Australian climber and stage racing specialist Ben O’Connor is reportedly set to return to French squad Decathlon CMA CGM for 2027 after a two-year spell at Jayco-AlUla.
According to L’Équipe, O’Connor – shortly due to take part in the Tour de France this July – will rejoin the team to race alongside Paul Seixas next season. The 30-year-old would replace Felix Gall in the French WorldTour squad, the 2026 Giro d’Italia runner-up who is apparently set to head for Lidl-Trek.
Cyclingnews spoke to Decathlon CMA CGM’s Chief Executive Officer Dominique Serieys, but he declined to comment, dismissing the report as transfer speculation. However, Cyclingnews understands that Decathlon are interested in signing O’Connor, but a deal has not yet been finalised.
O’Connor has already had a four-year spell in Decathlon, joining the squad when it was backed by AG2R Insurance and following an early part of his career at Dimension Data.
Riding for the French squad, O’Connor enjoyed a breakthrough 2021 season, taking fourth overall in the Tour and winning a stage to Tignes.
He then took podium finishes at the Criterium du Dauphiné in 2022 and 2023 prior to his best season to date in 2024, when he finished fourth in the Giro d’Italia, second overall in the Vuelta after a courageous two-week defence of the top spot, and runner-up in the World Championships road race.
Having moved onto Jayco-AlUla in 2025, O’Connor was the winner of the toughest stage of the Tour de France in 2025, claiming a solo victory at the Col de la Loze in the Alps in the third week.
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However, this year he has not yet enjoyed any major success, with an uneven Giro d’Italia GC bid starting well but beset by illness and ending in 16th place in Rome.
Should the news be confirmed, O’Connor’s exit would represent a major loss for Jayco-AlUla, given the Australian has been their main overall classification contender for the last two years.
Cyclingnews has also reached out to O’Connor’s current team, Jayco-AlUla, but they declined to comment.
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