Ben O’Connor: ‘It wasn’t meant to be at all’

Ben O’Connor: ‘I didn’t mean to sit down at all’

Sunday, July 4, 2021 at 6:03 p.m.

Emotional Ben O’Connor couldn’t believe his luck after winning the Tour de France stage against Tenny. Australia’s AG2R Citroën climber was the best of a large leading group on the alpine stage. “This has always been a dream,” he cheers after the end. In addition, he climbed to second place in the standings, 2.01 minutes behind the yellow jersey.

“Being here is already a dream. To make this day happen, it attracts confidence in me. I want to thank everyone who believed in me. My wife, my parents, my friends in Australia and here in Europe,” says O’Connor, who won by five minutes (!) over Mattia Cattaneo , It is a nice “.

At the foot of the last climb he was still by his side Nairo Quintana and Sergio Higuita, but he quickly shook them. “This is what you dream about. It brings a lot of joy. But I enjoyed every moment. I am also very happy for the team, they trust me and bring me so much beauty,” said the stage winner.

“I said this morning that I had absolutely no intention of participating in the early flight,” he laughs. “But a big group walked away and crossed. When I started, I just waited, because I didn’t quite know what to do. Then I heard we had five minutes, so I knew there was a chance of a goal in the standings. I knew I could win on a long day like This, but it was a strange trip and the weather was terrible.”