When this season started for Chris Harper in early January in Ballarat, there was no doubt he was the consummate loyal teammate as always but a supporting role that also included two runner–up positions at the Australian Road National Championships invited an obvious question – is this the year that the 29-year-old could also take some of the spotlight for himself?
The rider from Adelaide has spent years burying himself for his teammates, first with Jumbo-Visma when he turned professional in 2020 and then, from 2023, with Jayco-AlUla where one of his key missions has been supporting Simon Yates at the Tour de France. That isn't expected to change, but other parts of his season may.
“My big focus for the year will probably be supporting Simon at the Tour again, which is something I really enjoy doing and am looking forward to," Harper told Cyclingnews during the Australian season. "But also in the lead up to the Tour there are probably opportunities to test myself, see how I can do.”
Harper had already shown that he wasn't shying away from the support role, having made it clear in the break of two with Luke Plapp at the National Championships road race that he would be working to deliver a third title running to his new teammate, rather than chase it himself.
The strong performance, however, made it clear that he is a rider who has built toward a season where he could be seen as a formidable competitor at the top level in his own right.
Not that Harper hasn’t tasted podiums or victory before, it's just that they largely came the year before he turned professional when he could focus more on his own goals.
Harper made it unequivocally clear that supporting “one of the best bike riders in the world in Yates” as he chases a Tour de France podium still remained key, but the indications are clear that it’s time to think about also chasing results for himself sometimes.
That focus was evident in the effort Harper has put into improving his time trialling, highlighted as he came second, again to teammate Plapp, in the discipline at the Australian Championships.
“I think I saw through the year that it was something important, especially for myself, if there is opportunity throughout the year to see how I can go in some of the stage races," said Harper. " Normally there is a time trial or a team trial in there somewhere so I think I’d like to make it a strength rather than a weakness.”
His first opportunity to do just that is now opening up. After his Australian block, Harper took a break before heading into the next part of his season at Paris-Nice.
Tuesday's stage 3 will deliver a 26.9km team time trial, which should start carving out gaps on the GC, with Plapp and Harper outlined as the headliners for the Jayco-AlUla squad at the eight-day race which delivers a solid dose of climbing in the latter stages.
It'll be one of the first tests, in what Harper is hoping will be a run of steps up that builds through this season and into the ones ahead.
"I definitely would like to progress and see if I am capable of being a contender in those week-long stage races, something like Paris-Nice and Catalunya – whether I can be competitive or pushing to be on the podium in those races," said Harper in January when asked about his goals for the next couple of years.
"Then from there if that’s going well, we look at other races – whether I can go to a Grand Tour and be helpful to put pressure on other teams, having another really strong guy there with Simon."
Beyond that, Harper also had a solid run in his season-ending block of one-day races in Italy in 2023, with a fifth at Coppa Agostoni and a top 20 at Il Lombardia, which has opened his eyes to the potential in that realm as well.
Still, whether it is at stage races, one-day races, as a valued domestique or contender in his own right, it all boils down to one key pursuit.
"The main thing is to just keep progressing and see how good I can get," concluded Harper.
