Ben O’Connor (AG2R-Citroen) aims to back up his fourth place at this year’s Tour de France at the 2022 edition, returning with the burdens of expected leadership but also with the certainty of planning his season around a major goal.
“It’s not like you’re aiming for it and are having to fight for your place,” said O’Connor in an interview with Cyclingnews. “Obviously if you’re in shit form you’re not going to go, but this year it’s different. It’s quite interesting reflecting on that, because it feels a lot bigger than going to the Tour this year.
“I will probably be going to the Tour next year as well, but how that’s now like… a 'thing', you know. It’s like obligatory, if that makes sense.”
The Fremantle local fought his way through a brutal opening to the Tour de France this year, overcoming a nasty early crash that could have ended his race to win a stage and emerge as a star general classification contender.
“I’m still in this moment where I’m trying to make the most of everything, so if there’s another chance I can do the Tour while I’m still young and ready to fight, then that’s good, because I think the older you get, the more tired you get at the Tour,” said O’Connor.
“For sure you’d always be tempted by the Giro, I’d love to go back to the Giro again one day, but with the way the Tour went this year, it would be pretty cool to go back to the Tour again.”
The 25-year-old is looking forward with a mix of optimism and trepidation to the upcoming three-week test, with the varied course set to throw an all-round challenge at the top riders, with the climbs still to be the deciding factor.
“The first week is going to be super nasty – it always is. Denmark could be quite cool, actually. The second day, if it’s windy, I still have confidence," O'Connor said. "It’s not the style of racing I love because it’s so dangerous but if I have [teammates] Oli [Naesen], Greg [Van Avermaet], and Micky [Schär]… if there are three guys you want to take with you, it’s them.
“I’m just in a great spot because you can trust them, they’ve done it before. You just have faith and you follow.
“After that, the climbs look pretty cool, quite long. The stages in the Alps are the kind of climbs I like. The Col de Portet, that massive massive climb, it was one of my favourite stages this year, so I think I like the route.”
