Nat Bromhead
Ben O’Connor has won stage 3 of the UAE Tour, while fellow Aussie Jay Vine now wears the leader’s jersey.
“If you asked me coming into this race if I thought I’d be leading the race I would have laughed and said there’s no way,” said Jay Vine.
“But here we are at the end of stage 3, and I’m in the leaders jersey. The boys worked hard throughout the stage, we made the front splits, we paced hard on the climb and we gave it everything we had to defend the special jersey. Taking some confidence from this, maybe a slow steady build is the way to go.”
Jay Vine wished teammate Adam Yates all the best, the Brit crashing heavily and now being out of the race. “You’re a trooper mate, get well soon,” said Vine.
After his stage win Ben O’Connor said he was very happy with his preparation for the 2024 season.
“I won my first race in Murcia with echelons and we were three in the front group,” he said. “Today was the first mountain test and it couldn’t go any better.”
GC Standings after Stage 3
1. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates)
2. Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) +0:11
3. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) +0:13
