Vuelta a España chief Ben O’Connor stays upbeat relating to Sunday’s ultra-difficult stage by way of 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 (Crimson Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) slashed to only 1:21.
However the Australian stays in purple all the identical, and as he identified after stage 14’s uneventful trek to Villablino, he defended himself properly on the longer, steadier climbs of Sierra Nevada every week in the past, and he hopes to do the identical on Sunday.
The query of whether or not O’Connor delivers the same efficiency to Sierra Nevada or yet one more like Ancares on the 25% slopes of Cuitu Negru is essential for the general final 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, “Everyone is taking a look at Primoz.”
“It may be a extremely onerous, essential day and I am trying ahead to it,” O’Connor stated. “I am extra fatigued now than I used to be every week in the past, however not less than I am not sick of being within the warmth on a regular basis like I used to be within the first week.”
“We’ll must 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 data of the terrain in Galicia was restricted, he has extra expertise of driving 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.
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“I watched the ascent from 2012 the opposite day with Purito [Rodriguez] and Alberto (Contador), and it seems to be 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 phases we’re going through now, however I do know one thing about racing in Asturias. There are some super-steep gradients, loads of fog at occasions and a few super-long climbs as properly. 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, presently working eighth, will as an alternative 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 properly he can defend his purple jersey, and his arch-rival Roglič.
“Everyone is taking a look at Primoz,” O’Connor agreed, “I can respect how robust he was. However as occurred in Granada [stage 9] we will not simply have a look at one man on the climbs. We’ve to have a look at every little thing.”
