Ben O'Connor has raced to the podium at the Criterium du Dauphine for the second straight year while his Western Australian pal Jai Hindley also demonstrated his readiness for his debut assault on the Tour de France.
With Denmark's favourite Jonas Vingegaard proving a class apart to commandingly win the annual Tour 'dress rehearsal' in France on Sunday, the Perth buddies were still both left delighted, O'Connor finishing third in the GC and Hindley fourth.
With Jack Haig, showing considerable resilience after his tough Giro d'Italia slog, also coming home fifth in the prestigious race, it proved an excellent week's work for the Australian challenge.
"I'm proud of this week. With the exception of Jonas Vingegaard, most favourites are on quite similar form and really not far apart on our levels, and that's good news," said AG2R Citroen's O'Connor, who will be targeting a similar performance to his surprise fourth-place finish at the 2021 Tour de France.
After coming home fourth behind stage winner Giulio Ciccone on Sunday's final 152.8km Alpine stage from Le Pont-de-Claix to La Bastille, featuring five hard climbs, O'Connor sealed the same position as he did in last year's Dauphine.
He managed to gain eight seconds over BORA-hansgrohe's Hindley after a tough finale, and it was enough to earn him the podium place behind Britain's overall runner-up Adam Yates, who finished third on Sunday.
Hindley, who'd been hoping for a final-day push to take him past O'Connor, had to settle for sixth on the day, which left him in fourth overall, 20 seconds behind his fellow Aussie and 53 behind UAE Team Emirates' Yates.
"Unfortunately, I couldn’t take a podium in the end but overall I’m happy with my race," said Dauphine debutant Hindley.
"Looking at the Tour de France, I am where I wanted to be at the moment, with still a few weeks to go. I’m heading back to an altitude camp before a few days of rest at home ahead of the Grand Depart."
None, though, could get near Vingegaard, who won the race by a dominant two minutes 23 seconds, showing him to be in great shape to attempt to defend his Tour de France crown, starting in Bilbao, Spain, on July 1.
The only dent to his dominant week came as he tried to attack with a kilometre left of the ascent to La Bastille on Sunday, only to be reeled in and overhauled by Ciccone.
"It's a very big thing for me to win this race, one of the biggest races in the world," said Jumbo-Visma's Vingegaard.
"I think I can be very satisfied with the whole week. In a way, I'm surprised with the gaps in the overall standings. Now I'll relax a few days and then do the last bit of preparation for the Tour de France.
"I still have a little bit of work to do - but it's not a lot."
With AP
