The snapshot offered by the ultimate climb can generally supply a deceptive overview of the day’s racing. However, there was nothing misleading concerning the image painted by the Alto de Mougás on stage 10 of the Vuelta a España. In as far as potential in a race of this depth, Ben O’Connor loved a comparatively snug day within the crimson jersey of race chief.
It helped, in fact, that the Vuelta’s lengthy switch north to Galicia introduced with it a hefty drop in temperature. After the mercury had climbed above 40°C amid the parched terrain of Andalusia final week, the air was mercifully cooler because the peloton navigated the verdant peaks of the Rías Baixas on Tuesday – even when, like O’Connor’s obvious ease on the ultimate climb, it is all relative.
“Aw mate, I do not suppose anybody’s complaining that it isn’t 38 or 40°C day-after-day,” O’Connor smiled when he took a seat within the press convention truck in Baiona. “It’s a phenomenal area, and it is good to see inexperienced once more. It’s good to be again in respectable climate. It was nonetheless 30°C at factors as we speak, however there is a large distinction between 30°C and 40°C. At that time, you’ll be able to by no means actually calm down.”
As ever when a Grand Tour resumes after a relaxation day, there was a blistering begin to the motion because the race left Ponteareas, however as soon as stage winner Wout van Aert and the break had established themselves, there was a major diploma of cooling in the principle peloton. The climbs of the Vilachán and the Mabia handed with none critical unrest within the bunch, and O’Connor’s Decathlon-AG2R teammates policed affairs firmly for many of the class 1 Alto de Mougás besides.
Although EF Education-EasyPost briefly upped the tempo on behalf of Richard Carapaz, there could be no rebel from O’Connor’s GC rivals. Instead, his teammates Felix Gall and Valentin Paret-Peintre resumed their positions on the head of the crimson jersey group, which reached Baiona intact after the 20km drop off the ultimate climb.
“Credit the boys: we had been sturdy all day, we managed it from the beginning, we let the appropriate break go,” O’Connor stated. “On the ultimate climb, Valentin was glorious, he was again to the Valentin you noticed within the Giro d’Italia. I suppose it was fairly a quick climb on the finish. Carapaz did attempt to give it a crack, however I do not actually know what the injury was, I simply held the wheel. I felt nice once more as we speak.
“And we had it underneath management. It wasn’t actually a day for GC guys to go for it as a result of the descent on the finish was fairly lengthy, so it was quite a lot of effort for not quite a lot of reward. And I believe the group was wanting sturdy sufficient to discourage assaults as nicely.”
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In the general standings, O’Connor stays 3:53 away from Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and 4:32 forward of Carapaz. The highway from right here to Madrid stays each lengthy and arduous, in fact, however with every passing day, the failure of Red Bull et al to restrict O’Connor’s profitable margin at Yunquera more and more appears to be like like a calamitous error. Even so, O’Connor was circumspect when requested to evaluate his prospects of profitable this race total on September 8.
“I’m not going to present you my chance index,” O’Connor smiled. “I believe I’m driving nicely, I’m within the jersey, and I’ve acquired a four-minute lead. But biking as a sport to guess on is a fickle enterprise. In the tip, you’ll be able to draw your individual conclusions about who’s the man to beat. But you may actually solely have the ability to determine it out on Sunday week.”
Netflix
O’Connor has usually been a relaxed and personable interviewee since he entered the skilled peloton in 2017 so it actually should not come as a shock that he has reduce such a relaxed and personable determine since taking the crimson jersey final Thursday. And but, due to a worldwide streaming behemoth, a unique picture of the Subiaco man has compelled its manner into the collective consciousness these previous two summers.
In the 2 seasons of Netflix’s Tour de France: Unchained documentary so far, O’Connor emerged because the present’s most compelling determine for his unvarnished responses to the difficulties he endured in every race. The character references offered by members of group administration – “He’s simply dominated by his feelings,” Vincent Lavenu complained – solely served to hammer residence the Netflix depiction of O’Connor as a considerably tempestuous determine. The actuality, he insisted in Ponteareas on Tuesday morning, is a little bit completely different.
“I suppose that is what TV is, it is there for leisure and drama, nevertheless it would not at all times present you as you really are,” O’Connor smiled. “At the second, I’m a contented man, I’m relaxed and having fun with it. For positive, I’m an offended man generally too, however I hope I’m not a nasty individual.
“I imply, some moments [from the Netflix series] are fairly true, however in others, there’s zero context to the shot, it isn’t associated in any respect to the occasion in play. It generally is a little irritating, however no matter. You simply should attempt to neglect about it. Really, who cares about what somebody in America or one other individual thinks of you? I consider in myself, and I am going about my enterprise how I select.
“The factor is you do not actually know what’s coming, as a result of you have no preview. I do not know what a part of the questions they are going to use. Remember, you sit in entrance of this digicam for 2 hours answering questions. Things generally get a bit out of hand, they usually take context from that even when it isn’t associated.”
At this Vuelta, in contrast, the context is at all times clear in Connor’s thoughts. Fourth total at this yr’s Giro d’Italia, he’s firmly within the hunt to win this race outright, and he has taken coronary heart from his Decathlon-AG2R squad’s defence of his lead. “I’d say that our group is robust,” O’Connor stated. “We have the flexibility to regulate a race and determine the way it performs out.”
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