Ben O’Connor aims to replicate last year’s Dauphiné heroics ahead of Tour de France

Twelve months on from a stellar third place overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné, AG2R Citroën’s Ben O’Connor returns to the race this Sunday as he continues to build momentum towards the Tour de France. Last year O’Connor arrived at the Tour brimming with confidence but crashes and injuries robbed him of the opportunity to demonstrate his form and compete for a podium place. This time around, he’s determined to leave another positive mark on the Dauphiné before aiming at another Tour de France GC challenge. We caught up with the Australian to talk about form, motivation, and the Tour de France.

GCN: You’re coming back to racing after a long break and with the Dauphiné coming up, and the Tour de France on the horizon, how’s the form building towards your next goals?

Ben O’Connor: It feels like I’ve progressed upwards in the last few weeks. The start of the year was pretty average. I was actually really good at Tour Down Under but from March onwards I was sick most of the time and I couldn’t really get myself working properly. It feels like I’ve fixed all that, and that I’m feeling healthy. I guess I’ll know by the stage 4 time trial as to how I’m going in the Dauphiné.

GCN: It’s another brutally tough edition of the race from ASO. Even the so-called flatter stages have 3,000m of climbing in them, and although a couple of stages might end in reduced bunch sprints, there are no easy days at the Dauphiné.

Ben O’Connor: It’s clearly a race for that ‘sp-limber’ style of rider - a combination of a rider who can sprint and climb. We might see stages contested by around 80 guys but not many of the best sprinters in the world will be there as there’s hardly any bunch kicks in the race. It’s like this every year at the Dauphiné, and I don’t really mind that.

GCN: What are you looking to get out of the next week of racing? Obviously you want the best result possible, but going into a bit more detail, what specific aims do you have?

Ben O’Connor: Look, I need to be good. After a slow start to the year, although the pressure isn’t on, I expect to perform. Whether that’s the podium, top five or top ten, as long as I’m competitive, that’s what counts. I want to have hope, enthusiasm and motivation going into the Tour de France, so that all guns are blazing. I’ve still got a few weeks after the Dauphiné before the Tour starts and watching Geraint Thomas over the last few weeks and months has been really, really interesting. Seeing a guy who is so goal oriented arrive in his best shape at a race that really matters was something that I can take a bit of inspiration from this year because it’s been a tougher start compared to last year. 

GCN: Racing is such a difficult balance for a GC rider, especially when you’re orientating your season around one massive goal. You can look at the last couple of years and see that it’s worked exceptionally well one year, like it did in 2021, but then the following year you’ve had crashes that have taken that opportunity away from you. It can be hard to rebuild at that moment.

Ben O’Connor: Yes but in other ways you can build all the time. Last year I felt that I could be at the front in every race, while this year I’ve had hurdles and found myself four steps back at times. That leaves you playing catch-up but one month later it’s two steps down, and then the next month you’re back where you need to be. It’s why everyone goes through those ebbs and flows. There are some riders who can pull it together all the time but others might not. That’s all a bit philosophical but I’m just excited to be racing again because it’s been a while. I’m keen to put everything together and be competitive.

GCN: You mentioned the competitive angle. Is being competitive more important than the result in some ways? Is it more a case of demonstrating to yourself and the team around you that you’re on track for July rather than setting a target of first, second, third?

Ben O’Connor: The team has its objectives and they’d probably prefer a number but from style, aesthetics or my own personal goal, I just want to race. You can be conservative and smart, achieve fourth but do nothing. That would leave you disappointed because you’ve clearly had the form to try and do something. It doesn’t mean that everything will work out in your favour and you might not win but I guess I’d like to be aggressive, because that’s the point of racing.

GCN: You talked about the hurdles this season. Is a result needed from a morale perspective just to set you up for July?

Ben O’Connor: It definitely would help. It would make it feel like the hard work since the spring has all been worth it but there’s also a lot of races during the year, and it’s not like I have my whole career riding on one race. It’s not like that, but personally I do like performing. It makes you feel good but I’m also paid to do it. I’m paid to be a leader, and I’m paid to race well. If I was a barista and I was going to work and making average coffees despite being supplied with the best beans and coffee machine in the world I’d be letting people down. I just want to go out there and do my best.

GCN: How much is last year a motivating factor for you given that you were on the podium at the Dauphiné and it looked like you were on your way to having a great July until bad luck stopped you in your tracks?

Ben O’Connor: Some of the commentary from last year’s Dauphiné popped up on my phone this week and that brought back some great memories. Being on the podium was one of my best ever GC results and it felt great. It was a step forward in what I can achieve. Having those memories is great and it certainly gives me motivation to get back there again. In the last twelve months I’ve improved in how I’ve learned to deal with different hurdles, and in a racing sense I’m probably better at positioning and getting stuck in when it comes to gritty parts of racing and echelons. I’m not so worried about them anymore. I think that I’ve reached a point where I realised that confidence makes a real difference. If you’re keen and if you’re eager to be at the front, then when someone like Evenepoel, Vingegaard or Roglič does move then you can throw the whole kitchen sink at it.

GCN: Last year at the Tour we saw that Vingegaard and Pogačar were head and shoulders ahead of the opposition. Did you watch the second half of the race and wonder where you’d have slotted in had you been there?

Ben O’Connor: I actually didn’t watch a lot of the race once I went home. I watched a few bits and pieces like Hautacam and the Granon but that was it. I was pretty sad because I knew where I was in terms of my form. To be close enough to following Roglič and Vingegaard at the Dauphiné meant that I was there but that’s how Grand Tours work. I’m sure that Tao Geohegan Hart is sitting in the hospital or at home and feeling exactly the same since the Giro. He was flying but that’s one of elements to pro cycling that makes it super interesting but also incredibly tough and disappointing. Whether it’s chance or bad luck, who knows what it is, but the sport can be pretty painful.

GCN: Back to this year’s Dauphiné, the last three days look brutal on paper. Do you think the stage finish on the Col de la Croix de Fer will be the most decisive?

Ben O’Connor: I think so but I’ve also ridden a few of the climbs on the last stage and they’re pretty nasty too. The Col de la Croix de Fer stage is the one I’m really looking forward to but I’m also excited about getting stuck into the 31.1km time trial on stage 4. I’ve only done one TT this year and that was in the rain at Tirreno-Adriatico. That was a horrible experience, so it will be nice to get out there and improve in that discipline. It’s something that I enjoy and I’ll take a lot of pleasure if I can perform in the TT too.

GCN: Finally, is Vingegaard the rider to beat at the Dauphiné?

Ben O’Connor: So is Adam Yates. Saying Jonas is easy but we’re all there trying to fight for the win and it’s really hard to say who the favourite is because a lot of us haven’t raced for a long time. It’s hard to gauge but we’ll see by stage 4.

GCN+ will be showing live and on-demand coverage of all eight stages of this year’s Criterium du Dauphiné. Head over to GCN+ now to check the start times of each broadcast so that you don’t miss out on a moment of the action! As always, territory restrictions will apply.