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Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) outfoxed the other GC favourites to take victory on stage 3 of the UAE Tour after launching a perfectly timed tandem attack with teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre in the final 1.2km of the Jebel Jais climb.
The Australian held off the chase from Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) in second and Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny) in third after they failed to make contact following the opportunistic move.
After a brutal day in the crosswinds and an intriguing finale, Vine’s second-place finish and six bonus seconds gained means he moves into the race lead ahead of teammate Brandon McNulty as the American struggled in the final sprint.
O’Connor gained ten bonus seconds with the win, moving him up to second overall, 11 seconds down on Vine while McNulty slipped to third, a further two seconds back.
Pre-race favourite Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) abandoned the race midway through the 21.1km climb after crashing hard earlier in…
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