On seemingly every summit finish, Ben O'Connor is being put into difficulty by the likes of Primoz Roglic and Enric Mas at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana. Nevertheless, heading into the final week of racing, the Australian still maintains a lead of over a minute.
"Little by little they're nibbling away at Ben O'Connor's lead. More and more I think his story is written," analyses Sporza pundit Jose De Cauwer, with the Belgian in no doubt that the Decathlon AG2R La Monidale Team leader's days in the Red Jersey are numbered. "If he gets on the podium, it's still a fairy tale for him. It's not that he's falling through the ice, but they're taking time, on time, on time. Can he still win? No."
So if not O'Connor then, the next question is who will win the 2024 Vuelta a Espana? "You see Mas going and you think: 'strong', but at the end Primoz Roglic is there again. Mikel Landa also did what he could," says De Cauwer. "But no, Roglic is and remains the man with the greatest record. If that back holds up..."
"There is still a lot. The red jersey and the podium are definitely not yet certain, and neither are the polka dot jersey and the youth jersey. Only the green is certain," continues the Belgian cycling expert. "There is still that stage on Tuesday to Lagos de Covadonga and that on Friday with steep uphill finishes of 15%. On Saturday there will be a queen stage of 4,700 meters of altitude. You've seen for three days now that O'Connor is losing time when it should happen. He has to be careful not to lose time on the rest day either, but that won't happen."
If, as De Cauwer thinks, the podium is most realistic goal for O'Connor, at the second rest day, the Australian currently holds a 2:44 buffer on 4th placed Richard Carapaz.
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