Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) went into the 2023 Tour de France with every reason for optimism, having just delivered a third place at the Critérium du Dauphiné and also feeling fresh enough to keep building form as the Grand Tour progressed. However, two days in and the race haven’t run to plan, with O’Connor having shed 1:41 to overall leader Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates).
There haven’t been any major disasters, though a crash within the final 40km of stage 2 wasn’t exactly ideal. The Western Australian, however, wasn’t blaming that for his misfortunes, quick to point out that “I fell on top of two guys. I’m sure they’re worse than me”.
