The 2024
Vuelta a Espana has reached the first day and it is
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team's leader,
Ben O'Connor who sits atop the general classification with a commanding lead of 3:53 from nearest rival
Primoz Roglic.
After a slightly alarming time loss on stage 8, O'Connor was much more assured on stage 9 this Sunday afternoon, keeping contact with Roglic and crossing the line alongside almost all the Australian's main Red Jersey challengers, barring
Adam Yates and
Richard Carapaz.
“I’m happy that Adam Yates won actually," O'Connor says in his
post-stage interview afterwards. "We allowed him in the breakaway today and he wasn’t someone that we had like an absolutely must-watch on our radar. Carapaz was a surprise. He held out for so long."
"I’m super happy with how we worked as a team. I think we were really composed. And
Felix Gall was excellent on the final climb. It shows that we’re here to still fight," concludes O'Connor, who actually managed to gain himself 4 bonus seconds by winning the sprint for 3rd. "Every second counts. I didn’t lose time today… well to some guys, yes, but I think in the end I showed my real capacity so I’m proud.”