Vuelta a España chief Ben O’Connor stays upbeat relating to Sunday’s ultra-difficult stage via the mountains of northern Spain, with the Australian decided to seek out the positives regardless of his off-day on the summit end of Ancares on Friday.
Over the past week, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider has seen his unique GC benefit of practically 5 minutes on Primož Roglič (Pink Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) slashed to simply 1:21.
However the Australian stays in pink all the identical, and as he identified after stage 14’s uneventful trek to Villablino, he defended himself nicely on the longer, steadier climbs of Sierra Nevada per week in the past, and he hopes to do the identical on Sunday.
The query of whether or not O’Connor delivers an identical efficiency to Sierra Nevada or yet another like Ancares on the 25% slopes of Cuitu Negru is vital for the general end result of the Vuelta. So too is the query of how Primož Roglič races on the longer ascents of Asturias after his devastating efficiency on Ancares: as O’Connor put it, “All people is taking a look at Primoz.”
“It’ll be a extremely onerous, essential day and I am wanting ahead to it,” O’Connor stated. “I am extra fatigued now than I used to be per week in the past, however at the very least I am not sick of being within the warmth on a regular basis like I used to be within the first week.”
“We’ll should see how I deal with Sunday, I am staying optimistic as a result of I do just like the longer climbs.”
Whereas O’Connor’s information of the terrain in Galicia was restricted, he has extra expertise of using in Asturias from earlier editions of the Vuelta. That is even when – just like the overwhelming majority of the riders on this 12 months’s race – he has by no means tackled the Cuitu Negru, final utilized by the Vuelta again in 2012.
The newest race content material, interviews, options, evaluations and professional shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
“I watched the ascent from 2012 the opposite day with Purito [Rodriguez] and Alberto (Contador), and it appears to be like fairly gnarly. The ultimate half specifically may be very steep, however so too is the half earlier than the ski station and the end.”
“I do not know many of the levels we’re going through now, however I do know one thing about racing in Asturias. There are some super-steep gradients, plenty of fog at instances and a few super-long climbs as nicely. This one is unquestionably extraordinarily steep, although, – it jogs my memory of Col de la Loze.”
Additionally racing the Vuelta, O’Connor’s teammate Felix Gall was the final rider to win on La Loze, an Alpine ascent in France used within the 2023 Tour.
It stays to be seen if Gall enjoys the identical freedom of manoeuvre he had at Ancares, or if the Austrian, at present working eighth, will as a substitute attempt to assist O’Connor – who was notably remoted at Ancares – on Cuitu Negru.
Greater than Gall, in any case, the important thing reference factors of stage 15 are prone to be each O’Connor, to see how nicely he can defend his pink jersey, and his arch-rival Roglič.
“All people is taking a look at Primoz,” O’Connor agreed, “I can admire how robust he was. However as occurred in Granada [stage 9] we won’t simply have a look at one man on the climbs. Now we have to have a look at all the pieces.”
