NOVARA – Between the Vuelta and the autumn classics, with a new Italian push for 2026. Taking advantage of the final Grand Tour of the season we met Brent Copeland, general manager of the team Jayco-AlUla who, in addition to telling us about Ben O'Connor's ranking ambitions, told us about the plans for the future and new additions.
Conca is already there, Covi will arrive
As announced, Alessandro De Marchi will leave professional cycling, while Filippo Zana ended his adventure with the Australian team, signing with Soudal Quick-Step. Yet, at Jayco-AlUla, the Italian language continues to be spoken. August, in fact, brought with it the two who fought for the tricolour jersey until the last breath: Filippo Conca and Alessandro Covi, signed until 2027. Both are united by a great desire for redemption, to confirm the good things seen in Gorizia.
«Like any other team – Copeland begins to explain – We are looking for talents who can integrate into the team, not just on the fly, and who fit within our budget.We don't choose one rider over another because of his nationality or other specific details. We look for guys who are as close as possible to ours in terms of mentality and that they can represent added value. I really think that both Conca and Covi are two excellent additions and that they perfectly represent what we look for in a rider."
Boys looking for space
Relaunched into cycling that counts by the Swatt Club, Conca has already begun to show off his new and shiny tricolour jerseyHe made his debut on August 15th with his new team in Belgium and supported Michael Matthews (who finished 8th at the Bretagne Classic) last weekend in Plouay.
«We wanted people – continues Copeland – who thought about the team more than his own personal resultsAfter a few discussions with Filippo, we thought he would be the perfect fit. We're delighted he's come on board.
Covi, however, will close the season with the UAE Team Emirates and then it will go off his two-year contract with the new shirt, convinced he will find new motivation and grow again. Especially hoping to have more space compared to the one he had in the Emirati battleship.
Vendrame Surprise
But the general manager of Jayco-Alula does not stop here and he's ready to play the Joker to make a trio of Italians, or rather a poker counting Davide De Pretto already present in the squad. In the next few hours, Andrea Vendrame's signing will be made official. After six years with Decathlon AG2R, the thirty-one-year-old from Santa Lucia di Piave needed some motivation and hopes to find the same form that allowed him to win the nineteenth stage of the Giro in May 2024. with arrival in Sappada. At the opening, the Venetian wins the fourth stage of the Tour du Limousin.
«We are trying to build the best team possible for 2026 – Copeland told us at the start of the Vuelta – but every year a greater economic effort is required. It's becoming difficult to put together a team that can always be competitive or attack-oriented. There will still be some announcements, no big names to shake up the cycling world, but targeted grafts that can best integrate into our workforce». And here is another piece to complete the Aussie mosaic.
All for O'Connor
A team that, inevitably, will be built around Ben O'Connor, recharged by this new adventure finally with an Australian team after a long ride with AG2R. "Ben is doing well," explains Copeland. "He's done a great preparation and had a great Tour de France. When you win the queen stage of the Grande Boucle, overtaking champions like Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, it's fantastic."
After the successes in May at the Giro with Plapp (Castelraimondo) and Harper (Sestriere), the blaze at the Tour by O'Connor himself in the Courchevel stage, now Copeland dreams of a treble at the Vuelta. In 2022 alone, the Australian team had managed to win all three Grand ToursIn the Corsa Rosa, Yates' two victories and Sobrero's one in the final time trial in Verona arrived, Groenewegen and Matthews's triumphs in the Grande Boucle, now the cherry on top is missing in the Spanish stage race. From now until the end of the season, there's no shortage of opportunities to continue the positive streak, even if O'Connor has chosen not to compete in the World Championships, which will see Jay Hindley as the tip of Australia, instead heading decisively towards Lombardy.
