Vuelta a Espana turned on it's head! Ben O'Connor wins stage 6 with solo breakaway attack and takes race lead from Primoz Roglic
Cycling
Ben O'Connor finished fourth at the Giro d'Italia but that was not enough warning for rival teams today at the Vuelta a España. The Australian rider was given freedom to join the breakaway in today's hilly stage and took the stage win as well as the race lead with several minutes over former red jersey Primoz Roglic.
A day where the breakaway was likely to win, it saw dozens of riders trying to form a breakaway early in the day. The GC riders also got in the mix, because last year Sepp Kuss won a lot of time on a similar day in the opening week and the riders knew of what could happen. No less than 30 riders went off the peloton early in the day before the first big climb, but eventually on the ascent several GC riders looked to bridge across and with them came a fast moving peloton.
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Eventually a quality group went up the road featuring Ben O'Connor, Florian Lipowitz, Cristián Rodríguez, Urko Berrade, Clément Berthet, Mauri Vansevenant, Marco Frigo, Jay Vine, Pablo Castrillo, Pelayo Sánchez, Gijs Leemreize and Luca Vergallito. A strong group, with threats to the GC mainly in O'Connor and Lipowitz. But the latter was a card for BORA, who didn't look to chase hard so as to help his ambitions.
Hence teams such as Bahrain - Victorious, UAE Team Emirates and Movistar helped with the collaboration during the day, but the reality is the gap wasn't under control. O'Connor was keen on attacking from the front group early on and with 62 kilometers to go he moved off the front of the group with Gijs Leemreize. The duo collaborated but the difference in climbing quality was big and on the penultimate climb of the day the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale went solo off the front of the race.
O'Connor was in a massive day. Although there wasn't a full-on chase in the peloton, the Australian kept increasing his gap throughout many kilometers including the final hilltop finish in Yunquera. He took the stage win in glory, and with it also the red jersey, taking over 6 minutes on the peloton. Marco Frigo and Florian Lipowitz were second and third on the day.
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The star aligned for Niewiadoma to win the TDF and it seems that they are aligning for Ben O'Connor as well to win the Vuelta. the only thing is will Felix Gall work for him, he is also looking good
Ok, things are getting spicy! Hopefully a great battle like the Tour de France Femmes with the favourite trying to chase down the leader! Let's go!
Dear Ben, it’s not your birthday but we thought we would give you a nice gift of 5 minutes anyhow. We hope you can enjoy it. Signed Bora, UAE, Visma, and Movistar
Makes me wonder what the hell Roglic was thinking. I don't think o' Connor can follow Roglic in the high mountains, but still...
There will be no gifts this time like there was with Kuss. Great rider but will not stay with Rog in high mountains . Looking at netflix documentary he is very fragile when the plan goes out of the window. Top 5 max 🤔🤔🤔🤔
So what other team gifted Kuss? Give it up already. Kuss took the lead by a lot less than O'Connor and defended well in the TT and was never under threat by other teams which gave him every right to be supported by his teammates. Being attacked by your own teammates is a complete no-no. There's no such thing as being given a gift by a teammate. Roglic is a bum for what he did. Not only that, but Roglic is getting old is not a threat to win this race whether O'Connor does or not. You understand nothing about pro bike racing. Neither does Roglic, which is why nobody is going to help him.
You can't give a guy like Ben O'Connor time like that, he is a great climber and has had good results in GT's. I hope he wins this Vuelta, I'm pulling for him all the way. Go Ben!
Congratulations to Ben O'Connor on his huge ride, and for taking a great big lead in the GC as well.
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maria2024202414-04-2025 - In the race they talk constantly to each other; it seems as if they're teammates. Obviously, when the crucial moment arrive, they attack each other to win, but it's evident the respect, sympathy, and friendship between them.maria2024202414-04-2025
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