After a lackluster 2019 season, Australia's Ben O'Connor says his victory at Mont Bouquet in Etoile de Besseges is a welcome fresh start.In his first two seasons with the NTT team, the 2017 Tour of Austria and 2018 Tour of He proved his climbing talent with stage wins in the Alps. However, further crashes and struggles to find top form prevented him from living up to the high expectations those results brought in 2019.

O'Connor now looks to have put those troubles behind him with a decisive solo ride on the steep final climb of stage 4 of Saturday's French stage race.

"What a great ride today guys from NTT Pro Cycling!" O'Connor said on Twitter.

"We broke the script and gave our all to a crazy plan and it paid off in the form of a win. You can't imagine how much relief this victory brings!"

He said.

"We really needed this. In a way, we decided to start all over again this winter."

"In a way, we decided to start all over again this winter."[12 In a way, I had decided to start over again this winter. But this victory changed a lot. I can now dream of new things. I used to feel lost and didn't know what I could do. I needed confidence."

After two unsatisfying attempts at the Giro d'Italia, the 24-year-old will not be returning to the Giro d'Italia, but will be aiming for selection to NTT's Tour de France team.

"It's been a long time since I won," he said. Last year was really hard. Last year was really hard.

He had high hopes for the Giro, but was emotional looking back on the race: "I tried to ride well, but nothing went right. I had a lot of crashes. ......"

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On Saturday in France, the team tactics led by new coach Bjarne Riis and Gino van Oudenhove were on full display. First, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Michael Valgren attacked on the Trelis pass with around 50km to go, and on the descent O'Connor, Valgren, Simon Clark (EF Pro Cycling), Cofidis' Damien Touze and Camille Malecki (CCC Team) The group, which included the group that pulled away, they worked to gain the maximum lead at the base of the final climb.

"Today [Saturday] I decided to take the race in hand. The plan was to try something when it got steep," O'Connor said. I put all my effort into getting the maximum advantage on the final climb."

As the climb progressed, only O'Connor's compatriot Clark remained, and O'Connor knew he had to get rid of him.

"I knew Simon would be faster. I didn't know if I could win if I stayed with him to the top. So I had to get rid of him."

O'Connor, who lost nearly seven minutes in the crosswind on the first stage, will not be able to join new leader Benoit Cosnefrois in the overall race, but he is happy with his victory and looking forward to the season ahead.

"I'm happy to show off my incredible legs. I definitely wanted to win and I succeeded by showing my strength," O'Connor said, thanking his teammates. Edvald [Boasson Hagen] gave everything he had for me, I did the same thing for him two days ago, I did the same thing for him two days ago, he's a world-class rider, and I'm very proud of him. He's a world-class rider."