Ben O’Connor will tackle today’s 5,500m triple-threat HC mountain stage on a Giant Propel Advanced SL

Jayco AlUla’s GC hope, Ben O’Connor‘s 2025 Tour de France campaign hasn’t gone according to plan – the Aussie was one of several riders caught up in a crash-filled 184.9km opening stage in Lille and hasn’t quite been himself since. While he has shown glimmers of form, including a fourth-place finish on stage 10, it’s on stage 18 and 19 where the Australian can assert himself by getting in the breakaway and backing himself for glory.

While Jayco AlUla has access to a Giant TCR Advanced SL, more teams are turning to aero bikes, as the benefits they afford supersede the weight advantage of a climbing bike based on CdA, stiffness, and efficiency across the board. This rhetoric has been carried out by UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with Tadej Pogacar opting to use stripped-down Colnago Y1Rs over the V5Rs.

In fact, O’Connor has been seen aboard two versions of the Propel Advanced SL – the purple one lent to us while scouring the team buses for pro kit to check out ahead of the Grand Depart, and a blacked-out version, stripped down for stage 10’s mountain TT to counter the weight of the solid disc wheel.

O’Connor’s Propel Advanced SL is finished in the team’s mauve-themed livery, a striking hue that stands out nicely among the darker bikes in the pro peloton. The purplish colour is complemented by bits of metallic silver and black from the groupset. The bike has been sculpted with a deep head tube and fork, and features a fully integrated Cadex Aero cockpit, complete with UCI-legal turned-in hoods for improved ergonomics and aerodynamic hand positioning.

Shimano is the component partner of Jayco AlUla, and as such, the team’s bikes are outfitted exclusively with Dura-Ace Di2 FC-9200-P 12-speed groupsets. As is a common theme at this year’s race, the bike also features a lightweight, custom Fouriers universal derailleur hanger to improve shifting performance. While O’Connor has used a 56/44, 11-32T gearing setup on the flat stages, we expect him to opt for a more leg-friendly 54/40, 11-34T when gravity comes into play.

Despite the Shimano theme, the team has gone with Giant’s in-house component brand, Cadex, for its rolling stock needs – in this case, Cadex’s C50 Ultra Tubeless wheels wrapped in 30mm Cadex Aero tubeless rubber.

Unlike the Propel Advanced, which uses a traditional seatpost, the SL model utilises the company’s Vector integrated seatpost, which requires mechanics to carefully trim it to achieve the ideal saddle height. The concept behind Vector integrated post blueprint is to reduce weight while improving stiffness and aerodynamics.

Touchpoints come courtesy of Cadex and Shimano. The saddle is a 147g 3D-printed Cadex Amp while the pedals are Shimano Dura-Ace PD-R9100 pedals.