Team Jayco AlUla rider Ben O’Connor won Stage 18 of the Tour de France, riding aggressively from the start and launching a perfectly timed attack on the final climb up the Col de la Loze, the highest point of this year’s Tour. The Australian went clear from fellow breakaway rider Einer Rubio with 16km to go, then held off the chasers to take the win, 1:45 ahead of yellow the overall race leader Tadej Pocačar.
It was O’Connor’s biggest victory since joining Team Jayco AlUla at the start of this season and his second career stage win at the Tour de France following his first in 2021.
O’Connor earned the victory on his Giant Propel Advanced SL with a CADEX Max 40 WheelSystem and Aero Cotton tires along with a CADEX Aero Integrated handlebar and Amp 3D saddle.
The Australian suffered a setback when he got caught up in a crash on the opening stage, but he showed his resilience to come back and win the hardest stage, a grueling 171km day with three hors categorie climbs including the Col du Glandon, the Col de la Madeleine and the summit finish at the Col de la Loze near Courchevel. The final climb was the longest, more than 26km with an average grade of 6.5 percent.
O’Connor’s win was also vindication for the team following Mauro Schmid’s near miss on Stage 11, when he finished second by just inches in a two-up sprint.
“I couldn't be more proud of myself and the boys that back me every single day of this whole race, even throughout the pretty rough times,” said O’Connor.“Thanks to everyone at Jayco-AlUla, it's what the team needed and it's what I needed. It’s a rough race. It's the biggest race in the world, but it's for sure the cruelest."
Knowing he had the legs today, O’Connor also had to make all the right moves to execute on his plan. He surged ahead from a breakaway group with 41km to go, taking Rubio and Matteo Jorgenson with him. He then hit the final climb with Rubio and attacked with 16km to go.
“It was worth a shot,” O’Connor said. “On the final climb it was about just waiting for the steepest part, just before we entered Couchevel. Then it was just all about pacing and keeping on the speed, just typical time trial stuff. It's what I do best.”
The 29-year-old had time to savor the win as he hammered the final stretch. “Once Rubio was gone, I just didn't want to get rolled by the yellow jersey coming at me in those final five kilometers,” he said. “When I heard it stayed at three minutes still with three kilometers to go, I knew I was safe and it was so good."
