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The Aussie boxer didn't stop after having his eye cut open.
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ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
Australia's Ben O'Connor wins Tour de France's stage 18 in the Alps
Australia's Ben O'Connor, who has long considered the Tour de France a relentless and unforgiving challenge, roared back with a stunning stage 18 victory in the Alps to finally bury memories of the crashes he has suffered in recent years. O'Connor, eyes blazing with determination, launched a ferocious solo attack on the fearsome Col de la Loze and never looked back. "It's a pretty cruel race," O'Connor said after crossing the line alone at the Col de la Loze. "I've just found myself on the deck in the first two days a few times, but not really for my own fault. Stage one here, it wasn't my fault. I was just taken out. "In Copenhagen [in 2022], same thing: sprint finish, crash in front of me, nowhere to go. And then you had the crash in 2021. "So the first couple days really haven't treated me well at all in this race before." O'Connor, who won a stage to Tignes and finished fourth overall in 2021, has battled to replicate those highs. "Getting it done today means a lot to me," he said. "I'm very proud of myself and very proud of the team." O'Connor's win came after a bold attack from the bottom of the valley before the final climb, a plan he hatched with his team's sports director Matthew Hayman. "He told me, 'You've got nothing to lose,'" O'Connor said. "If you're going to win, you have to go from the bottom of the valley … and that's what happened. "On the Col de la Loze, it was pretty straightforward. You either had it or you didn't." O'Connor switched from French squad AG2R Citroen to Australian outfit Jayco AlUla this season, a move he said brought a fresh sense of belonging. "It's about time I finally got a big result on the board being an Aussie rider on an Aussie team," he said. Asked whether the stage victory mattered more than a top-10 finish in Paris, O'Connor was emphatic. "Yes, definitely. Getting your hands up in the air is the most enjoyable thing," he said. "It's only when you complete a GC (general classification) and you've done a perfect race yourself and you're proud of every single day that you've tapped it out and you've ticked the boxes, then that gives you a different kind of satisfaction." Jonas Vingegaard's attempt to dethrone Tadej Pogačar at the top of the overall standings imploded in spectacular fashion on the race's most brutal Alpine battleground. Pogačar defended his crown with ice-cold precision, gaining 11 more seconds on Vingegaard and stretching his overall advantage to a commanding four minutes and 26 seconds after taking second place. "Today was brutal. Maybe the hardest stage I've ever done in the Tour," admitted a drained Vingegaard after the finish. "We had a big plan, you saw it, but I couldn't take a second on Tadej. The Tour isn't over, still." Reuters/ABC
Perth Now
22 minutes ago
- Perth Now
O'Connor tastes the good side of Le Tour again
Ben O'Connor, who has long considered the Tour de France a relentless and unforgiving challenge, roared back on Thursday with a stunning Stage 18 victory in the Alps to finally bury memories of all the crashes he has suffered in recent years. "It's a pretty cruel race," the 29-year-old said after crossing the line alone at the Col de la Loze. "I've just found myself on the deck in the first two days a few times, but not really for my own fault. Stage one here, it wasn't my fault – I was just taken out," the Jayco AlUla rider said. "In Copenhagen (in 2022), same thing, sprint finish, crash in front of me, nowhere to go. And then you had the crash in 2021 (when a fan holding a cardboard sign caused a massive pile up). So yeah, the first couple days really haven't treated me well at all in this race before." O'Connor, who won a stage to Tignes and finished fourth overall in 2021, has battled to replicate those highs. "Getting it done today means a lot to me," he said. "I'm very proud of myself and very proud of the team." The win came after a bold attack from the bottom of the valley before the final climb, a plan he hatched with his team's sports director Matthew Hayman. "He told me you've got nothing to lose," O'Connor said. "If you're going to win, you have to go from the bottom of the valley ... and that's what happened. On the Col de la Loze, it was pretty straightforward – you either had it or you didn't." O'Connor switched from French squad AG2R Citroen to Australian outfit Jayco AlUla this season, a move he said brought a fresh sense of belonging. "It's about time I finally got a big result on the board being an Aussie rider on an Aussie team," he said. Asked whether the stage victory mattered more than a top-10 finish in Paris, O'Connor was emphatic. "Yes, definitely. Getting your hands up in the air is the most enjoyable thing," he said. "It's only when you complete a GC and you've done a perfect race yourself and you're proud of every single day that you've tapped it out and you've ticked the boxes, then that gives you a different kind of satisfaction."
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Carlton were certainties, but they did have an advantage: their opponents were English
As expected, from the first bounce of the ball – or did they throw it up, back then? – Carlton seized control. 'At a very early stage in the game it was apparent that their skill in marking was giving Carlton an immense advantage in the game,' The Age report said. Before a crowd of 22,000, Carlton led by 16 points at quarter-time – 2.5 (17) to 0.1 (1) – and stretched the margin to 75 points by the end of the game – 14.17 (101) to 3. 8 (26). 'In the last quarter, the local men quite ran over their opponents, who are evidently not in the same excellent condition as the Carlton men,' the report said. Winning, or losing, wasn't everything. Money played a vital part. The Englishmen were given £382 from the £900 gate receipts, which roughly translates to $65,000 of $155,000 in today's measure. On top of that, there were a couple of noticeable tactics, albeit unsuccessful, that might have played a part in the development of our national game. The Englishmen, it seems, were the first to switch the ball as well as placing an emphasis on tackling pressure. 'In one instance, through an English player doing what is never done by colonial players – kicking the ball across in front of his own goal on the wing – (Carlton's) Gellatly got a mark and a splendid shot for goal resulted in the ball striking the post,' The Age reported. Loading Another excerpt revealed: 'It was noticeable that the Englishmen seldom failed to bring their man to grass when once they got their hands on him, and they were much more successful in preventing their opponents running with the ball than in spoiling their marking play. 'The Englishmen, though they played with more confidence than they had done at first, never got the dash of their opponents, and the dribbling game which they tried several times, was not effective.' In following games, the Lions also lost to Fitzroy 12.20 (92) to 3.4 (22), and to Essendon 7.16 (58) to 3.5 (23). The Lions played 18 games of Aussie rules while on tour, and even won a couple – they defeated Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. There'll be no drop punts or handball chains against the Wallabies at the MCG on Saturday night, but we were so curious as to how the British and Irish Lions would handle themselves against the current day Blues we asked a Carlton great. Apart from being worried about the rugby tactic of lifting a teammate by the shorts to 'mark the ball', dual Brownlow Medallist Greg Williams said the Lions 'wouldn't be able to score'. 'We'd struggle against them, too, at union. It's not just one way. If we had to play them at union, they would belt us, too,' he said. 'But it's a different athlete we're talking about here. They've got some really good runners on the wings and stuff, but endurance wise, there's no way they'd be able to keep up after quarter-time. But I don't think it's going to happen for another hundred years.' Cross code challenges have happened since in the UK, according The Guardian 's Robert Kitson who referenced a 1996 series between league side Wigan and rugby outfit Bath. 'Guess what? Wigan thrashed Bath at league and Bath comfortably saw off Wigan in the rematch,' Kitson said. 'The British and Irish Lions do have a few mobile loose forwards and back three players - James Lowe, Tommy Freeman, Henry Pollock, Ben Earl, Blair Kinghorn, Jamie Osborne – who might make half-decent Aussie rules footballers while the Wallabies' Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is an obvious candidate. But, let's face it, times have changed slightly since1888. 'The chances of today's British and Irish rugby players defeating an AFL side are on a par with Australians suddenly developing a taste for warm beer.'
