Ben O’Connor finishes third in Tour de France tenth stage as Australian rider hopes to make late splash
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Australian Ben O’Connor has taken third place within the tenth stage of the Tour de France, narrowly outsprinted by Spanish winner Pello Bilbao after each have been a part of a profitable breakaway.
Key factors:
- Sickness seemed to have ended Ben O’Connor’s general probabilities within the Tour on Sunday
- However O’Connor mentioned that “liberated” him to assault the tenth stage
- Jai Hindley stays third general, behind Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar
German Georg Zimmermann was second on Tuesday’s 167.5-kilometre rollercoaster trek from the Vulcania Park to Issoire.
The principle peloton got here to the road a bit of below three minutes later, with Jonas Vingegaard retaining the yellow jersey and his 17-second benefit over Tadej Pogacar.
Australia’s Jai Hindley stays third, two minutes, 40 seconds adrift. AG2R Citroen’s O’Connor, who completed fourth within the 2021 Tour, is seventeenth, simply over 11 minutes down on the chief.
O’Connor’s podium end got here after he was compelled to surrender any designs on the general win when sickness on Sunday extinguished his probabilities.
“I felt liberated in the best way I used to be capable of experience right now,” he mentioned.
“You needed to have braveness to get into the break right now, so this undoubtedly helps my morale for the long run. The highway to Paris remains to be lengthy. I am not going to surrender.”
After Monday’s relaxation day the Tour resumed with a troublesome stage that includes 5 categorised climbs and virtually no flat sections. The hovering temperatures have been made much more brutal by the warmth reflecting off the roads.
It was relentless from the beginning and lots of riders have been clearly struggling, however finally a break of 14 shaped.
Krists Neilands attacked on the ultimate climb however was chased down on the descent and caught by a five-strong group with simply over three kilometres remaining.
O’Connor then attacked as he knew the dash did not swimsuit him however was caught by Bilbao and Zimmermann earlier than the Spaniard launched his assault off Zimmermann’s wheel and held on for the win.
“I hadn’t skilled such a day on a motorbike for some time,” O’Connor mentioned.
“The beginning of the stage was completely brutal. I am actually pleased to have managed to get into the breakaway after such a battle.
“With the warmth, you needed to keep centered always and never crack mentally. Even when I used to be off the again a bit, I at all times believed in it. Within the final kilometres, I attempted to manoeuvre in addition to attainable to attempt to escape my breakaway companions and win the stage.
“I did not handle it so I am undoubtedly a bit of disillusioned. However this third place exhibits that I will be an animator at this Tour de France.”
Wednesday’s stage options three lower-category climbs on the 180km route from Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins and is predicted to finish in a dash end.
AAP
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