Perth native Ben O'Connor (AG2-Citroen) finished third overall at the Criterium du Dauphiné, ahead of Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorius).

Hindley is currently in good shape for his Tour de France debut, while Haig just finished the Giro d'Italia. He finished 19th, despite a number of crashes that dropped him out of contention for the overall.

O'Connor's third place overall was good preparation for the Tour de France in 2021, where he would finish fourth overall and win a stage. But before the start of July, the Australian expressed his delight at his team's second consecutive podium finish in its "home race."

But he also warned that defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard's two stage wins and overall victory in the eight-day race would place Jumbo Visma in the Dauphiné class in building strength for the summer ...

O'Connor, who finished third overall, thanks in part to his fifth-place finish in last week's time trial, said: "Honestly, I'm proud. I'm very happy with everyone on the team and the trust the team has placed in me.

"In the race, I found that apart from Jonas, a lot of us were in similar shape and not too far apart in level.

"So it's kind of cool. It's not so much that I know what I'm fighting for, but I'm definitely aware of how I'm going to approach the race, especially the Tour de France. If Jonas is going to race like this, then good luck to him.

"I'm very happy with Ben's result. We are very happy with Ben's result because if he is not at a very good level here, it will make it even harder for him to challenge in the Tour," added team manager Vincent Lavenu. Third place in the Dauphiné is no small thing, it's a great performance. Even after losing climber Geoffrey (Bouchard) in the crash, the rest of the team really stepped up to support Ben on the mountain."

Beulah Hansgrohe was equally pleased with her fourth place in Hindley's Dauphiné debut, including third place in the toughest mountain stage to Croix de Fer on Saturday. With a team made up of sprinters and all-rounders, it was not possible to cover him in the mountain stages.

"Unfortunately I didn't make the podium, but overall I am happy with my race. Looking at the Tour de France, there are still a few weeks left, but so far I am where I wanted to be." I will return to the high altitude camp before resting at home for a few days before the Grande Pearl in Bilbao."

Last but not least, if Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorias) performed below expectations following a steady spring before heading to the Tour de France, teammate Haig ended the first half of the season in fifth place overall.

While Haig said he was "really happy" with his results, Landa, who finished 22nd, claimed to be well on his way to July.

"Before the Tour de France, I knew before I came that I was not in the best condition, but I really needed this race to be in the best condition," explained Landa, who twice finished fourth overall in the Tour.

"It was a hard week and I suffered a lot, but overall I think I did a good job.

"I'm also happy with Jack. He did a great job and the team was very motivated to support him.