O’Connor turned heads on Monday (AEST) after taking out Stage 9 at the Tour de France, the AG2R Citroen rider surging straight to second in the GC standings as a result.
So impressive was the 25-year-old’s trek through the Alps, he even held the maillot jaune atop the Cormet de Roselend with 50 kilometres to go.
Pogačar responded with an attack of his own in the end, and his solo assault up the final climb eventually earned him a sixth-placed finish to retain the overall lead by 2’01” before the first rest day.
The Slovenian’s finish in Tignes left O’Connor under no illusions about his GC chances come Paris, with the west Australian more than happy to take the stage victory.
“For sure, I will try to stay up there, but I don’t think personally I’m on the same level as Tadej,” O’Connor said.
“I think he’s the next level above.
“I never thought about the jersey today and it was really never in my hands whether I could take it or not.
“I think that was up to the peloton behind to chase. It’s enough just to win a stage, let alone think about the yellow jersey as well.
“If I was lucky enough to have that chance, I’d gladly have taken it, but it was a hard two days with the rain, so I’m more than content with ‘just’ the stage.”
Pogačar, meanwhile, was a little more concerned about O’Connor’s emergence and believes the Australian is one to keep an eye on.
“Hats off to O’Connor, he was really strong and almost took yellow off me,” Pogačar said.
“He’s riding really well. Today he made a huge effort, so I don’t know what that cost him in such demanding weather.
“I think potentially he’s a good GC rider. He is super strong, super young. For sure he is in contention.”
The Tour de France will take a well-earned rest day before returning for Stage 10 this Tuesday evening from 8:30pm (AEST) on SBS, SBS On Demand and the SKODA Tour Tracker app.
