Ben O'Connor was disappointed to finish third on stage 10 of the Tour de France, but showed signs of a return to form with a "handful of races" during Tuesday's heat wave.

AG2R Citroën's Ben O'Connor entered the Tour with a shot at the title, but a slow start in the Basque Country turned him down.

The 27-year-old is the subject of a Netflix Tour series, where film crews seem to record his every move during the race, right down to his roadside conversations with his partner.

Before last week's sixth stage in the Pyrenees, he had significantly revised his outlook for the Tour, where he finished fourth in his 2021 debut and celebrated his lone stage win in Tignes.

"Wait a minute. Until I'm really back in shape, this will be my last race at the Tour. I can't do anything until I'm at my best," O'Connor said. [I'm not good enough to win this race and I've already lost time. So we just have to take it one day at a time. If the opportunity comes along, it might, but I'm not going to run away from Jonas [Vingegaard] right away."

When the race resumed after the first rest day on Monday, O'Connor launched his attack in temperatures soaring to nearly 40 degrees, a far cry from the winter conditions he endured to win in Tignes two years ago.

The Perth-born climber was part of an elite group vying for the finish line in Issoire after riding without a break through five categories of climbs on the 167.2 km undulating route.

"It was more than revenge, it was just a race. It was a pure, hands-on race, a really special day," O'Connor said after Monday's race.

"I was dropped at the start too. I was probably last on the first climb. It really touched all parts of cycling and the suffering part of cycling. There was heat, there was a little bit of wind on the plateau, it was really everything today."

O'Connor made his first attack 1.6km from the finish, but Pero Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché Circus Wanty) bridged, the latter accelerating, followed by Bilbao.

O'Connor surged again in the final 800 meters to catch the two leaders, but the victory went to Bilbao. Bilbao went into the race with "special motivation" to honor his late teammate, Gino Mader.

"It was a cool stage. But a little sad to lose," O'Connor said. But I'm a little sad to lose. I'm a little disappointed to be honest because I wanted to win another Tour de France."

"... I think I have the ability to win a stage. Unfortunately today I missed my chance."