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The 2023 edition of the Tour de France will provide many an opportunity for Australian riders to impress on the world stage, and judging from recent World Tour events, there will be no shortage of Aussies putting their hands up at the Tour.
Jai Hindley's (BORA-Hansgrohe) history-making victory at the 2022 Giro d'Italia no doubt inspired some impressive Aussie performances at this year's race, with Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin–Deceuninck) both coming away with early stage wins and Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) coming agonisingly close to victory on Stage 6.
The recently-concluded Criterium du Dauphine saw another impressive feat never previously achieved at the WorldTour, with three Australians placing inside the top five of the general classification. Ben O'Connor's (AG2R Citroën Team) podium finish was almost matched by Hindley and Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious), who finished close behind in fourth and fifth respectively.
While the quartet of Hindley, O'Connor, Clarke and Haig have all been confirmed to start the race, the likes of Matthews and Groves are set to sit out after competing in Italy last month.
Hindley will get another shot at victory in a Grand Tour, this time in France, with the 27-year-old confirmed to enter as the lead rider for German outfit BORA-Hansgrohe. Hindley's recent results include a 15th-place finish at the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico in March, before finishing eighth at the Volta a Catalunya later that month.
He was three minutes and 16 seconds off the pace of a flying Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) at the Dauphine, but the Perth-born rider should go into the French Tour full of confidence in his bid to follow in the footsteps of Cadel Evans from 2011 and secure the yellow jersey.
Fellow West Australian O’Connor is also no stranger to pushing for the top of the GC standings at Grand Tours, with a fourth-placed finish at the 2021 edition of Le Tour highlighted by his memorable victory on Stage 9.
The 27-year-old also finished last year's Criterium du Dauphine in an identical third place, with recent results including a 14th-place finish at the Volta a Catalunya and finishing two places above compatriot Hindley at Tirreno-Adriatico.
Haig was a surprise inclusion for Bahrain-Victorious, who will be riding the race in honour of their late teammate Gino Mader. The 29-year-old, who will be supporting GC hopeful Mikel Landa in France, took part in the Giro in May and has a string of impressive recent results under his belt including a podium finish at Tour of the Alps and finishing 10th at Paris-Nice.
His career highlight remains finishing the 2021 Vuelta a Espana in third overall.
Sprinter Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny) is out for revenge in France after he failed to secure a Grand Tour stage victory last season for the first time since 2018. The 'pocket rocket' has not won a stage at the Tour de France since 2020, while an inconsistent previous 18 months on the bike has since seen a change in fortunes after recently taking out the Merksteijn Fences Classic in Belgium.
Clarke and Nick Schultz will both be among the ranks for Israel-Premier Tech as part of a stage-hunting team. Although Clarke was forced to abandon the Giro on Stage 16 over a week after his Stage 6 heartbreak, the 36-year-old started the year off strongly, being bested only by Luke Plapp (INEOS Grenadiers) at the National Road Championships in January and finishing third at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
Schultz has shown promise in his debut season for the Israeli outfit after departing Jayco AlUla last year, with his strongest showing a 13th-placed finish at the five-day Vuelta a Andalucía in February.
Luke Durbridge and Chris Harper (Jayco AlUla) have both been confirmed to feature as part of a dual approach to the race for the Aussie outfit, with Briton Simon Yates targeting the GC and Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen hunting stage victories in France. Four-time national champion Durbridge is perhaps best remembered for his two stage victories at the Giro d'Italia, winning time trials at both the 2014 and 2015 editions of the race.
Harper has also shown some impressive form of late, finishing 16th overall at the Criterium du Dauphine and 20th at Paris-Nice. The 28-year-old's career highlights include a stage victory at last year's Vuelta a Espana and an overall victory in the now-defunct Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc race in 2019.
There will be an extraordinary four Aussies lining up for Team DSM at the race, with Matthew Dinham, Sam Welsford, Chris Hamilton and Alex Edmondson all confirmed to take to the start line.
Welsford started the 2023 season with a bang, winning the final two stages of the seven-day Vuelta a San Juan race and prevailing in the Grand Prix Criquielion classic in March.
Edmundson has also been rewarded for a strong start to the calendar year, finishing fourth overall at the Dutch ZLM Tour at the start of the month and impressing at ITT stages for both the UAE Tour (placing sixth) and the recent Baloise Belgium Tour (third).
Dinham will be racing in his first Grand Tour in his debut season for the Dutch outfit. Victorian Hamilton is the only Aussie to return for his second straight Tour de France after his debut at the race last year, following five career appearances at the Giro d'Italia and two at the Vuelta a Espana.
