Australian men’s cycling appears to be in rude health with four riders sitting in the Top 10 overall at a grand tour for the first time. Chris Harper climbed into 10th place on general classification (GC) at the halfway mark of the Giro d’Italia when crossing the line fourth on stage 11 to Chiavari, alongside compatriots Ben O’Connor (fifth), Jai Hindley (sixth) and Michael Storer (seventh). Australia has never had more than two riders finish a men’s grand tour in the overall Top 10, with O’Connor and Storer the most recent pair of high finishers at the 2024 Giro.
Three-time grand tour winner Jonas Vingegaard is within striking distance of the pink jersey at 27 seconds behind leader Afonso Eulálio, and looks the rider to beat with 10 stages to come before the race finishes in Rome. While the Australian quartet would need everything to go right for one of them to finish on the top step ahead of Vingegaard – and even Portuguese surprise packet Eulálio – a place on the podium remains within reach for O’Connor, Storer and 2022 maglia rosa winner Hindley.
Australian riders have rediscovered their great affection for the Giro after a post-Covid slump with 14 riders on the start line last year and 12 this time. The four now in the overall Top 10 are breaking new ground after much of the pre-race spotlight was on sprinter Kaden Groves and Tour Down Under winner Jay Vine before both were forced to abandon due to injuries sustained in heavy crashes.
The Western Australian trio are within 40 seconds of each other with O’Connor the best placed at 2min48s behind Eulálio. The 30-year-old is 51s down on third-placed Thymen Arensman as he chases a second grand tour podium after finishing runner-up in the Vuelta a España last year. O’Connor arrived at the Giro start line in Bulgaria with a run of unconvincing results behind him but has proved in the past he is at his best when flying under the radar at grand tours. The Jayco AlUla leader was fourth overall at the 2024 Giro and also finished one spot off the podium when he announced himself as a future GC contender in his Tour de France debut in 2021.
Former Giro winner Hindley arrived at this year’s race with doubts over his role within the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team alongside home hope Giulio Pellizzari. The Australian has looked the stronger on the road and sits 30s ahead of the emerging Italian, as he remains in contention for a podium – or perhaps much more – at 3min 6s behind Eulálio. Hindley and Pellizzari have stayed in touch with the leaders even as they have suffered from separate illnesses, and both should appreciate a relatively flat stage 12 that runs from Imperia to Novi Ligure and should favour the sprinters.
Storer is out to improve on his 10th-placed overall finishes at the past two Giros. The 29-year-old arrived at last year’s grand tour in a rich vein of form after overall victory at the Tour of the Alps and with high hopes of contending for the podium in Italy. He wound back his preparation at the same stage race in the Alps when fourth behind winner Pellizzari last month, with the aim to better time his run for the first grand tour of the season. Storer knows what it takes to finish on a grand tour podium after claiming the king of the mountains jersey at the Vuelta in 2021. And there have been signs that the climber may become just the second Australian after Matthew Lloyd in 2010 to head home with a maglia azzurra.
Harper, meanwhile, was part of a breakaway group of five riders when this year’s 195km stage 11 reached the final climb, and will be aiming to add to his breakthrough victory at the Giro last year. The Melburnian was unable to hold a wheel as eventual stage winner Jhonatan Narváez and Enric Mas pulled away. But Harper was given enough rope by the main GC riders to claw back 3min 13s on the leaders and leap into the Top 10. The 31-year-old is 4min 09s behind Eulálio as his focus is on hunting stages rather than the highest possible overall finish.
The GC contenders will enjoy some respite over the next two stages with breakaways and opportunists expected to be most suited to the rolling terrain and punchy climbs, before the Giro heads back into the high mountains for a 16.5km summit finish at Pila on Saturday. Vingegaard could take a stranglehold on the maglia rosa that day on his quest to complete the set of grand tour crowns. But even if the Dane takes control of the race, the four Australians can keep flying the flag with hopes for a podium finish, or perhaps even a grander prize if the path to the top step opens up.
