
Ben O’Connor was disappointed with third place on stage 10 of the Tour de France but his “hand on heart racing” in intense heat on Tuesday signalled a promising return to form.
The AG2R Citroën rider entered the Tour with title ambitions but abandoned those after a slow start in the Basque Country, which the Australian couldn’t explain, having finished third at the Critérium du Dauphiné behind defending Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) last month.