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Cycling News

Sport

James Moultrie

'One of the strongest we’ve seen in recent years' - Jayco AlUla confirm 2024 men's roster

Jayco AlUla AlUla (Organization) Caleb Ewan Dylan Groenewegen Luke Plapp Mauro Schmid Chris Harper Eddie Dunbar Michael Matthews Simon Yates

Team Jayco AlUla at this year's Tour de France.

Jayco Alula have confirmed their 30-man roster for the 2024 season, with six new additions fortifying the squad in sprinting, climbing and for future years.

“Our preparations for 2024 are well underway and we believe that our men’s team roster is one of the strongest we’ve seen in recent years with these exciting new signings,” said team manager Brent Copeland.

Top sprinter Caleb Ewan has returned to the Australian team after five years at Lotto Dstny, but his addition means that two of the fastest riders in the world will be fighting for the biggest sprint opportunities, after Dylan Groenewegen also extending with Jayco AlUla until 2025.

The pair will have parallel race programmes to avoid any issues, with dedicated leadout trains assigned to both riders. German Max Walscheid was brought in from Cofidis to bolster the Australian team's sprint leadout.

Luke Plapp leaves Ineos Grenadiers for four-year deal with Jayco AlUla

Mauro Schmid joins Jayco-Alula on three-year deal

Dylan Groenewegen and Caleb Ewan combine at Jayco-AIUIa until 2025

“We have been working on our sprint lead-out group a lot the past year and have added extra strength to it for next season,” said Copeland.

“To have two of the best sprinters in the world on the team, with Caleb and Dylan, it is important to have the right support group and we believe with our new rider signings, and the way our current riders have developed and gelled together this year, we will have one of the best sprint groups in the WorldTour peloton for the 2024 season.”

Jayco AlUla added further Australian talent by signing Luke Plapp from Ineos Grenadiers and he will join the strong climbing and stage race core of riders that includes Simon Yates, Eddie Dunbar, Chris Harper and Filippo Zana. Michael Matthews is also a team leader for the Classics and Grand Tour stages.

“Over the past couple of years, we have created a solid climbing group, riders that can win in their own right but also support our leaders,” said Copeland.

“We have a lot of depth now in the team and with hugely talented riders joining us in 2024, we can only expect more in stage races and hilly one-day events.”

At only 22, Plapp is part of the Australian team’s development for the future alongside fellow young signings Mauro Schmid, who has already won a Giro stage win, Italian talent Davide De Pretto (21) and Danish all-rounder Anders Foldager (22).

Foldager was a consistent performer in 2023 and took wins at the Tour de L’Avenir and Giro Next Gen, while De Pretto won the points classification at the Giro Next Gen with four top-ten stage finishes.

“We are really focusing on the next generation of riders. We saw this year that our youngest riders really stepped up and displayed the potential they have,” said Copeland.

“This proves to us that we have a solid working environment to get the best out of young talent, we have a lot of older experienced riders within the team, and this is crucial in developing the next generation.

“Having the talent of De Pretto, Foldager but also Schmid, who is still a young rider, it will be very interesting to see what they can achieve in 2024 with the support of a WorldTour team.”

The team's title sponsor AlUla - an ancient city in Saudi Arabia’s north-west and home to a world heritage site - also became the title of the former Saudi Tour. The ASO-organised UCI 2.1 race will run from January 30 to February 3 next year.

“The new AlUla Tour promises to take cycling to another level this year. Welcoming the sport’s elite talent and teams on the UCI Asian Tour across five challenging stages showcases the best of AlUla as a sporting destination," said Phillip Jones, Royal Commission for AlUla chief tourism officer.