Ben O'Connor (AG2R-Citroen) says he was "inspired" by fellow Australian and Perth native Jai Hindley's (Bora-Hansgrohe) victory at the Giro d'Italia ahead of his Grand Tour challenge scheduled for this July.

O'Connor is currently participating in the Criterium du Dauphiné after a little over a month of rest after winning the Tour du Jura one-day race and finishing fifth overall in the Tour de Romandie.

Before his breakthrough result of fourth overall in the Tour de France, O'Connor finished eighth in last year's Criterium du Dauphiné, and as he told L'Equipe on Sunday, winning the overall stage race, which the 25-year-old has yet to achieve, is one of his main goals.

"My goal is to win the stage race, which I haven't done yet.

"It's my goal. Australians like Richie Porte have won Paris-Nice, Dauphiné, and the Tour of Romandie." That's the kind of parma I want to have. It's probably harder than getting a podium in a Grand Tour," he said.

Porte is the defending champion of the Dauphiné (he did not race this year), but O'Connor also said he was inspired by a more recent stage race success story, Jai Hindley of the Giro d'Italia.

Like Hindley, O'Connor grew up in Perth, Western Australia, where he developed his talent as a cyclist. Hindley said earlier this week that as a teenager, she was impressed with O'Connor and his ability to get going quickly despite a late race start.

"It's great for Australian cycling. We have a whole generation of great riders coming up and we can't help but push the road side of the sport forward and push Australia upwards. Personally, I'm trying to build bricks like Jai"

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On his goals for the Dauphiné, O'Connor said, "It's a very important race for AG2R Citroën. It's a chance to prove myself before the Tour. I know I can count on a strong team to support me and that is something almost new. I know that what I did in last year's Tour will be taken seriously and I know that my teammates will race for me without question. As for how he will approach the upcoming Tour de France, O'Connor told L'Equipe that he is aware that he will not ride under the radar as he has in previous years. However, he also feels that he could have done better in last July's Tour de France had it not been for a crash in the first week.

"Given what happened last year, crashes and all, I was able to get back into the race on a tough, difficult stage," he said.

"And despite those setbacks, I finished fourth. You have to imagine what would have happened without that."