It's no surprise that the heat has really been affective the Vuelta a España this year and race leader Ben O'Connor believes this has been harming him. After two very strong performances on stages 6 and 7, today he lost almost a minute to Primoz Roglic and this has severely chopped his chances of winning the Spanish Grand Tour.
“It wasn’t ideal. I was a bit boiled at the end, to be honest. It was a hot day. But as a team we were very good. It’s just a shame that I let it go a bit at the end," O'Connor said in a post-race interview. “It was so hot. Yesterday I didn’t feel it at all, but today I started to feel it. It’s a bit frustrating that I boiled over. But everyone experiences it at some point. Too bad it was my turn today.”
O'Connor entered the final climb in good position, after a strong work from Decathlon in the fast and technical approach. In the final ascent Felix Gall led him out until the final kilometer, giving him a wheel in the very fast-paced ascent, bringing back two attacks from Primoz Roglic. But he went too deep, and in the final kilometer the Australian lost position after position, and eventually 46 seconds at the finish line to Roglic and Enric Mas - also losing in the bonus seconds.
His lead in the red jersey is still of 3:49 minutes over Roglic, but he has lost significant time in both summit finishes and tomorrow is a stage that features three brutal and long ascents. "I'm usually good on long climbs, so it should suit me better," he believes. But the heat will be very present in Andaluzia... "On the other hand, the differences might be bigger. But I like the climbs in the Sierra Nevada. It will be a tough but interesting day."
🇪🇸@lavuelta Étape tactique et étouffante où l'équipe a défendu le maillot rouge. @ben_oconnor95 a buté dans les 2 derniers kilomètres mais a pu compter sur Felix Gall. Demain dernière étape dans le Sud de l’Espagne avant la première journée de repos Tactical & hot stage where…
