“I’m on the up and aiming to be competitive” – Ben O’Connor targets Tour of the Alps success as Giro d’Italia looms large

Ben O’Connor returns to the Tour of the Alps this week with a clear sense of purpose. The Ben O'Connor arrives at the five-stage race from April 20 to 24 not simply to compete, but to measure exactly where he stands ahead of the Giro d’Italia, the defining objective of his season.

Now leading Team Jayco AlUla in the mountains, O’Connor is no longer the emerging climber who once used these roads to announce himself.

He returns as a proven Grand Tour contender, carrying both expectation and momentum into a race that has already played a decisive role in his career.

“I’m on the up,” he says in a press release on the race website. “After an altitude block between Andorra and Sierra Nevada I feel ready, and I’m aiming to be competitive at the Tour of the Alps. It’s a race I’ve always loved.”

Few riders in the peloton have a connection to the Tour of the Alps quite like O’Connor. It was here, back in 2018, that he secured the first significant result of his professional career, announcing himself as a rider capable of competing in the mountains at WorldTour level.

Six years later, he returned with a very different profile and finished second overall, a result that set the tone for what became the most successful season of his career. That campaign would go on to include a fourth-place finish at the Giro d’Italia and a runner-up spot at the Vuelta a España, underlining his evolution into a consistent Grand Tour performer.

That history gives this week’s return added weight. This is not just another preparation race. It is a course and a format that have repeatedly aligned with his development, and one that continues to offer a clear read on his condition at a critical point in the season.

The Tour of the Alps has long been defined by its intensity rather than its length. Short stages, constant elevation changes and aggressive racing patterns leave little room for control, something O’Connor is well aware of.

“It’s a really demanding race,” he said. “The summit finish at Martell is a first key moment, and there are stages that invite long-range attacks. You have to be ready to go flat-out all day, because gaps can open up a long way from the line. The Tour of the Alps is explosive – but a brilliant race to ride.”

That description mirrors the challenge he faces. O’Connor’s strengths lie in sustained climbing efforts and consistency across multiple days, attributes that have underpinned his Grand Tour results. But the nature of this race often rewards riders who can respond repeatedly to accelerations and take risks far from the finish, particularly on stages that conclude after technical descents.

It is that balance between endurance and explosiveness that will define his week.

With the Giro d’Italia looming, the importance of the race extends beyond the result itself. For O’Connor, it is a final opportunity to validate months of preparation against a high-level field. “Ahead of the Giro d’Italia, the Tour of the Alps is the perfect fixture,” he said. “It has both longer climbs and punchy finishes – an ideal balance at this point in the season.”

The field he faces reflects that role. Riders such as Egan Bernal, Thymen Arensman and Aleksandr Vlasov bring proven stage race pedigree, while emerging names like Giulio Pellizzari add further unpredictability to a race that rarely follows a controlled script.

O’Connor, however, remains focused on his own progression rather than external comparisons. “The level is always very high. There’s no point going through the list of strong riders I’ll face – I’m focused on myself and on my condition. By the end of the five days I’ll know exactly where I stand.”

That final assessment may ultimately matter more than any finishing position. With the Giro d’Italia approaching, the Tour of the Alps offers clarity. For O’Connor, it is a return to familiar terrain with a very different set of expectations, and a chance to confirm that his upward trajectory remains firmly intact.