Ahead of his first trip to the Giro d'Italia since 2020, Ben O'Connor showed some impressive form at the Tour of the Alps, bagging himself a finish of 2nd overall behind Juan Pedro Lopez.
"We can be very pleased with how we managed the game, being aggressive," the Australian reflected post-stage to the official channels of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team as teammate Aurelien Paret-Peintre sprinted to the stage win of Friday afternoon from a reduced bunch and Valentin Paret-Peintre moved up to 4th overall with some bonus seconds.
"We were probably the strongest team here and so I am proud of everyone," O'Connor continues. "Aurélien's victory was very cool, he worked hard for me and has now seized his chance. I'm now going to take good care of myself for the next two weeks, let all the work sink in and then go to the Giro with ambitions."
A stage winner at the Giro d'Italia back in 2020, O'Connor hasn't been back to the race since. Instead, as leader of a French-based team, much of his focus has been on the Tour de France, even finishing 4th overall back in 2021. Based on his current form, O'Connor seems a viable challenger for a first career Grand Tour podium in Italy next month.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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🇮🇹 @Tourof_TheAlps 🥈 @ben_oconnor95 termine 2e du classement général final 👊 Un bon retour à la compétition à 2 semaines du Giro d'Italia. 4⃣ @Valent1_Paret était tout proche du podium au général, il termine à la 4e place 👏👏 🥈 @ben_oconnor95 finishes 2nd in the GC 👊 A
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