Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale have put on another great stage collectively and individually with Ben O'Connor. On a day where he expected to have an easier ride, the red jersey was taken to the limit but resisted quite well and heads into the final days of the race still in the lead.
"I did not expect Carapaz's attack. We had to close a gap and we succeeded," O'Connor said in a post-race interview. "It was a tough stage, but I have to stay calm. In the end it was a good day." The French team had no desires to chase the day's breakaway, so it was not an overly difficult start of the day, with 42 riders going in the day's breakaway. None were from Decathlon, but Victor Lafay jumped in a second breakaway that was trailing halfway through the pelotons and would come in useful later.
EF Education-EasyPost and Richard Carapaz attacked the day's main climb still far from the finish and whilst he responded strongly to the first one, he couldn't to the second. O'Connor was dropped, but quickly joined by Valentin Paret-Peintre and also Lafay who came back from the front group. There were a few minutes of urgency but the Australian and his teammates worked perfectly to close the gap back down once again.
Then, O'Connor rode in to the finish with the GC group, seeing Mikel Landa lose minutes on a day that anticipates the final decisive stages. However, he continues to have Primoz Roglic only 5 seconds away from his race lead.
🇪🇸@lavuelta Toujours leader de la Vuelta après la 18ème étape. 🎙️ Ben O'Connor : "A l'arrivée, ce fut une bonne journée". Ben is still the leader after stage 18 🎙️ Ben O'Connor: "At the end, it was a proper day". #DECATHLONAG2RLAMONDIALETEAM @DecathlonEspana @AG2RLAMONDIALE…
