'I'm not at my best' - Ben O'Connor sick and struggling but not broken at Giro d'Italia

Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) on stage 17 at the Giro d'Italia
Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) on stage 17 at the Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R) revealed that he was sick and struggling to breathe on stage 17's final ascent at Passo Brocon of the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday but continued to fight to defend his fourth place overall.

Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) soloed to victory on stage 17 as a battle for the overall classification played out behind the German rider on the final ascent.

Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.