australian riders at the Tour, there is plenty of potential for them to be highly visible at crucial junctures, both in the mountains, on the flat and in between. A number are entering the race in crucial support roles though many things can happen over 21 days so it isn't out of the question that those roles could evolve.
Last year’s notable highlights from Australian riders were a spectacular stage 5 victory from Jai Hindley in Laruns, which also put the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider into the sought-after yellow jersey for the day and while Ben O’Connor’s overall tilt at the Tour didn’t go to plan, he still made it to the podium in third on stage 10 and 19. As far as the sprinters were concerned, Caleb Ewan had a third and second on stage 3 and 4.
This year the Aussie contingent is unusually without a pure sprinter – Ewan missing the race for the first time since 2019 – though Michael Matthews is back on the start line again in 2024 after being absent in 2023. He is a powerful contender for the reduced group efforts and watch out if he makes it into the break, a stage winning tactic in 2022.
The Tour de France will soon roll out from Florence, so let us take a closer look at each of the Australians on the start list.
Jai Hindley (Bora Hansgrohe)
- Age: 28
- Tour de France record: Stage win, day in yellow and 7th overall in 2023
- Role: Climbing support
Jai Hindley last year entered the Tour de France as the GC leader for Bora-Hansgrohe and the 2022 Giro d’Italia winner made a quick rise up the overall rankings, wearing yellow after his stage 5 victory in the Pyrenees. His subsequent illness and a crash didn’t help his cause, but he still held on for seventh overall.
It was certainly a result that was enough to stoke future podium hopes but that’s a dream that may have to wait for another year for the Western Australian. With the signing of 2020 runner-up Primož Roglič to the team there was all of a sudden another in the ranks with a clear claim on leadership. That means, if all goes to plan Hindley and teammate Aleksandr Vlasov will be providing the crucial support in the final stages of those days in the mountains.
Still, they could also ultimately be additional cards to play as plenty can happen in 21 days.
Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious)
- Age: 30
- Tour de France record: Completed in 2023, 2021 and DNF in 2022, 2021
- Role: Climbing support, stage opportunities
Like Hindley, Jack Haig once had his eye on the Tour de France overall but will now head into the race in a climbing support role, with Santiago Buitrago leading the Bahrain Victorious squad. It will be the fourth Tour de France and third in a row for the rider originally from Bendigo, with 2021 and 2022 both ending with DNFs after unavoidable crashes but the streak got broken in 2023, with his late entry in a support role. However there is also potential for more from the rider who told Cyclingnews earlier this year that among his goals is to get a stage win at a Grand Tour.
The announcement of the team outlined that Haig, as well as being in a support role, would get his own opportunities through the race. He hasn’t had the strongest of seasons but was showing signs of improving form with his ninth place on stage 6 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, which finished atop Le Collet d’Allevard. There is every chance the rider who finished third overall at La Vuelta a España in 2021 could make a mark at the Tour.
Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla)
- Age: 33
- Tour de France record: Seven participations with four stage victories and green points jersey in 2017
- Role: Stage opportunities
The Australian rider at the Australian team provided plenty of excitement when he last raced at the Tour de France in 2022, twice taking the runner-up slot on punchy finishing sprints before claiming victory from the break on stage 14. It was Matthews' fourth victory at the race but his first since 2017, a year where he also claimed the green points jersey.
The rider who once called Canberra home will certainly be looking for a repeat trip to the top step of the podium in 2024, having snatched an early season win at the 1.1 race Ruta de la Cerámica-Gran Premio Castellón but then coming painstakingly close at Milan San Remo, with a tight second.
Signs that his rebuild toward more of the season’s big goals was humming along were evident at the Tour de Suisse where he came second on stage 2. The Tour de France and Olympic Games are where he is really going to be hoping it steps up a notch.
Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla)
- Age: 29
- Tour de France record: 16th overall in 2023
- Role: Climbing support
Jayco-AlUla may have stage-winning goals with Mathews and Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen but they also have overall hopes, and this is where Chris Harper comes in.
He is a crucial support rider for Simon Yates. Harper also made his debut at the French Grand Tour in 2023 in the same role, and considering Yates finished fourth overall it was clearly a strong pairing. Harper, too finished 16th overall while in the support role and seems to have stepped his GC game up a notch in recent times and he delivered sixth overall at the Volta a sixth overall at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya in March.
His last two stage races, the Tour of the Alps and Critérium du Dauphiné, have been cut short by crashes so he may be a little shorter on racing than he expected to be coming into the Tour de France but at least has had the time to recover and line up in Florence.
Luke Durbridge (Jayco-AlUla)
- Age: 33
- Tour de France record: Nine starts
- Role: Support
The final of the three Jayco-AlUla riders is Luke Durbridge, with the experienced hand taking on his tenth Tour. The Western Australian is a powerful driving force and while it's not likely he’ll be chasing stage victories for himself that doesn’t mean he won’t be clearly visible at the front – it is just that it’s likely to be earlier in the day as he chases down breaks or positions his teammates coming into crucial points of the race. He will be a valuable player for both the sprint team and GC effort as he does his part to control breaks and to ensure the climbers make it to the base of the ascents in the optimum spot. Slipping into a break is also not out of the question.
Jarrad Drizners (Lotto Dstny)
- Age: 25
- Tour de France record: Debut
- Role: Sprint lead-out
The only Australian making his debut at the Tour de France this year is Jarrad Drizners, with the South Australian the only rider from outside Belgium on the Lotto Dstny squad for the Grand Tour.
The ProTeam will be focussed on the newly-minted Belgian champion, Arnaud De Lie, with the 22-year-old lining up to lead the sprint charge for the team at the Tour for the first time. Drizners, along with Cedric Beullens, are there for the lead-out as the team builds the experience of its homegrown contender to replace Ewan, who has now shifted to Jayco AlUla.
We also planned to add in the riders from New Zealand to look out for, but alas none are on the Tour de France start list this year. However, there is bound to be a chance to watch contenders from the nation in a GrandTour soon as there is a healthy crop of seriously strong prospects from the nation for the Giro d’Italia Women and the Tour de France Femmes.
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