"I expect Jonas Vingegaard to end up in the list of 'Grand Tour greats' in the future" - Ben O'Connor on the incredible level of GC riders in 2023
Cycling
Undoubtedly the highlight of Ben O'Connor's 2023 came at the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Australian leader of the AG2R Citroën Team finished third overall in the race behind Jonas Vingegaard and Adam Yates.
"In the Critérium du Dauphiné it went exactly as I wanted. There I finished third, behind Jonas Vingegaard and Adam Yates. That was the place I deserved," O'Connor reflects in conversation with In de Leiderstrui. "Jonas and Adam are among the very best classification men of the moment, so that is a great result. I even expect Jonas to end up in the list of 'Grand Tour greats' in the future. It's pretty sick to be close behind them in such a race."
Although both of Vingegaard and Yates would also finish on the podium at the Tour de France the following month, O'Connor was forced to settle for stage hunting after losing time early on. "In the Tour it didn't go at all the way I wanted," he laments. "In general, I am really pleased with last year, although there were a few disappointments that touched my heart."
"One of them was missing out on a stage win in that Tour. I dropped out of the rankings and had to focus on stage success. Changing goals is not a problem for me, as long as those new goals are achieved," O'Connor continues. "Ultimately missing out on that stage victory really hurt. I had two good chances, but came third twice. I blamed myself for that."
Having finished fourth overall at the 2021 Tour de France, O'Connor has shown significant Grand Tour classification pedigree. In 2024, he intends to get back to challenging at the biggest races, although he admits wins will be a challenge. "It is difficult to win in many races anyway, since Jonas and Tadej Pogacar participate. You have to be realistic and accept that you are probably racing for third place," he explains.
"In that context, I would think it would be great if I could achieve more podium places in WorldTour multi-day events. And my ultimate goal is to one day be on the final podium of a Grand Tour," he concludes. "I would like to participate in two Grand Tours next year. I don't know yet what the team wants, but if it were up to me it would be a combination of the Giro and the Tour. The Giro is highest on my list. I could just see what happens next. After all, we are a French team and the Tour is the most important thing."
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- No, it didn't. It has been debunked by the team that there was anything wrong with his feeding. Pogacar went too early and paid the price.maaiikeen31-12-2024
- Strong team around Jonas and pray each day that Tadej forgets to eat in the decisive stages (col du Granon). It also happened this year, stage 11 when Jonas won the sprint (incredible! Tadej was empty).
maria2024202430-12-2024 - Not quite yet I’d say but she could reach and surpass. You probably forgot Vos’ 2 track WC titles that outweigh the total and it has to be said more of PFPs MTB titles are a bit far fetched than Vos but yes they are comparable. It’s strange that with her consistent participation in xc she’s never ever managed to win even one race, Marie Schreiber can at least retire with that achievement ;-)Mistermaumau30-12-2024
- He may be known as “The goat” but I can’t realistically consider him a top ten candidate taking together all forms of cycling. Vos had 28 UCI WC wins, Absalon 33, Schurter 34, MVDP 41 and counting. As far as world championships they are all ahead too Longo, MVDP, PFP, Merckx, de Vlaeminck, TP and at least a half dozen others from long ago are surely higher up, or what criteria are you privileging other than a nickname?Mistermaumau30-12-2024
- and yeah, i’m a ridiculous blowhard for writing THAT MUCH. seriously, f me…OCexile30-12-2024
- this has diverged from being a per se cycling discussion, but that’s cool with me. so i live in the united states. for background, i grew up in southern california, educated at UC Irvine and UC Berkeley, and except for chunks of a 22 year Navy career i’ve lived here most of my life. there are things about this country, the way its social, political, and economic institutions function that IN MY OPINION fail considerably in comparison to other developed democracies. BUT, one thing that i think the US does excel in is that we have an extraordinarily high level of freedom of speech. now, that certainly opens the door for the alex joneses of the world to weaponize/monetize speech in utterly disgusting ways that do actual damage. it also gives freedom to politicians to say that the press is corrupt and should be jailed, like in russia, iran, or venezuela. these are DANGEROUS uses of freedom of speech. but as much as that freedom may imperil the well being of individuals and ideas — like the idea of liberty itself — it’s that freedom that has, over time, marked the SLOW movement toward greater equality and well being. this extreme level of free speech is certainly the primary fundamental right in the united states that has functioned, over time, to actively drive social progress. i mean, quack quack quack, right? the kind of speech that MOST needs protection is UNPOPULAR SPEECH. we KNOW this. but if you can only engage in unpopular speech IN PRIVATE, as you suggested, and be BARRED from a public platform to share those unpopular ideas, then your freedom to speak means very little and the whole project of social change and social progress grinds to a halt. “YES, you can talk about all races being equal to your friends, but you can’t publish any articles making that argument.” “YES, you can say that homosexuality isn’t a dangerous perversion that must be legislated against so long as you ONLY say it to your friends, but you can’t say it on a radio show.” so the problem is, if there’s going to be prior restraint of speech, the only person I’M gonna trust to decide who can say what before they say it is ME. if somebody wants to let me and my friends make all those decisions, then i’m IN. i’d expect a little pushback on that idea though. alex jones would probably like that job, too. lance would love that kind of power i bet. sooooo…. maybe it’s better to just leave things like they are. it’s ugly and messy and people get hurt, but once you SURRENDER that nearly unlimited freedom you’ll never get it back. and yes, society has drawn lines: still can’t threaten to blow up a mosque or share child pornography, etc. — that’s a pretty good idea. but erring on the side of freedom rather than censorship has been critical in preserving valuable free speech rather than seeing it slowly winnowed and legislated away. so yeah, there WILL be another alex jones, neonazis get to deny the holocaust, and lance gets to talk about cycling all he wants. and if you don’t like the source or the content then YOU are free to rail against it, or just not listen. as always, totally appreciate and respect YOUR perspective, brother. and i do get where you’re coming from. there are individuals in the US who have (or are about to have) the biggest platform there is who say things that drive me mad because i find them so dangerous and misleading, but the american version of democracy, with all its notable failings, has survived by preserving freedom of speech in the face of these types, not by limiting it.OCexile30-12-2024
- There is a cyclist, recently retired who raced as a Junior in 1997, and is known as 'The Goat'. Downhill legend, Greg Minnaar......wipperman9530-12-2024
- The road bias of this site shows up as PFP isn't mentioned - who is as successful as Vos, and from memory has more World titles.wipperman9530-12-2024
- his wife was surprisingly accurateabstractengineer30-12-2024
- Its the wrong thing to do the Vuelta after getting exhausted in the TDF. This is going to reduce his career potentialabstractengineer30-12-2024