The place to watch the Tour de France - LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE - plus the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is right here on SBS. Replays, mini stage recaps, highlights and live streaming can be found on the and the available for download on
On a searing hot day with temperatures above 40 degrees, a frenetic fight for the breakaway saw O'Connor form part of a chase trying to bridge to the original leading group, ultimately showing great legs as one of the few riders to successfully do so.
Looking comfortable in the group of climbers on a course that featured multiple climbs, the West Australian stayed in the wheels until he was distanced like the rest of his companions when Krists Neilands (Israel Premier-Tech) launched a surging solo attack with just over 30 kilometres to go.
Read the Stage wrap + Watch the stage highlights here
'For Gino': Bilbao rides to an emotional win in memory of late teammate Mader
Not giving up, O'Connor rolled turns on the front as he and his breakaway companions gave chase, eventually catching Neilands inside the final 4 kilometres and setting up a sprint for the finish, won by Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorious) with O'Connor finishing third.
It was an encouraging effort for O'Connor given the multiple setbacks of week one and his general classification campaign, but he couldn't help but wonder what might have been if he'd done things differently in the final.
"A little disappointed to be honest," he said of his performance after the stage.
"I think if I played my cards a little bit better at the end, maybe I would have been strong enough.
"But anyway, I didn't win. So [I'm] a little sad in the end today."
When reflecting on how the stage went for him, O'Connor revealed it was a day of ups and downs as the chaos of the barrage of attacking racing at the start sent him up the road where he was initially in difficulty, then recovering to form, then struggling again.
"Actually, the aim wasn't to be in the break today, it was to look," he said.
"But when it got out of hand, it was an every man for himself kind of set-up.
"I went with the first move and I think it took me a good 20km to recover.
"I think I was last man over most of the climbs at the start. [Then I] started to get good again, but that was pretty brutal. That's a day to remember."
While the result was disappointing after such a hard effort, O'Connor seemed to have shrugged it off and enjoyed challenging for a stage win, starting the second week with more vigour than the downtrodden figure he had cut through the first nine stages.
"I'm glad I had fun from this year's Tour de France already," he said with a wry smile.
"At least one day. Here's to another 10 days of battling it out."
