Ben O'Connor wins UAE Tour Stage 3

Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) won Stage 3 of the UAE Tour after a perfectly-timed attack on the summit of Jebel Jais on Wednesday.

The Australian, who surged clear of a vastly reduced field with 1.2 km to go, finished ahead of Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) and Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny).

"It’s been a while since I last won a mountain top. It was amazing. The boys were super good today. Second win of the year it’s pretty cool. I was not confident in my sprint at the end so we decided to go full before the 1 km to go mark," said O'Connor.

Vine is the new Red Jersey of the race. His second-placed finish put the UAE Team Emirates rider into the overall lead with O’Connor in second place, while Brandon McNulty dropped to third overall.

PROVISIONAL STAGE RESULTS

1. Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), 176 km in 4h16’21”, average speed 41.194 km/h
2. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) +5″
3. Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny) s.t.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates)
2. Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team)
3. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates)