Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) was hoping to finish on the final Tirreno-Adriatico podium but fifth place, 2:24 down on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was another confirmation of his consistency in 2024 as he builds towards the Giro d’Italia.
The Western Australian is also in a contract year and determined to take control of his own destiny be it at Decathlon AG2R or elsewhere. He has also learnt from the disappointments of 2023.
O’Connor was just 32 seconds down on fellow Australian Jai Hindley and third place overall and was always part of the select group of climbers who fought the placings behind Vingegaard.
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“It was incredible what Jonas did yesterday. I did the best I could, I tried to follow for a while but it was a useless attempt,” O’Connor told Cyclingnews.
“Today I rode thinking about the podium but it didn’t work out.”
O’Connor didn’t ride the Tour Down Under this year but has already raced for 24 days, as he front-loads his season to ensure he is ready for the Giro d’Italia.
He won the Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia one-day race on his season debut and then won the stage to Jabel Jais at the UAE Tour, just missing out on overall victory to Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny).
Tirreno-Adriatico was a final goal before he takes a break and begins his final preparation for the Corsa Rosa. He returns to the Giro d’Italia for the first time since 2020, where he took his maiden Grand Tour victory at Madonna di Campiglio, securing his move to AG2R La Mondiale for 2021.
“If you target the Giro, you have to be good from the start of the season. I think the only person who can do a slow build is Geraint Thomas, everyone else tries to be good from the word go,” the Australian explained.
“I’m not doing a lot of races but I want to do well in every race I do. It’s important to perform and to be at my level.”
“If I'm healthy I think I can win races and consistently be in that top five in races like Tirreno-Adriatico. If I only peak for the Giro, I’m going to miss out on opportunities and there’s also a lot of risk to a slow build. If I crash out of the Giro on stage 2, my race can be over and I’d have wasted half a season. I think it’s possible to hold good for all year and then hope it peaks during a Grand Tour. That’s my plan.”
O’Connor’s contract with Decathlon AG2R ends this year. He won a mountain stage to Tignes, finished fourth overall in the 2021 Tour de France and became the logical Grand Tour leader for the French squad. However a torn glute muscle wrecked his 2022 Tour and so much of his season, his suffering and pressure from the team to ride on shown in every detail in an episode of the Netflix documentary.
Last year O'Connor was third at the Criterium du Dauphine but then suffered at the Tour once again. Teammate Felix Gall was more consistent and soon became the French team’s protected leader and finished eighth overall. Gall has a contract with Decathlon AG2R until the end of 2026, while O’Connor openly admits he is on the market for 2025.
The 28-year-old from Western Australia seems ready to create a new chapter in his career.
“It’s my life and I have to choose what direction I want to take it,” O’Connor told Cyclingnews.
“It’s been amazing at Decathlon AG2R and I’ll continue here if I want to. If not, I’ll go somewhere else. That’s how life and pro cycling rolls.”
O’Connor does not want his career and his 2023 season to be judged via a single Tour de France optic.
“I didn’t have a shit Tour de France, I actually got a couple of third places which could have been wins. The Tour de France can give a distorted impression of a rider’s season. I don’t think my 2023 as a whole was that bad,” he said.
“Last year I was also fighting for the win at the Tour Down Under and I was third overall at the Criterium du Dauphine, so I was still good but just not at my best during the Tour de France.”
He has tried to learn from his 2023 season.
“Some things went wrong in 2023 and I think we've fixed them already and so I’m performing well,” he said.
“Last year I pushed it too much. I went to altitude after racing in Australia and it was a bit too much. Perhaps more racing and then a rest, then altitude would have been a better mix.”
“It’s also about managing your health. When you push the limits in training, some people handle it better than others. Everyone has to find the tipping point in their fatigue and recovery and understand what they need to do to maintain their normal physical health.”
“Being a successful pro ride is about how you put all the pieces together, rather than just each individual part. It’s a big jigsaw puzzle.”
