Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën) is repeating history in the best possible way at the 2023 Criterium du Dauphiné. The Australian is the closest to Jonas Vingegaard in the overall, just as he was in the 2022 race. Last year, Jumbo Wisma eventually finished second overall, but this time Vingegaard leads, while O'Connor has moved up from third to second. The second major difference is that the three toughest climbing stages are still to come, and O'Connor's podium finish is not decisive at the moment. But O'Connor, who finished fifth in Wednesday's time trial, which he later called "one of the best," joined the main group behind Vingegaard in Thursday's tough finale. That's what I can say for the Dauphiné and for the Tour de France. [It was really hard with the tailwind, I was constantly on the pedals and it was a pretty good chase.

"In the finale, I controlled myself a little bit because the gas pedal was at full throttle.

O'Connor, racing for the first time since Liège-Bastogne-Liège, was unlucky to suffer mechanical problems in the finale of stage 5, Salins-les-Bains. He finished 24th. He did not earn the bonus seconds awarded to second and third place. But an even bigger plus was that the incident occurred inside the safety zone with 3km to go, so O'Connor was 31 seconds behind stage winner Vingegaard at the end of the stage, as were the other GC riders. After nearly suffering a stroke of bad luck, the Australian kept fighting.

"It's a shame I couldn't sprint at the end because of a mechanical problem, but that's cycling," said Vingegaard. But that's cycling." O'Connor, who finished third in 2022 in a race that is important to his sponsors based near Grenoble, where the Dauphiné finishes, looked to be in great shape as the Tour, his biggest challenge of the year, approached.

"It was a pretty crazy stage with a lot of speed," added team sport director Julien Giurdi. Honestly, I ask myself how the racers were able to go so fast. Of course the tailwind helped, though." [Everyone kept riding hard for the tough finale and steep climbs in the last 20km. After an unexpectedly hard fifth stage, O'Connor will move on up the Criterium du Dauphiné. The tricky finale of stage 6, which includes the Category 2 Aravis pass, is not only the opening of a potentially explosive final section, but also the beginning of the Alps for the 2023 Dauphiné.

"Tomorrow is tricky. Hopefully the weather in the Alps will be more or less dry. 'There are some memorable climbs from my stage win at the Tour de France a few years ago, so hopefully it will be good. As I always say, I'm going to do my best and try to ride with the top guys every day."