{"id":611934,"date":"2026-04-17T01:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T01:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/611934\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T01:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T01:39:10","slug":"im-on-the-up-and-aiming-to-be-competitive-ben-oconnor-targets-tour-of-the-alps-success-as-giro-ditalia-looms-large","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/611934\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI\u2019m on the up and aiming to be competitive\u201d \u2013 Ben O\u2019Connor targets Tour of the Alps success as Giro d\u2019Italia looms large"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\u201cI\u2019m on the up,\u201d he says in a press release on the race website<\/a>. \u201cAfter an altitude block between Andorra and Sierra Nevada I feel ready, and I\u2019m aiming to be competitive at the Tour of the Alps<\/a>. It\u2019s a race I\u2019ve always loved.\u201dA race that shaped his career<\/p>\n

Few riders in the peloton have a connection to the Tour of the Alps quite like O\u2019Connor. It was here, back in 2018, that he secured the first significant result of his professional career, announcing himself as a rider capable of competing in the mountains at WorldTour level.<\/p>\n

Six years later, he returned with a very different profile and finished second overall, a result that set the tone for what became the most successful season of his career. That campaign would go on to include a fourth-place finish at the Giro d\u2019Italia and a runner-up spot at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, underlining his evolution into a consistent Grand Tour performer.<\/p>\n

That history gives this week\u2019s return added weight. This is not just another preparation race. It is a course and a format that have repeatedly aligned with his development, and one that continues to offer a clear read on his condition at a critical point in the season.<\/p>\n

\"BenOConnor\"\/<\/p>\n

O’Connor won a stage of the Tour de France in 2025<\/p>\n

Built for the demands of the Alps<\/p>\n

The Tour of the Alps has long been defined by its intensity rather than its length. Short stages, constant elevation changes and aggressive racing patterns leave little room for control, something O\u2019Connor is well aware of.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really demanding race,\u201d he said. \u201cThe summit finish at Martell is a first key moment, and there are stages that invite long-range attacks. You have to be ready to go flat-out all day, because gaps can open up a long way from the line. The Tour of the Alps is explosive \u2013 but a brilliant race to ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

That description mirrors the challenge he faces. O\u2019Connor\u2019s strengths lie in sustained climbing efforts and consistency across multiple days, attributes that have underpinned his Grand Tour results. But the nature of this race often rewards riders who can respond repeatedly to accelerations and take risks far from the finish, particularly on stages that conclude after technical descents.<\/p>\n

It is that balance between endurance and explosiveness that will define his week.<\/p>\n

A decisive Giro d\u2019Italia reference point<\/p>\n

With the Giro d\u2019Italia looming, the importance of the race extends beyond the result itself. For O\u2019Connor, it is a final opportunity to validate months of preparation against a high-level field. \u201cAhead of the Giro d\u2019Italia, the Tour of the Alps is the perfect fixture,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has both longer climbs and punchy finishes \u2013 an ideal balance at this point in the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The field he faces reflects that role. Riders such as Egan Bernal, Thymen Arensman and Aleksandr Vlasov bring proven stage race pedigree, while emerging names like Giulio Pellizzari add further unpredictability to a race that rarely follows a controlled script.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor, however, remains focused on his own progression rather than external comparisons. \u201cThe level is always very high. There\u2019s no point going through the list of strong riders I\u2019ll face \u2013 I\u2019m focused on myself and on my condition. By the end of the five days I\u2019ll know exactly where I stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

That final assessment may ultimately matter more than any finishing position. With the Giro d\u2019Italia approaching, the Tour of the Alps offers clarity. For O\u2019Connor, it is a return to familiar terrain with a very different set of expectations, and a chance to confirm that his upward trajectory remains firmly intact.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI\u2019m on the up,\u201d he says in a press release on the race website. \u201cAfter an altitude…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,20573,784,163619,85,51866,297232],"class_list":{"0":"post-611934","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-ben-oconnor","11":"tag-cycling","12":"tag-giro-ditalia","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-team-jayco-alula","15":"tag-tour-of-the-alps"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}