Giro 2024: Ben O’Connor leader of strong club climbers Decathlon AG2R

Decathlon AG2R brings the necessary climbers to the start of the Giro d’Italia. Leader Ben O’Connor is assisted by, among others, the Paret-Peintre brothers. With Andrea Vendrame, the French formation also has a dangerous stage hijacker.

Ben O’Connor is having a good season, which he started with a victory in the Vuelta a Murcia. He finished second in both the UAE Tour and the Tour of the Alps. In between, the Australian also finished fifth in Tirreno-Adriatico.

O’Connor is one of the podium candidates for the Giro d’Italia. In his hunt for a top ranking, he will receive help from, among others, the brothers Aurélien and Valentin Paret-Peintre. Aurélien recently finished fifth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, after winning a stage in the Tour of the Alps. Valentin also stood out in the same Tour of the Alps. He did a lot of work for O’Connor and finished fourth in the final rankings.

Ride hijacker Vendrame
While O’Connor and the Paret-Peintre brothers performed well in the Tour of the Alps, Andrea Vendrame rode strongly in the Tour de Romandie. The Italian sprinted to two second places. In the Giro, the 29-year-old Italian will undoubtedly get the opportunity to go for day success. After all, in 2021 he already managed to win a stage in the tour of his country.

Decathlon AG2R also takes Bastien Tronchon, Damien Touzé, Larry Warbasse and Alex Baudin to Italy. Baudin can also fill an important role for O’Connor. Judging by his tenth place in the last Tour of the Basque Country, the 22-year-old Frenchman is in the right form. His peer Tronchon stood out at the beginning of this year with a second place in the Clásica Jaén.