“It’s some good company" - Ben O'Connor joins Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel on podium of World Championships in Zurich
Cycling
Ben O'Connor has had himself a career-defining few months. After a breakthrough 2nd overall at the Vuelta a Espana, the Australian backed up his Grand Tour brilliance with a stunning silver medal in the men's elite road race at the 2024 World Championships in Zurich.
“It’s some good company,” O’Connor reflected afterwards, noting his illustrious podium companions, race winner Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel. “I’ve done well in races as well this year, so, I guess it’s a fitting podium and I’m just really, really proud, to be honest. I didn’t really expect that today. Credit to the boys to kind of motivate me because I really didn’t feel super good for the first couple of laps. A little pep talk to set your mind to it, and I just had really good timing in the end to come away with the second.”
Although Pogacar sealed his Rainbow Jersey triumph by attacking 100km out, O'Connor secured his silver medal by jumping his rival in the chase with a late move prior to the final sprint. “I wanted to be at the back,” O’Connor said about his attack. “I wanted to slip through in the middle because as soon as you come from the side everyone can see you. It’s just how bike racing works – tactics, being smart, I don’t really know what you can put it down to – but I found a great moment. As soon as you get a jump like that, you have to commit to chase it down.”
With his second placed finish, O'Connor joins a who's who of Australian men's cycling Michael Matthews, Simon Gerrans, Matthew Goss and Robbie McEwen as world championship silver medallists, with only Cadel Evans able to bag the big victory. “I’m a very, very happy man,” O’Connor concludes. “I didn’t win, he’s [Pogacar ed.] got the rainbow jersey. But, for my own personal sake it’s a really, really top world-class one-day race result. I haven’t really done a ton in one-day races, so to get a second here in the World Champs, the biggest of them all, it’s a pretty sweet feeling.”
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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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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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What a ride, what a finish, what a year 🥈🤯 It’s been an incredible season for Ben O’Connor, which he has topped off with a World Championship road race silver medal. #Zurich2024
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