Up & down and one more time... Ben O'Connor is 1000 CHF lighter failing to attend the podium ceremony on Lagos de Covadonga
Cycling
Ben O'Connor was able to narrowly hang on to his red jersey on Lagos de Covadonga. Five seconds of advantage over Primoz Roglic isn't something the Australian will jumping from happiness about, but what happened after the stage is probably going to stick in his mind tonight.
The Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider was fined 1000 CHF for "failing to attend official ceremonies' 10-minute deadline after stage finish", losing 20 UCI points in addition to the financial penalty. Now, what exactly happened after the finish of the stage?
German journalist Daniel Friebe informs that the Australian, in contrary to what was initially believed, didn't "flee" the scene thinking that he had lost the red jersey.
O'Connor claims that he was informed that the podium ceremony would take place at the foot of the Lagos de Covadonga climb and thus slowly descended to Covadonga. However there was no podium in the the small village. In fact the ceremony took place on top of the mountain, 500 meters from the finish line. Not 15 kilometers as the 28-year-old thought.
Thus O'Connor had to be escorted back up the mountain, this time in a team car. At least he did not have to pedal up the steep ascent again. We can only imagine he wasn't particularly happy about it. Neither was the race jury who heavily fined the Australian for delaying the ceremony.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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A bit more clarity: O’ Connor says he DID know he had kept jersey but thought podium presentation was 15km & not 500 metres from Covadonga summit, hence descended all the way (& then had to be driven back up). He wasn’t thrilled.
Ben O’ Connor appears to have gone AWOL…or at least apparently didn’t realise he still had red jersey & descended to team bus at bottom of final climb, bypassing podium. Hence, podium presentation delayed.
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