O'Connor and Paret-Peintre shine on Critérium du Dauphiné at La Plagne

Criterium du Dauphine 2021 73rd Edition 7th stage Saint Martin le Vinoux La Plagne 1711 km 05062021 Ben OConnor AUS AG2R Citroen Team Geraint Thomas GBR Ineos Grenadiers David Gaudu FRA Groupama FDJ photo Dario BelingheriBettiniPhoto2021
Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën) among the leaders on the summit finish of La Plagne (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

At the end of the Critérium du Dauphiné's sixth stage at the top of a relatively short and very punchy ascent into Le-Sappey-en-Chartreuse, AG2R Citroën duo Ben O'Connor and Aurélien Paret-Peintre were a little disconsolate after both were tailed off in the explosive finish.

"I think the heat got to me," said O'Connor. "I'm hoping I'll go better on the longer climbs to La Plagne. They should suit me more."

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Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling. He is the author of The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races (Bloomsbury, March 2014) and has translated Christophe Bassons' autobiography, A Clean Break (Bloomsbury, July 2014). 

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