One-on-one with Ben O’Connor

Peter Maniaty caught up with West Australian Ben O’Connor earlier this year for a candid and wide-ranging chat. We thought it was timely to share it, as he contests La Vuelta, defending his podium position from last year.

He’s won multiple grand tour stages. He’s stood on podiums. He’s worn leader’s jerseys. After almost a decade in the WorldTour peloton and four seasons with Decathlon-AG2R, Ben O’Connor speaks to BA, following his move to Jayco AlUla in the offseason.

How has the switch to Jayco AlUla been so far?

The move has been quite straightforward, really, especially compared to when I joined AG2R with the whole French language thing and not really knowing anyone. In terms of performance, it’s always hard when you join a new team; you can’t really judge until the season is over, but right now, I’m in a happy place moving across to Jayco AlUla.

Do you feel any pressure as an Aussie GC guy coming in to lead the Aussie team?

I wouldn’t say I feel pressure from the team; it’s more within myself. You always want to start winning straight away, but things don’t always align. The way this season has been so far, I haven’t really hit my max in any race. I’m still off what I’ve done in the past, but everything still lines up for a good summer. Grand tours are where I’ve probably had most of my success.

You’ve been a pro for almost 10 years now. Does that experience help you stay calm?

It does, but if this (slow start) happened to me at the beginning of last year, I would have been in all sorts to be honest. I’d already decided I wanted to move on from AG2R, not because I hated the team, but because it was the right moment for a change. Having made that decision, I obviously wanted to have the freedom of choice (of teams), so it was important to have a good season.

In terms of this season, it’s about remembering what I can do. It’s easy to get carried away and put yourself down, but it was only last year I was fourth in the Giro, I had the leader’s jersey at la Vuelta for two weeks and then the World Championships (silver medal) on top of the cake. In training I’ve actually been getting better numbers than last year, it just hasn’t quite lined up in races yet. But I know what’s there, where my competitive capabilities are and what my capacity is. It’s actually quite a nice feeling knowing ‘I can do this, I’ve done this before, it will happen.’

After four reasonably intense seasons with AG2R, can you explain what’s it like to be inside the French team?

It’s very different in the big French teams, especially AG2R. It’s more like a French company than a team. Many of the staff have worked there for a very long time, 20 or 30 years, and they have a huge personal attachment, so if there’s failure it can be quite emotionally damaging. That’s quite different to how most other teams work where, sure, people can be disappointed, but at AG2R it can feel like you’ve personally let everyone down because they just have so much passion for the team and the sport. I’m not saying people within Jayco AlUla or other international teams don’t love it. But at AG2R they really couldn’t see anything else but cycling; they’ll work within that sphere for life. It’s everything for them.

The other thing that’s changed fundamentally in your life is becoming a dad. How has that affected your cycling?

What I would say is rather than just working towards personal success, it now comes to the whole family. My wife and I always had in the back of our minds that we were going to start a family, obviously it’s very real now with all the parenting stuff.

Is it hard to be away from the family?

It’s just the nature of being a professional athlete. You can’t overthink that. If you miss being away from home all the time, then it’s probably not the best job really.

Can you talk about the psychology of racing against Tadej Pogacar?

Obviously Tadej is pretty amazing and they’re a team (UAE Team Emirates XRG) with an almost limitless budget. Their best guys are strong enough to ride hard enough to detonate things in most races pretty early. But that’s just the nature of the sport at the moment. If you take it with anger or sourness, you’re going to start each race with pretty low motivation. You have to be ready to execute each day as best as you can. That’s what drives you for the result at the finish line, whether it’s a one-day race, a one-week race or a three-week grand tour. Obviously, you wish you could have a chance, you wish you could be that good, but in the end, not everyone’s going to be good as Messi playing football either. Probably when I stop racing I can say, upon reflection, I rode in one the great times of cycling with one of the best guys in history, if not the best.

You didn’t come back for RoadNats this year which were in your home state. How did you feel watching from Europe?

I was so jealous. I wished I was there, but we had our newborn last year and it was a good opportunity to have a full winter in Europe, especially living where I do (Andorra) with the snow, it’s a pretty different experience. But I can tell you I’ll be in Perth next year. I can’t wait to rock around Kings Park. It’s a sweet circuit, lots of fun. I love it.