Ben O'Connor: 'When you start thinking you're going to win a Tour de France stage your lungs and heart stop'

At the start of the day, O'Connor was unsure of achieving either a stage win or a top 10 but after a gruelling day out he may well have secured both

Ben O'Connor
(Image credit: Getty)

 Today felt like a Giro d’Italia stage. Miserable rain, riders all over the place, and Ben O’Connor up the road.

It had more than shades of October 2020, when the Australian finished a pain-staking second on stage 16 before claiming his maiden Grand Tour stage the very next day.

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Hi. I'm Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor. I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.


Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).


I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.