‘I’ll try not to make that mistake again’ – Ben O’Connor pays price for Pogačar pursuit at Giro d’Italia

SANTUARIO DI OROPA ITALY MAY 05 Ben OConnor of Australia and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team competes in Santuario di Oropa 1136m during the 107th Giro dItalia 2024 Stage 2 a 161km stage from San Francesco al Campo to Santuario di Oropa 1136m UCIWT on May 05 2024 in Santuario di Oropa Italy Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Ben O'Connor of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale works hard on the mountaintop finish to Santuario di Oropa (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

At the Giro d’Italia, the line between courage and recklessness is always a faint one. Ben O’Connor only realised he had crossed it a shade under 4km from the summit of Oropa on stage 2, as he watched Tadej Pogačar’s rear wheel disappear steadily and inexorably from his view.

It was hard to tell which was the greater ordeal for O’Connor, the ascent of Oropa itself or the long drop to his team bus in Biella afterwards. On the way up the mountain, the Australian had gamely tried to resist Pogačar’s stage-winning onslaught. On the way back down after the stage, he was haunted by the realisation that his bravery had spilled across the border into folly.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.

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