Team Jayco AlUla are ready to line up for the 2024 Giro d’Italia with a mixed team full of talent and experience that brings multiple options to the table.
Ready for a Strong GC Showing
Last year’s seventh place finisher Eddie Dunbar will once again lead the team, with the intention of repeating last year’s top-ten performance. Alongside the Irishman, Australian champion Luke Plapp has shown that he is the complete athlete, a strong TT rider looking to make his mark in the two individual time trials on offer.
“I’m looking forward to returning to the Giro and trying to repeat, if not improve last year’s good result,” Dunbar said. “My preparation has been pretty ok, maybe not quite as well as last year but it will be nice to go back to the Giro fighting again. This year’s course is very tough right from the start, the first two stages will probably be two GC days, and so you have to be ready from the very beginning. This year there will also be some gravel roads, the classic long alpine climbs and two challenging time trials. Basically, the usual hard and demanding Giro.”
Two strong and experienced Italian’s line-up aside the duo, with last year’s stage winner Filippo Zana looking for a repeat performance. He is hungry to show his talent uphill and will form part of the support squad in the mountains together with recent Tour of the Alps stage winner Alessandro De Marchi. The veteran will be the Australian outfit’s road captain, crossing over between the mountains and sprint groups.
“It will be exciting to be there at the start next Saturday for one of the world’s most fascinating races. The Giro officially starts on 4th May but in reality, it started many months ago,” added General Manager Brent Copeland. “Riders and staff have worked for months to prepare for this event, which has always given us great satisfaction over the years. I’m proud of the work we’ve done together and I’m sure our team will stand out in each of the 21 stages. We have built a team that brings together highly experienced men and young athletes with great talent. We’re finally here, it’s time to leave the verdict to the roads.”
Searching for the Sprints
Multiple Giro d’Italia stage winner Caleb Ewan brings the speed to the team, knowing what it takes to win Grand Tour stages, with already 11x to his name. This year’s Giro start list is without a doubt one of the best-ever sprint line-ups of any Grand Tour we have ever seen in recent year, making any potential victory even sweeter.
The 29-year-old Australian will be supported by two great experts when it comes to fast finishes with Slovenian rider Luka Mezgec, who will be a trusted part of the lead-out train together with the German powerhouse Max Walscheid. Under the pressure of hectic finals, Walscheid is one of the best in the business and ready to get the job done.
Rounding out the stellar squad is experienced Australia Michael Hepburn who will cross over into both groups, bringing skills to support on the most demanding stages and in those that end in a bunch sprint.
“I’m thrilled to return to the Giro after two years of absence,” told reporters. “It’s a race that I have always liked and I have some great memories having previously won five stages. This year, I started my season with the Australian races, and then I won a stage in Oman before racing Tirreno-Adriatico. This past month and a half I have been preparing for the Giro with a training camp at altitude and I will return to the races next Wednesday in Frankfurt before heading to Italy. I can count on the help of two great professionals like Luka (Mezgec) and Max (Walscheid) and I believe we can do good things.”
“The Giro d’Italia has arrived and here we are ready to begin our assault on this very special race,” concluded Sport Director David McPartland. “On the GC front we are aiming to finish inside the top 10 and on the stages front our goal is to win at least one stage with Caleb and another from the various other guys we have that are capable of stage win, like in the TT with Luke (Plapp) and in the mountains or from a breakaway. Months of work have gone in to preparing for this race from all our Giro riders and staff. We have had a lot of success over the years at the Giro and our aim is to simply to add to that again in the 2024 edition”.
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