Ben O’Connor gutted by Giro d'Italia hammer blow: ‘It is normally the other way around’

Ben O’Connor had dreamed of a podium place in Rome at the Giro d’Italia, but after an excellent start the Australian from Jayco AlUla gradually faded further and further. That caused quite a bit of frustration for O’Connor, who naturally would've preferred to see things the other way around.

The 30-year-old climber came to the Giro with the apparent aim of growing into the race. After looking strong at the Tour Down Under at the start of the year, he was much less convincing in the UAE Tour. He then worked his way back up through the Tour of Catalonia, where he finished 13th, and the Tour of the Alps, where he was eighth.

In the Tour of the Alps, O’Connor explained that he was building confidence step by step for the Giro, where he had once finished fourth. For that reason, the team had targeted a podium place, although Italy would have to show how realistic that really was.

By the end of the second week and in the third, O’Connor was no longer among the very best, but after 16th place in stage 14 and 13th in stage 16 he was still ninth overall. However, the nineteenth stage to Alleghe brought the hammer blow.

O’Connor was dropped early in the tough mountain stage and eventually crossed the line 9:36 behind the winner. That dropped him to 14th place in the standings. “I had a good plan for Friday, but in the end I was empty at the finish,” he said before the start of stage 20.

“That is frustrating, although I did nothing wrong,” he added. O’Connor even tried to follow for a while, but simply had to let go. “That is how the cards are dealt. It was one of my worst days on the bike.”

“I will try to go in the break today. One more day, let’s see how it goes,” he still said with determination. “Later we will have to analyse things, because I was very good at the start of the Giro, but got worse during the race. It is normally the other way around, so that is a shame.”