With fourth place finishes in both the 2021 Tour de France and this May’s Giro d’Italia, Ben O’Connor is determined not to repeat that placing at the Vuelta a España. Even if it means finishing lower overall.
“I’m a bit sick of fourth, it’s kind of the worst place,” O’Connor remarked before the start of his third Vuelta a España and 10th Grand Tour. “You’re close but not close enough. I hope in three weeks in Madrid, I’ll have that big smile of finishing on the podium, feeling proud of myself and proud of what we’ve done with the team. Just like we have been feeling all season.” If he can’t make it to the podium, O’Connor would prefer to finish fifth rather than fourth.
O’Connor’s first race back from the Giro was the Olympics Road Race, where he replaced the injured Luke Plapp and finished 51st. His performance in Paris might have come too soon in his autumn build-up, but a subsequent 11th place in the Clásica San Sebastian showed promise for the Vuelta a España. Apart from his major General Classification (GC) goals, O’Connor is also aiming to complete his set of Grand Tour stage wins with a victory in Spain.
“I enjoyed being at home,” the 28-year-old said. “I needed a break after a heavy start to the season. I’m pretty ready now to get into the second part. La Vuelta always has a bit of a different vibe. It’s going to be a pretty fun race; there are always questions about whether the break can win or not, or if the GC guys will take a chance to win stages.”
O’Connor last raced the Giro-Vuelta combination in a single season back in 2019, finishing 32nd and 25th, respectively. Despite that, he managed a promising sixth on one of the toughest stages in Asturias, on the Alto de Acebo, won by Sepp Kuss. “The great thing about the Vuelta is that it has a combination of super hard summit finishes and medium mountain stages. There can be 12 or 13 GC stages where you can gain or lose time. So there are plenty of opportunities,” O’Connor pointed out.
One major difference this year, especially compared to the 2024 Giro d’Italia, is the expected heat in southern Spain during the first week. Temperatures in Lisbon are already in the low to mid-30s Celsius and are set to rise to 37 degrees on Monday. In Extremadura and Andalucia, where the Vuelta will move on Tuesday, temperatures won’t drop much lower.
“I’ve only ever had one bad day in the heat, back on the Ventoux in 2021. Generally, I don’t have any issues there,” O’Connor said. “We all prepare for the heat in our own ways, and although I won in Tignes [in the Tour de France in 2021] in the cold and rain, I’d have preferred it to have been warmer that day!”
The absence of top GC riders Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) may create a more open race. Yet, O’Connor’s perspective is straightforward: “It doesn’t change a lot. You still have to be at the front; there may be more opportunities. To be honest, I couldn’t care less,” he said.
O’Connor’s 2024 Vuelta ride will be his last for Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale before moving to Jayco-AIUIa next season. Given his development with the French WorldTour team, a podium finish in Madrid would be a fitting end to his time with them. And it would put an end to those pesky fourth places.
