"I’m very happy, but I still have to do a good time trial" - Ben O'Connor 'proud' and set for first ever Grand Tour podium finish at 2024 Vuelta a Espana
Cycling
After another gritty and determined performance on the final climb of stage 20 at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana, Ben O'Connor retains his 2nd overall heading into the final stage individual time trial in Madrid.
“I’m proud,” a smiling O’Connor reflected in his post-stage interview afterwards with Eurosport, full of the praise for the work done in his service by the rest of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team. “I have to thank my teammates for the last 20 days. They were always there for me. I’m very happy, but I still have to do a good time trial tomorrow.”
With 4th placed Richard Carapaz just under a minute down on O'Connor, the Australian needs one more solid performance to bank himself a first ever Grand Tour podium finish. “I mainly rode smarter today. The power was always there, but I let the red jersey drive me crazy. It's nice that I was able to race in the right way today," the Aussie concludes. "I'm definitely confident for the time trial, but now I have to recover well and then deliver the best possible time trial.”
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Results | Stage 20 of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana:
| 1 | Dunbar Edward | Team Jayco-AlUla | 180 | 04:38:37 |
| 2 | Mas Enric | Movistar Team | 130 | + 07 |
| 3 | Roglic Primoz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 95 | + 10 |
| 4 | Carapaz Richard | EF Education-EasyPost | 80 | + 12 |
| 5 | Berrade Urko | Equipo Kern Pharma | 60 | + 14 |
| 6 | O'Connor Ben | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | 45 | + 14 |
| 7 | Gaudu David | Groupama-FDJ | 40 | + 21 |
| 8 | Landa Mikel | Soudal Quick-Step | 35 | + 23 |
| 9 | Lipowitz Florian | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 30 | + 37 |
| 10 | Skjelmose Mattias | Lidl-Trek | 25 | + 37 |
| 11 | Gall Felix | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | 20 | + 39 |
| 12 | Sivakov Pavel | UAE Team Emirates | 15 | + 01:23 |
| 13 | Yates Adam | UAE Team Emirates | 10 | + 02:28 |
| 14 | Rodriguez Cristian | ARKEA-B&B HOTELS | 5 | + 02:34 |
| 15 | Rubio Einer | Movistar Team | 2 | + 02:34 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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🇪🇸@lavuelta Vous avez été grands les gars. Ben termine avec les favoris et reste 2ème au général. True fighters. Ben finishes with the leaders and is still 2nd overall. #DECATHLONAG2RLAMONDIALETEAM - © KBLB
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