"That’s four Aussie wins so far" - Ben O'Connor delighted to see compatriot Kaden Groves continue Green & Gold success at La Vuelta 2024
Cycling
What a Grand Tour it has been for the Australians at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana. With 17 stages down, the Green & Gold now have four stage wins and hold three of the leader's jerseys.
“It’s always good to see another fellow Aussie win. That’s four Aussie wins so far…" Red Jersey wearing Ben O'Connor reflected in his post-stage 17 interview, after seeing compatriot Kaden Groves sprint to his third stage win of the Grand Tour in a wet and technical finale in Santander ahead of Pavel Bittner, and Jay Vine retain his lead in the King of the Mountains classification. "Good day for Aussie cycling!"
For O'Connor himself, he still leads the general classification by 5 seconds from Primoz Roglic. Whilst stage 17 was a more relaxed day for the Red Jersey challengers, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team leader is well aware that won't be the case in the next few days.
"It was a bit wet, not too hard, a little treacherous on the descents, but it wasn’t too complicated in the end. We’ve done a lot riding so far in this race so it was good for the boys to have a bit of a break, it was much needed," O'Connor concludes his assessment of the day, before casting an eye to the upcoming stage 18. "Tomorrow, break management will probably have to be a lot more pro-active but it should normally be an easier finish.”
Results | 2024 Vuelta a Espana stage 17:
| 1 | Groves Kaden | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 180 | 03:32:14 |
| 2 | Bittner Pavel | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 130 | + 00 |
| 3 | Braet Vito | Intermarché-Wanty | 95 | + 00 |
| 4 | Miquel Delgado Pau | Equipo Kern Pharma | 80 | + 00 |
| 5 | Strong Corbin | Israel-Premier Tech | 60 | + 00 |
| 6 | Campenaerts Victor | Lotto Dstny | 45 | + 00 |
| 7 | Planckaert Edward | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 40 | + 00 |
| 8 | Le Berre Mathis | ARKEA-B&B HOTELS | 35 | + 00 |
| 9 | Livyns Arjen | Lotto Dstny | 30 | + 00 |
| 10 | Berasategi Xabier | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 25 | + 00 |
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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🇪🇸 @lavuelta - Etape 17 La pluie était de retour pour cette étape de sprint. Nous sommes arrivés sans encombre jusqu'à la ligne, c'était le seul objectif de la journée ! 🙏 Not the nicest of weather today for this sprint stage. We made it safely to the finish and that was the
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