Ben O’Connor was not interested in seeing a replay of the sprint at the end of stage 5 of the Tour Down Under. He knew the results and the reason why.
The AG2R Citroën rider finished third behind Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) and overall winner Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) but knew he had missed a chance to win a stage of the Tour Down Under and make up for what had been a frustrating week of racing in Australia.
"I’ll be happier later but I’m just a little disappointed that I didn’t win," O’Connor told Cyclingnews after quickly reviewing his race in frustration with Irish team coach Stephen Barrett.
"I’ll reflect on the stage later and perhaps be happy. This ride is much more like my level compared to the stage over Corkscrew Road. Today is the kind of racing that suits me more, where there’s hard racing all day, rather than pure watts per kilo numbers in one effort. I was close to the win, so it hurts."
O’Connor was unable to go with Vine, Yates and Bilbao on stage 3 over the steep Corkscrew Road climb and down into Campbelltown. He lost 28 seconds that day and any hope of a podium place in Australia’s only WorldTour race, with family and friends watching from the roadside.
It was a regret he wanted to cancel out on stage 5 and the 2021 Tour de France stage winner showed his talents by jumping on Yates’ wheel as soon as he accelerated on the final climb up Mount Lofty. Vine realised he had to go with Yates and surged across. Nobody else could match them and so suddenly the three riders were clear and about to fight for the stage victory.
Yates wanted to win to make amends - for Jayco AlUla’s frustrating race - and so did O’Connor, while Vine was in control of overall victory. Everything came down to the final steep kick-up to the very summit of Mount Lofty and then the sweeping descent to the line.
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O’Connor read the finish right but was unable to execute his plan, a lack of legs and confidence in his ability leaving him unable to attack over the top of the final rise. He tried a late acceleration but had nothing left when Vine and Yates sprinted to the line.
"The perfect moment was to go over Simon after the last little kicker climb. I tried but didn’t have legs," O’Connor admitted.
"We were all on the limit and I just didn’t have that extra click to get over him. Maybe I could have done like Michael Matthews when he won a Mende in the Tour but I ‘m not sure if I can dig that deep."
O'Connor trails home for third place on the final stage (Image credit: Getty Images)
As his disappointment eases, O’Connor will perhaps find the positive aspects to his Tour Down Under. He was third on the final stage and so moved up to sixth overall, scoring a useful early haul of UCI WorldTour points for AG2R Citroën.
O’Connor can now enjoy a few days at home in Western Australia this week and then will ride the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race next weekend. After that he will head to Europe, race in France and probably Strade Bianche in Italy to kick-off a long 2023 season with the Tour de France again the big goal.
By then, the Tour Down Under will be a distant memory and considered a good start to the 2023 season.
"It is a great way to start the year, I know that," he admitted, finally seeing his glass half full.
"This is the first time I’ve ever raced well in the Tour Down Under, so there are some firsts there too."
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
