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O'Connor climbs to 'brutal' Alpine stage win as Pogacar tightens grip on Tour

O'Connor climbs to 'brutal' Alpine stage win as Pogacar tightens grip on Tour

News.com.au3 days ago
Ben O'Connor won stage 18 of the Tour de France with a world-class climb over three Alpine mountains on Thursday as defending champion Tadej Pogacar tightened his grip on the yellow jersey.
Australian O'Connor, 29, took off alone 15km from the finish and navigated the mountain mist to win 1min 45sec ahead of Pogacar atop the Col de la Loze.
Vingegaard crossed the line in third place, nine seconds behind the Slovenian.
"It was brutal, I've never lived anything so hard. The team did well and we had a good plan, but I couldn't take any time off Tadej," said Vingegaard.
Pogacar now holds a 4min 26sec lead over the Dane in the general classification with three days to go before the finish in Paris.
Starting the day with a deficit of 4min 15sec, Vingegaard had attacked a massive 71km out.
"Our tactics fell apart when they attacked so soon," said Pogacar explaining he simply tracked his rival on instinct.
Pogacar eventually dropped the Dane near the finish line to gain another 11sec on the Team Visma rider who won the 2022 and 2023 Tour de France.
O'Connor, from the Jayco-Alula team, said he was relieved to triumph again four years after his success in the Alps at Tignes.
"Putting your hands in the air is an extraordinary thing. It was about time for me being an Aussie rider in an Aussie team," said a beaming O'Connor, who joined Jayco in January.
"I had to go from the bottom of the valley before the last climb. It was the only way to beat them.
Pogacar said O'Connor had put in a great ride.
"Congrats to Ben. How he rode today, that's his victory."
- Last chance -
Team UAE's Pogacar is now on the cusp of a fourth Tour de France title, after reversing the roles and sitting on Vingegaard's wheel, wasting little energy.
He remained vigilant however.
"It's not over, there's three days left. It's so long this three weeks thing. You get annoyed with everybody by the third week. You need good legs and good luck and only then is it okay," added Pogacar.
German breakout star Florian Lipowitz wilted near the end in his bid for both third place and the white jersey awarded to the best young rider.
The 22-year-old British rider Oscar Onley closed to within 22 seconds.
Both riders are making their Tour de France debut.
After 10 opening days of rolling terrain in the north and west of France where Pogacar and Vingegaard kept a watchful eye on each other as emerging riders stole the headlines, the real fight began in week two.
Pogacar attacked Vingegaard on the first mountain, taking over two minutes out of him on one climb as things looked grim for the Slovenian's rivals.
It was a costly off day for Vingegaard as in retrospect this was where Pogacar made the real difference in the race.
The following day on a time-trial Pogacar whacked another 40sec into the Visma star who did however take over four minutes off the Slovenian on a single stage to win the 2023 Tour.
Friday's majestic five-mountain slog amid the imposing panoramas between Albertville and La Plaigne will be the last chance for a reversal of fortunes with 60km of steep slopes to negotiate.
The race ends Sunday in Paris with the finish line at the Champs Elysees after three climbs to the Sacre Coeur Basilica along the cobbled lanes of Montmartre.
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Tour de France 2025: Aussie cyclists rated as Groves, O'Connor, Plapp and more deliver big
Tour de France 2025: Aussie cyclists rated as Groves, O'Connor, Plapp and more deliver big

News.com.au

time4 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Tour de France 2025: Aussie cyclists rated as Groves, O'Connor, Plapp and more deliver big

The Tour de France may have finished in Paris yesterday under sodden skies but it was definitely a bright outlook for the Australian talent. Ten faced the starter three weeks ago in Lille and nine made it to Paris after Jack Haig crashed at the end of the first week. Kaden Groves was just fantastic on Saturday, claiming his maiden Tour de France victory in his debut Tour with a brilliant solo attack 16 kilometres out from the finish in Pontarlier. The Australian, who has won stages at the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, burst into tears after crossing the line, overwhelmed at claiming the victory. 'There's so much pressure at the Tour,' Groves said at the finish. 'Having won in the Giro and the Vuelta, all I'm asked is whether I'm good enough to win at the Tour. And now I've shown them.' Groves is a world-class sprinter but this win was one out of the ordinary as it was a pretty gnarly stage, and to ride away from some quality riders and win alone was special. Fellow Queenslander Harry Sweeny had attempted his own solo attack on the same stage. He opened a gap of 40 seconds before being reeled in, but was awarded the most combative prize. On the monster Queen stage 18, Aussie Ben O'Connor conquered the highest summit of the 2025 Tour de France to claim his first win for Jayco AlUla. And what a brilliant ride it was. A 16km solo on the toughest stage of the race in the final week. That's when many falter, but O'Connor finally found his form in this year's race. To get in the break is tough. To force the pace and make it stick is hard. But to be then joined by the heavyweights – Tour winner Tadej Pogacar and runner-up Jonas Vingegaard – and be able to ride away from them is bloody serious. His ferocious attack showed just how good the young man from Western Australia is. This was one of the most impressive stage victories ever by an Australian. Last year O'Connor was unstoppable, but after a spectacular crash on day one, he had struggled to find the exceptional form he is capable of. 'It's special to do it again here in the Tour de France,' an elated O'Connor said. 'Having that moment today is absolutely massive. You always want another win at the Tour and you can't get enough of these.' It had been a successful Tour for Jayco, with Mauro Schmid 's oh-so-close second and Luke Plapp 's brilliant time trials. But it needed a win and O'Connor delivered. Team owner Gerry Ryan was overjoyed with the win. 'The team have worked hard for this victory,' an excited Ryan said. 'But we needed a win. Strong efforts and close finishes may show just how well we're going, but winning a stage is very important, not just for our riders and sponsors, but for all our staff who work so hard.' Plapp, riding his first Tour de France, was all smiles in Paris. 'It's the most brutal race but the most beautiful race,' he said. 'It's just the hardest race I've ever done. I just want to be in Paris every year at the end of July.' Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) rode a super aggressive Tour and whenever the roads rose up he seemed to be there. His third on Stage 6 was impressive. There is no doubt he will challenge again.

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