Tour de France 2025: Ben O'Connor wins Queen stage with heroic solo ride over Col de la Loze

News.com.au

24-07-2025

On a monster Queen stage 18 of the Tour de France, Aussie Ben O'Connor conquered the highest summit of the 2025 Tour de France to claim his second stage win in the race four years after his triumph at Tignes.
And what a brilliant ride it was.
Sixteen kilometres solo on the toughest stage of the race in the final week.
That's when many falter, but O'Connor has 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 in Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard and be able to ride away from them is bloody serious.
His ferocious attack showed just how the young man from Western Australia has matured. Last year O'Connor was unstoppable.
But after a spectacular crash on day one, O'Connor has struggled to find his exceptional form.
'It's special to do it again here in the Tour de France,' an elated O'Connor told CODE Sports at the finish line.
'The last time in Tignes four years ago was a complete shock, but this time I got to enjoy it much more.
'I had a super day today, I was finally back to being me after struggling for the past 17 days. 'My knee is absolutely screwed now.
'But to finally get it done is great.'
O'Connor said he chased the win on day 10 but was ultimately left frustrated with Simon Yates taking the stage.
'Having that moment today is absolutely massive,' he said.
'You always want another win at the Tour and you can't get enough of these.
'I was afraid that behind me they would be dropping bombs and I would explode in the final kilometres. They closed the gap in the finale but I had enough.
'Once (Einer) Rubio was gone, I just didn't want to be caught by the Yellow Jersey group in the final 5km.
'When I heard it was still 3 minutes with 3 kilometres to go, it felt so good.
'On Glandon, I tried a lot, but it came back and I was feeling in the box.
'I saw Felix Gall and Primoz Roglic go and I thought: 'Just do it, get yourself there.'
O'Connor said that on Glandon, and then at the bottom of Madeleine, he was close to pulling the pin but these were days to be mentally resilient.
'I really needed self belief today, from myself and from the team,' O'Connor said.
It had been a successful tour for Australia's Jayco team with Mauro Schmid 's second and Luke Plapp 's rilliant time trials.
But it needed a win. Team owner Gerry Ryan was overjoyed.
'The team have worked hard for this victory,' he said.
'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.
'I will raise a glass to all of them tonight.'
Jayco AlUla sports director Mat Hayman said: 'Ben came to our team after a great year.
'And then the frustration of early season challenges stopped him from delivering what we new he was capable of.
'But we believed in him and he came here to make himself noticed.
'Today he did that and it was a very impressive performance.'
Pogacar continues to head the Tour with a 4 minute 26 seconds lead over Vingegaard with three stages remaining.