'I was just struggling to breathe' - Ben O’Connor’s Giro d’Italia podium hopes slide on stage 17

Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) cut a disconsolate figure at the finish of stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia, with the Australian well aware that his chances of taking a podium in Rome on Sunday were hanging by a thread after a second bruising day in the mountains in a row.

The Australian was detached from the maglia rosa group on the final climb of Passo Brocon after Ineos Grenadiers set a relentless pace on the ascent to string out their rivals and put pressure on O’Connor.

That tactic worked effectively, with O’Connor losing contact with the maglia rosa Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and others on the steepest ramparts of the climb.

Read more: Giro d'Italia stage 17 results: Georg Steinhauser wins atop Passo Brocon as breakaway gets its chance

The Australian rider crossed the line 41 seconds down on his podium rivals, Dani Martínez (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and in 12th place but held onto his fourth place overall. With just four stages remaining in this year’s race, O’Connor is 1:43 behind Thomas’ third place in the overall standings, but perhaps on a more pressing note, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) is just 42 seconds behind the 28-year-old in fifth. 

After finishing 12th on stage 17, O’Connor disclosed that his performance was hampered by breathing difficulties in the cold, wet conditions that have been part of the Giro d’Italia for the last two days. 

“I was just struggling to breathe. I was just fighting something, so just a bit average. I’m a bit sad today. It wasn’t my best. I’m fighting something but oh well,” he told the media at the summit finish.

Stage 18 should offer some form of respite for the GC rider, with a stage better suited to the sprinters. However, the mountains will come into view for a final back-to-back encounter on stages 19 and 20. O’Connor will need to find his form from earlier in the race if he is to hope of dislodging Thomas in third, and Tiberi has only looked better and better since the beginning of the third week.

“Tomorrow I can hopefully give the lungs a bit of a rest and then be ready for the final few days. I’m not at my best at the moment but hopefully, I can be good by Saturday. Today was really, really hard, just with the weather, the tricky descents, and the wet roads all day. It just made it a day where you couldn’t switch off,” he said.

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