Ben O’Connor (Dimension Data) won the third stage of the Tour of the Alps on Wednesday, with four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome finishing sixth.
O’Connor crossed the finish line alone five seconds ahead of Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) with the French rider taking the overall overall lead as race leader Ivan Sosa (Androni – Sidermec – Bottechia) crashed in the final descent.
Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) are second and third overall.
Froome crossed the line in sixth on the stage, which featured two difficult climbs along the way and a final summit 25km from the finish.
“Before the race started I thought maybe if I had good legs I could try something,” said O’Connor. “It was super aggressive today, but I usually do better later in tours. It’s good to be able to race with the best, and to pull that off is surreal.
“I’ve gradually built the form really well. In Catalunya I was all right, then to come here and be another step further, is super, super pleasing. I just want to be the best rider I can be.”
Thursday’s fourth and penultimate stage is a 134.3km ride between Chiusa/Klausen and Lienz in Austria.
Tour of the Alps 2018 – stage 3 results (Ora/Auer – Merano/Meran):
| 1 | Ben O’Connor (Dimension Data) | 3:30:05 |
| 2 | Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) | +05” |
| 3 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 4 | George Bennett (LottoNl-Jumbo) | ,, |
| 5 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) | ,, |
| 6 | Christopher Froome (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 7 | Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 8 | Manuel Senni (Bardiani-CSF) | ,, |
| 9 | Alexandre Geniez (AG2R La Mondiale) | ,, |
| 10 | Michal Schlegel (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) | ,, |
General classification after stage 3:
| 1 | Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) | 10:52:19 |
| 2 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida) | +15” |
| 3 | Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) | ,, |
| 4 | Christopher Froome (Team Sky) | +16” |
| 5 | Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) | +50” |
| 6 | George Bennett (LottoNl-Jumbo) | +01’21” |
| 7 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) | +01’27” |
| 8 | Ben O’Connor (Dimension Data) | +01’36” |
| 9 | Giulio Ciccone (Bardiani-CSF) | +01’45” |
| 10 | Jan Hirt (Astana) | +01’55” |
