Few careers have a comeback arc like this: a pulmonary embolism that nearly killed him in mid-2025, then a training collision with a fire truck in March 2026 that broke both wrists and needed multiple surgeries. Yet 'Bling' is back for a ninth Tour, hunting a fifth stage win to add to his 2017 green jersey. On punchy finishes where the pure sprinters crack, the 35-year-old remains one of the most dangerous riders in the race.
Palmarès
- Tour de France green jersey (2017)
- 4× Tour de France stage winner (2016, 2017 ×2, 2022)
- GP Cycliste de Québec winner (2018, 2019, 2024)
- World Championships road race silver (2015), bronze (2017, 2022)
- U23 world road race champion (2010)
- 2nd Milan–San Remo (2024)
Cut-out factNicknamed 'Bling' as a junior for turning up to races wearing jewellery; doctors told him that two or three more days training at altitude with his undetected pulmonary embolism in 2025 could have been fatal.
The squad
Riding the 2026 Tour with Ben O'Connor, Pascal Ackermann, Luke Durbridge, Felix Engelhardt, Kelland O'Brien, Luke Plapp, Mauro Schmid — see the full Jayco AlUla team page.
Portrait: AI paper-collage render (gpt-image-2) after a reference photograph — source: Wikimedia Commons, author: filip bossuyt from Kortrijk, Belgium, license: CC BY 2.0.
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