Historical past is presently repeating itself in the very best of the way for Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) on the 2023 Critérium du Dauphiné. The Australian as soon as once more finds himself the closest pursuer of Jonas Vingegaard total on GC, similar to he did within the 2022 race.
One key distinction is that whereas final yr the Jumbo-Visma racer lastly ran second total, this time Vingegaard is main, with O’Connor additionally transferring up a spot, from third to second.
The second key distinction is that the hardest three climbing phases are all but to come back, so O’Connor’s podium place is, for now, under no circumstances definitive.
However after taking a really promising fifth in Wednesday’s time trial, which he later referred to as ‘one among my finest’ after which sticking in the primary GC group behind Vingegaard on Thursday’s robust finale, the AG2R Citroën chief is wanting very a lot on monitor for now. That’s clearly true for the Dauphiné, and really presumably for the upcoming Tour de France as properly.
“It was good to get by immediately, it was truly actually exhausting with the tailwind and we have been all the time on the pedals, it was a fairly good chase and an excellent battle from the break, so it was on,” O’Connor stated afterwards.
“Within the finale, I simply managed my effort slightly bit as a result of it was full gasoline.”
Using his first race since Liège-Bastogne-Liège, O’Connor had the unhealthy luck to undergo a mechanical within the finale of stage 5 at Salins-les-Bains. He crossed the road in twenty fourth place, behind the primary group of favourites.
On the down facet, the late mechanical meant he couldn’t battle for the bonus seconds nonetheless on supply for second and third place. However the relatively greater plus was the incident had taken place contained in the three-kilometres-to-go security zone, so post-stage O’Connor was given the identical 31-second hole on stage winner Vingegaard, as all the opposite GC riders. After that near-brush with misfortune, the Australian fights on.
“It was a disgrace I couldn’t dash on the finish with a mechanical, however that’s biking, that’s how it’s,” O’Connor stated. “I’m simply pleased it occurred then, not 5 kilometres early.”
Third in 2022 in a race with large significance for his sponsor, which relies close to the town of Grenoble the place the Dauphiné finishes, O’Connor appeared to be coming into wonderful form simply as the most important problem of the yr, the Tour, approaches.
“It was a fairly loopy stage with the velocity,” Staff Sports activities Director Julien Jurdie added. “Frankly, I ask myself how the riders might go so quick, although the tailwind helped in fact.
“However that form of depth made for a loopy stage proper from the gun, everyone was driving exhausting in direction of what was a troublesome finale within the final 20 kilometres and a climb with some actually steep gradients.”
After an unexpectedly exhausting stage 5, O’Connor now strikes onwards and upwards on the the Críterium du Dauphiné. The following problem is stage 6’s tough finale, together with the class 2 Col des Aravis, which each kicks off a potentially-explosive final phase of the stage and in addition raises the curtain on the Alps for the 2023 Dauphiné.
“Tomorrow is difficult, I hope the climate stays roughly dry within the Alps, the descent after Aravis is difficult,” O’ Connor stated. “We additionally go up a climb I bear in mind from my Tour de France stage victory from a few years in the past, so hopefully I’ll have some good reminiscences.
“Like I all the time say, I’ll simply hold doing my finest and attempt to be up there with the highest guys day-after-day.”
