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Ben O'Connor explains why he deleted X account after backlash - "I’ve been wanting to delete it for a long time"
CyclingFriday, 30 August 2024 at 15:02
Ben O'Connor has without a doubt been one of the main headliners of the Vuelta a España so far and after that being the case on the road, it was also the case on social media. The race leader launched criticism to the race organizers and then deleted his account shortly after. He now explains the situation.
“I’ve been wanting to delete it for a long time so this was a good excuse to do it. It’s a happy coincidence, I should have done it a long time ago," O'Connor told Cyclingnews. It was an out of the ordinary situation. Decathlon riders blocked the road at the time of the breakaway formation, an unpopular but frequent sight in pro cycling and specially Grand Tours, but on this day the race organizers fined several riders, the team DS and also handed out yellow cards which may bring further consequences later on.
O'Connor was angered by the situation and defended his teammates in a post which then led to a lot of backlash. Because, naturally, fans are also almost fully against this kind of acting. "We said that right from the start when he kept trying. Zero insults, just being clear," he adds, not wanting to be part of the argument in that way.
O'Connor himself and Wout van Aert were not penalized however despite being in the very same situation, bringing further questions into the equation. Carapaz himself was quite triggered by the situation which also led to a small fall for himself.
“If you’re in the middle of the peloton, I can’t just tap the bloke in front of me to get to the front. How do you get to the front when the road’s blocked? Answer me that question. Do you say, ‘Just before the climb, can I start first wheel?’ It would be really easy there, but that’s not how the sport works," O'Connor concluded.
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