Ben Alexander O'Connor (born 25 November 1995) is an Australian road cyclist, who currently rides for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...

Cycling career

In May 2018, he was named in the startlist for the

2018 Giro d'Italia The 2018 Giro d'Italia was the 101st edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started in Jerusalem on 4 May, with a individual time trial followed by two additional stages within Israel. After a rest day, there ...

. He was in 12th place on the general classification at the start of stage 19 but crashed during the stage breaking his collarbone. He then withdrew from the race. In 2019 he completed two Grand Tours, the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

and the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

2024 UCI Road World Championships Zurich Men Elite Road Race A 24

O'Connor started the 2020 Giro d'Italia. He achieved his first Grand Tour stage win on stage 17 after finishing second on stage 16 the day before. In October 2020, O'Connor signed a contract to join the for the 2021 season. O'Connor won stage nine of the

2021 Tour de France The 2021 Tour de France was the 108th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tour (cycling), grand tours. Originally planned for the Denmark, Danish capital of Copenhagen, the start of the 2021 Tour (known as the ) was trans ...

after getting in the breakaway and then riding solo for the last seventeen kilometres of the mountain stage. His victory elevated him to second in the general classification at the end of the stage. He finished the Tour in fourth place overall. In 2024, O’Connor won stage six of that year’s edition of the

after going on a solo breakaway. His victory gave him a stage win in all three

grand tours In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in fo ...

, and the opportunity to wear the red jersey as he took over a four-minute lead over the rest of the peloton. He wore the red jersey until stage 19 of the race, when he lost the lead to 3-time champion Primoz Roglic, but defended his second place in the podium until the end of the competition for his best ever result in a Grand Tour. O'Connor came second in the 2024 UCI World Championship.

Major results

;2015 : 6th Time trial, Oceanian Under-23 Road Championships ;2016 : 1st Overall

New Zealand Cycle Classic The New Zealand Cycle Classic (previously known as the Tour of Wellington) was a road cycling race held in and around the Wairarapa near Wellington, New Zealand. The race was a men's competition over five stages and part of the UCI Oceania To ...

::1st Stage 4 : 3rd

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Under-23 Road Championships : 3rd Overall

Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc The Tour de Savoie Mont-Blanc was a multi-day cycling race held annually in the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France between 1999 and 2021. It was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road ...

: 3rd Overall

Tour de Taiwan The Tour de Taiwan is an annual professional road bicycle racing race stage, stage race held in Taiwan since 1978, and has been part of the UCI Asia Tour since 2005. It was classed a 2.1 category race for the first time in 2012. History The Tour ...

;2017 (1 pro win) : 5th Overall

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria () is a stage race, stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour ...

::1st Stage 5 : 8th Overall

Tour de Langkawi The Tour de Langkawi is a stage race, multiple stage bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Malaysia. It is named after the archipelago Langkawi, where the first edition started and finished. The race has been held annually since 1996, primarily ...

;2018 (1) : 7th Overall

Tour of the Alps The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino () until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region o ...

::1st Young rider classification ::1st Stage 3 : 10th

Trofeo Matteotti Trofeo Matteotti is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Pescara, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions whic ...

;2019 : 6th Overall

;2020 (2) : 1st Stage 17

: 1st Stage 4

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a ...

;2021 (1) : 4th Overall

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

::1st Stage 9 ::

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, ...

Stage 9 : 4th

Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge The Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge is a professional road bicycle racing, cycle road race first held in 2019, which takes place between Vaison-la-Romaine and Mont Ventoux. The event was classified by the UCI as category 1.1 event on the UCI Eu ...

: 5th Overall Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var : 6th Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

: 8th Overall

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycle sport, cycling road bicycle racing, road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during ...

;2022 (2) : 1st

Tour du Jura The Tour du Jura is a one-day cycling race held annually in Switzerland. From 2005 to 2017, the race was held as a category 1.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were ...

: 3rd Overall

: 5th Overall

: 6th Overall

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; Tour of Catalonia, ) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of the Basque Country. The race has had ...

::1st Stage 3 : 6th

Classic Grand Besançon Doubs The Classic Grand Besançon Doubs is a one-day road cycling race in April in the region of Doubs, France. It is on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by ...

: 7th Overall

Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI ...

: 8th Overall

;2023 : 3rd Overall

: 5th

: 6th Overall

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (currently branded as the Santos Tour Down Under for sponsorship reasons) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and UCI Women’s WorldTour ...

: 7th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal : 9th Overall

Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a UCI race classifications, 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the UCI World Tour, World Tour, by the ...

: 10th

Tre Valli Varesine The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021 it joined the UCI ProSeries calendar after being cancelled in 2020. A ...

;2024 (3) :

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

::1st Team relay ::2nd Silver medal uci

Road race : 1st

Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia () is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, due to Spain's fina ...

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 6 ::Held after Stage 6–18 :: Combativity award Stage 6 : 2nd Overall

UAE Tour The UAE Tour () are road cycling stage races in the United Arab Emirates. A men's event was first held in 2019 as part of the UCI World Tour. It was created as a result of the merging of the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Dubai Tour. A women's event was ...

::1st Stage 3 : 2nd Overall

: 4th Overall

: 5th Overall

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...

;2025 : 7th Overall

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calend ...

: 10th Overall

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is often used as preparation for the sprin ...

General classification results timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Ben 1995 births Living people Australian male cyclists Australian people of Irish descent Place of birth missing (living people) Australian Tour de France stage winners Australian Giro d'Italia stage winners Cyclists from Perth, Western Australia 21st-century Australian sportsmen Cyclists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Australia