Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) went into the 2023 Tour de France with every reason for optimism, having just delivered a third place at the Critérium du Dauphiné and also feeling fresh enough to keep building form as the Grand Tour progressed. However, two days in and the race haven’t run to plan, with O’Connor having shed 1:41 to overall leader Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates).
There haven’t been any major disasters, though a crash within the final 40km of stage 2 wasn’t exactly ideal. The Western Australian, however, wasn’t blaming that for his misfortunes, quick to point out that “I fell on top of two guys. I’m sure they’re worse than me”.
Ben O’Connor linked back onto the main group after that fall, well in time for the major climb of the day, but he still came over the San Sébastián finish line in a group behind the key favourites. That added to the 33 seconds he’d already lost by virtue of also being in the second group on the opening day.
“I was good until the top of Jaizkibel and then I was really bad,” O’Connor told reporters after stage 2. ”The simple matter is I’m not good enough at the moment, weirdly.”
The category 2 climb of peaked less than 10km from the finish line, shredding the field as Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) created a gap at the top. A lead group of 24 reformed, with Victor Lafay (Cofidis) delivering a late attack to win the stage.
There were then seven riders in the next group, including O’Connor. They crossed the line 58 seconds back, not able to chase back on after being distanced on the final slopes of the Jaizkibel and O'Connor ended up finishing the stage in 28th place.
“I feel great but then when it comes down to the serious business I don’t feel so flash, so I don’t know. I can’t really explain it,” said O’Connor. “A little bit disappointing, but yeah, I guess you can’t have an answer for everything.”
O’Connor shot to prominence after finishing fourth overall at the Tour de France in 2021, but an early crash left him with a torn glute muscle in 2022 and as a result he left the race after stage 9, having battled through as long as he could. The 2023 edition provided what seemed an ideal chance to again try for a high finish again. His season was focused on the Tour de France and his French team was squarely behind him as he aimed for a top-ten result, but the dream was to finish further up the ranks.
“It’s a hard day. We expected a different result,” Vincent Lavenu, general manager of AG2R-Citroën, said in a statement put out by the team on Twitter. “He’s disappointed, we’re disappointed. I know that the team can bounce back.”
The dream result may now feel a long way from reach, but the 27-year-old is certainly not ready to abandon his original target.
“It’s not ideal but it doesn’t mean I still can’t finish in the top 10 overall. It’s just two pretty average days. We’ve got two sprint days now coming up and then we’ve got the Pyrenees,” said O’Connor.
“I’ll continue doing my best and see if I can still be in the top 10.”
