Tour of the Alps: An Australian wins in Merano

Probably only a few people knew the name of Ben O'Connor until the finale of the second Tour of the Alps stage, who tackled the steep ramp up to Pampeago in the white jersey together with the top favorites. A day later, the 22-year-old Australian, who until four years ago was a runner and had little to do with cycling, proved that his top performance was not a coincidence. Thanks to an impressive final sprint, he took the second victory of his career in Merano.

Sosa's fall puts an end to hopes of overall victory The timing was right, but not only: It was precisely this O'Connor who, around 50 kilometers from the finish, had counterattacked on the Gampen Pass together with Thibaut Pinot and Domenico Pozzovivo after they had caught the first attackers. This attempt could only be neutralized in the last kilometers on the descent towards Merano - mainly thanks to the grueling work of captain Chris Froome of the compact Team Sky. The tour entourage also crossed Kaltern on the third stage. © Pentaphoto

With 8 kilometers to go, the young Australian tried again, this time all alone, and took advantage of the uncertainty in the leading group, which had shrunk to ten riders and in which the wearer of the fuchsia jersey was no longer there: Ivan Ramiro Sosa had fallen. The Colombian rider from the Androni-Sidermec team reached the finish 4 minutes behind and had to bury his hopes of overall victory. French Pinot new overall leader O'Connor, on the other hand, was ceremoniously welcomed by the many fans in Meran in bright sunshine, raised his arms as he crossed the finish line and prevailed with a handful of seconds ahead of the top favorites, including Thibaut Pinot and Domenico Pozzovivo in second place and three who attempted to escape with him. For the Frenchman Pinot, who won the last stage in Trento last year, it was another top result at the Tour of the Alps. And on top of that, he received the overall leader's fuchsia jersey.

The Tour of the Alps leaves South Tyrol again on Thursday. Then it goes from Klausen to Lienz.

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Tour of the Alps: An Australian wins in Merano

The third stage of the Tour of the Alps led from Auer to Meran. In the end, Australian Ben O'Connor was at the top. There is also a new leader in the overall standings.

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