Australian rider Ben O’Connor dominated the final climb to claim his first-ever Tour de France stage victory at Montee de Tignes on Sunday.
O’Connor won stage 9 while Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar retained the yellow jersey as the race spent a second day in the Alps.
O’Connor, of AG2R Citroen Team, held onto the lead up the final climb, then pushed himself to victory in the final kilometer at the mountain top in a stage that featured two category 2 climbs and two category 1 climbs.
The defending champion Pogacar, of UAE Team Emirates, finished the stage in sixth place. He easily held onto the yellow jersey for a second day.
O’Connor moves into second place in the general classification, two minutes and one second behind Pogacar.
Italy’s Mattia Cattaneo and Sonny Colbrelli finished second and third for the stage. Cattaneo trailed by five minutes, seven seconds while Colbrelli was another 27 seconds back.
Monday’s is a rest day before Tuesday’s 190.7 kilometer flat stage from Albertville to Valence..
The 21-stage course is scheduled to conclude on July 18 in Paris.
–Field Level Media