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Ben O'Connor is dreaming of ensuring there'll be an Australian on the GC podium at this year's Vuelta a Espana - just as there was in the 2021 edition.
After his Tour de France nightmare, Ben O'Connor has outlined his "dream" of finishing on the podium at the Vuelta a Espana.
On the eve of the Spanish race's Dutch departure in Utrecht on Thursday, the laid-back Perth rider shrugged aside the painful memory of his ordeal at the Tour, in which he crashed twice and ended up pulling out with the most agonising torn glute.
Instead, reckoning he's fully recovered to lead his French team AG2R Citroen in the three-week race, the 26-year-old has his eyes set both on completing his set of Grand Tour stage wins and possibly finishing on the podium, just as another Australian Jack Haig did last year.
Having finished third in the prestigious pre-Tour Criterium du Dauphine, O'Connor fancies a bit of repeat podium clambering in Madrid three weeks hence, becoming only the third Aussie after Haig and Cadel Evans (2009) to finish the race in the top-three.
"It would be a dream to finish on the podium. That'd be super, super cool," he told reporters.
"It was nice doing it at the Dauphine - that was already a big achievement - and the next thing, for sure, is to try and do it at a grand tour."
O'Connor won a stage of last year's Tour when he finished fourth overall and he also landed a mountain-top victory in the 2020 Giro.
"If a stage win happens, I'll also be super proud. If one of those two (a stage win or GC podium) come to pass, I'd be extremely happy," said O'Connor.
He certainly sees both himself and his fellow Perth pal, Bora-hansgrohe's Giro winner Jai Hindley, as potential GC contenders in Spain.
"For sure, I come here with some GC ambitions, but the race will play out how it does," he said.
"I'm pretty confident I can be up there with the guys. I'd like to just race how I did in the Dauphine and every other race this year - that's the main objective."
Everything had been looking rosy for O'Connor until a series of misfortunes at the Tour which he admitted were "cruel" - but, a phlegmatic character, he accepted the woes and has moved on.
"It's just one race, it's a bit cruel. I'll probably do another one, it's okay," he shrugged.
"Obviously, it's a bit anti-climactic because you aim for it and you have Netflix there and 'blah, blah, blah'...
"But it doesn't really matter. It matters for the team but, personally, there's always another chance, another race.
"To focus just on the Tour de France can be a bit too much. So it's nice being here at the Vuelta - and far more chill.
"The objective is always to win, and, just because you do GC, doesn't write you off from winning a stage.
"It probably makes it a bit more difficult because you have less freedom and chances. But if you do take a risk, sometimes it pays off."
O'Connor, an attacking rider by nature, evidently won't die wondering.
"I haven't said, 'we'll see' because that's a banned word in my vocab," he said, smiling.
"I don't really want to roll into Madrid finishing 10th having just hung on every day. That's not how I want to try and race it here."
