Ben O'Connor
«The boys were very good.»
«It had been a long time since I last won a mountain stage. It was incredible. The boys were very good today. It's my second win of the year, which is really great. I wasn't confident about a sprint finish, so we decided to give it our all in the last kilometre. Valentin Paret-Peintre almost pulled me out of his wheel when he attacked, but we managed to get ahead and I kept going until the end. I felt really good all day, even with the wind. It's good to be in contention for the overall victory before Jebel Hafeet (Ben is 2nd overall).»
The information
A winning tactic
The tactics put in place during stage 3 of the UAE Tour were followed to the letter, as sporting director Sébastien Joly explains: «Sam Bennett, Gianluca Pollefliet and Valentin Retailleau did a great job in the crosswinds. Then it was Bruno Armirail's turn to work at the foot of Jebel Jais. Ben O'Connor had asked Nicolas Prodhomme and Valentin Paret-Peintre this morning to make the race tougher at the summit, which they did perfectly after Mikkel Bjerg had controlled the climb for a long time. Ben O'Connor was really strong, it's a great team victory.»
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The figure
Thanks to Ben O'Connor's victory at the summit of Jebel Jais, the DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE team clinched its first victory in a World Tour event this season.
