"Where I deserve to be" - Ben O'Connor misses out on first Grand Tour podium but content with 4th overall
Cycling
Returning to the Giro d'Italia for the first time since 2020, Ben O'Connor was determined to secure himself a first Grand Tour podium. Although that proved just out of reach, the Australian was left content with his 4th overall finish.
“I feel like I’m sitting where I deserve to be, to be honest," assesses the 28-year-old Australian leader of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team honestly, having missed the final Giro d'Italia podium by just 1:37 in the end. "Fourth is fair because Daniel Martínez has been better and Geraint Thomas has been more consistent.”
Fourth is an especially good result after O'Connor looked in difficulty on the final ascent of the Monte Grappa on stage 20 as the attacks began within the Maglia Rosa group. “We started in a storm, with some terrible rain and then pretty much had two one-hour time trials up the Monte Grappa. The second time was really hard for me and Valentin Paret-Peintre really, really helped me a lot," he recalled post-stage to his team's social media pages.
“We managed to come back to the guys in the top five in the GC at the end. I even made a little attack and Valentin even made a good sprint and got second on the stage as well," he recalls with a smile. "It’s a great way to wrap up the Giro and now we can celebrate in Rome.”
All in all it's been a very successful Grand Tour the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team. Having already started the year in excellent form with numerous wins, the team added two Giro d'Italia stage wins through the aforementioned Valentin Paret-Peintre and Andrea Vendrame, plus O'Connor's top-4 finish. “To win the teams classification, take fourth overall in GC and two stage wins means that we can be happy with our results,” O’Connor concludes.
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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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
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Front24208-11-2026
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🇮🇹 @giroditalia 🎙️ @ben_oconnor95 revient sur cette dernière étape de montagne. 🎙️ @ben_oconnor95's reaction after the last mountain stage. #DECATHLONAG2RLAMONDIALETEAM
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