Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2024, stage 6: Some random Carrefour - Yunquera, 185.5k

[Valv.Piti]

I get it when somebody's completely unproven. You do see a bit of flexibility given and sometimes there are some oddities in the Vuelta with people who have more left in the tank at this time of the year than others overachieving, like when Tomasz Marczyński got multiple stage wins one year, and there are a few examples of riders who are completely unproven - as Gee was in 2023 - or who have long been part of the péloton and are known to be no GC threat, who have been able to escape and win in that fashion. Ben King in the 2018 Vuelta is a good example of that. Maybe even Jay Vine in the 2022 Vuelta.

Gee's 2023 Giro was basically like Johnny Hoogerland's 12th in the 2009 Vuelta, so people didn't really have any idea of whether he could actually do a GC bid of any kind. O'Connor in the 2022 Tour is similar - he'd got three GTs under his belt, all between 20th and 32nd, so he could clearly climb reasonably well but he wasn't taken seriously as a threat and allowed to get up the road repeatedly, but now he's not only scored a top 5 finish but backed it up with another one (and a further top 10 to boot), he's really too dangerous to allow this kind of rope. I mean, so was Kuss, even taking into account that he'd never really raced for himself at a race like that before, he'd still been 8th in 2021 and had 5 other GT top 20s just because of his climbing performances in service of leaders or escaping in breaks. It wasn't like his being able to climb with the best should have been news to anybody.

It was 2021, and since then, O'Connor has been very up and and down (mostly down, i think) and then not looking convincing on the first MTF. Of course he was 4th in the Giro, but I think the general consensus was and is from the teams that that wasn't particularly convincing either. Couple that with him having a Thomas de Gendt 2019 Saint Etienne day out front (or 2012 Stelvio) and you get a result like this today. Nobody was softpedalling, but on the other hand, no teams were really comitting 100% either

 

[Unchained]

If a guy like O'Connor wins a GT, I know nothing about cycling anymore.

His resume is pretty spotty but he has some climbing results.. Some wildcard factors are where he is from, the extreme heat may have effected him slightly less..
His results this year still have him as a long shot even with @5 minutes advantage.

 

[Danskebjerge]

O'Connor was good, but when you see a very big group coming in behind him, you know it's because the chase hasn't been hard enough.

 

[Unchained]

It was 2021, and since then, O'Connor has been very up and and down (mostly down, i think) and then not looking convincing on the first MTF. Of course he was 4th in the Giro, but I think the general consensus was and is from the teams that that wasn't particularly convincing either. Couple that with him having a Thomas de Gendt 2019 Saint Etienne day out front (or 2012 Stelvio) and you get a result like this today. Nobody was softpedalling, but on the other hand, no teams were really comitting 100% either

Ben O'Connor

Ben O'Connor (born 1995-11-25 in Subiaco) is a professional road racing cyclist from Australia, currently riding for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team. His best results are winning a stage in Tour de France and winning a stage in La Vuelta ciclista a España.

www.procyclingstats.com

You are right

 

[AnotherArmChair]

Never mind Roglic can go in the break tomorrow


BTW Ag2R are wining the team classification by alot with 2st, 9th and 11th on GC

 

[Rackham]

I can see that is going to make some of the random and medium mtn stages more exciting to watch. But I don’t like it. Because to me this is like the entire race dynamic decided by a mechanical or crash, which most people don’t enjoy. The mechanical breakdown here is the the cognitive functioning of the various team DS’s. I will admit to a bias about this because the control that team managers (the DS equivalent) have subsumed in baseball is ruining the sport for me. The similarities with cycling is that you have managers/DS in sports where the sporting aspect would go pretty well without them involved at all during the official race/game, and thus needing to justify their value. To do this they will try to control as much as possible, sometimes to the detriment of their teams because they need to continually establish they are in charge. And often this can mean sticking with whatever system or strategy they have set up, even when it’s noT fitting the situation.

I know the argument was over long ago, but this was (for me) always the biggest damage from race radios—you give a manager/boss/owner who has only a nominal amount of control on operations an opportunity to take MORE control, they will always do so.
Off soapbox now.

I look at this stage entirely from a Rog fandom standpoint.

As such, I'm quite happy to see him the role of chaser. I mean we'd already started to hear the usual whining about 'oh noes here comes the mountain sprinter' after Tuesday's win.

Now he gets to MTF sprint, attack & basically ride aggressive whilst the fans get excited as O'Connor's lead gets progressively cut down to... nothing.

I don't know but it would take an O'Connor with better legs than he had in the Giro to defend his lead from here on IMO.

 

[ice&fire]

So Oscar Pereiro gonna win this.

Hopefully, we don't need to wait more than one year for confirmation.

 

[Taxus4a]

Very well for O Connor!

You can win the Vuelta in the high mountains, the ITT, the flat and on the medium mountain stages. O Connor played his cards perfectly as he ido very strong for medium mountain stages and hot weather. Maybe Roglic wanst super today.
I coudnt whatch that moment but I dont understand Lipowitz didnt followbI Connor when he went...O Connor was the strongest but Florian would have been able to follow him close to the finish. Now , he has to make every stage hard to eliminate O Connor. Other way he could have been leader of the team with options to podium if Roglic fails or something happends with him. Roglic is still the favourite, anyway.

 

[Carols]

I don't usually play DS but All of the GC riders DS should be looking in a mirror and asking, 'why was I so Dumb?' especially Boras!!!

 

[Sciatic]

I look at this stage entirely from a Rog fandom standpoint.

As such, I'm quite happy to see him the role of chaser. I mean we'd already started to hear the usual whining about 'oh noes here comes the mountain sprinter' after Tuesday's win.

Now he gets to MTF sprint, attack & basically ride aggressive whilst the fans get excited as O'Connor's lead gets progressively cut down to... nothing.

I don't know but it would take an O'Connor with better legs than he had in the Giro to defend his lead from here on IMO.

I can be optimistic about that happening. While also knowing could get a week 3 procession like last year, but in this case because teams figure they are too far behind and “chasing-group syndrome” sets in.

 

[Samamba]

@Danes here: what did Kron say in his interview after the finish about his crash and the consequences?

 

[Finn84]

Giving up the leader's jersey was quite understandable but giving almost 5 minutes of lead to O'Connor doesn't make sense at all.

 

[staubsauger]

Giving up the leader's jersey was quite understandable but giving almost 5 minutes of lead to O'Connor doesn't make sense at all.

They gave 13 minutes to Kiviliev at the 2001 Tour de France.

We're simply back in that era.

 

[staubsauger]

@Danes here: what did Kron say in his interview after the finish about his crash and the consequences?

Oh no, he crashed?

Hoped Kron would go for the polka dots jersey with his great climbing shape! 😕

 

[Escarabajo]

I don't usually play DS but All of the GC riders DS should be looking in a mirror and asking, 'why was I so Dumb?' especially Boras!!!

It is only Bora. It is their responsibility.

 

[Rackham]

It is only Bora. It is their responsibility.

Why not Kuss? Isn't he the defending champion? Jumbo did absolutely nothing today.

 

[YavorD]

Yup, what is it with stage 6 in the Vuelta recently and complete foolishness and underestimation of a genuinely pretty strong rider nowadays?

I know it's only 3-4 minutes he has in hand, not like it's Arroyo 2010 or Pereiro 2006, but it was enough for Giovannetti and Kuss.

Well, Pereiro was given only 2-3 minutes if I remember correctly. And yet that was enough.

Giving O'Connor 5 minutes buffer is dangerous but at least will open up the race.

 

[search]

@Danes here: what did Kron say in his interview after the finish about his crash and the consequences?

there's an interview on TV2's website now. Going by the google translation of it, he seems to be more or less okay

Dansker giver opdatering efter styrt

Det er Andreas Krons første styrt i en Grand Tour.

sport.tv2.dk

The video doesn't work for me, though, even with Danish VPN

 

[Netserk]

@Danes here: what did Kron say in his interview after the finish about his crash and the consequences?

Dansker giver opdatering efter styrt

Det er Andreas Krons første styrt i en Grand Tour.

sport.tv2.dk

He says it hurt, but that he seems okay. He mostly seems annoyed and frankly frustrated with Riccitello (who fought for Eetvelt's wheel and then made an error that took them both down).

Først og fremmest, Andreas, er du okay?
Ja, jeg har lidt ondt hist og pist, men jeg er bare glad for at jeg kom til målstregen, og så må vi se, om der er noget, der skal scannes eller hvorledes, men jeg er egentlig bare glad for, at jeg stadig har muligheden for at køre videre, for det var ikke et sjovt sted at lande, vil jeg sige.
Hvad skete der?
Jeg sad på hjul af Riccitello, som gled, så havnede jeg ude i murbrokerne.
Hvordan var forholdene på den nedkørsel?
Jeg kendte den faktisk godt, den er jo faktisk meget fin, men vejene er bare lidt halvglatte, og så træder han lidt for tidligt, og jeg har allerede kæmpet med ham lige inden, for jeg ville gerne sidde på hjul af Lennert, men så var det sådan, at han ville ikke trække sig, åh, men jeg har ikke lyst til at styrte, men så styrter vi alligevel. Nu er det min fjerde Grand Tour, første styrt i en Grand Tour, så det er vel okay, men jeg har ondt og så må vi se hvordan det er i morgen.

First of all, Andreas, are you okay?
Yes, I'm a bit sore here and there, but I'm just happy that I made it to the finish line, and then we'll see if there's anything that needs to be scanned or how, but I'm really just happy that I still have the opportunity to continue, because it wasn't a fun place to land, I would say.
What happened?
I was on the wheel of Riccitello, who slipped, then I ended up in the rubble.
What were the conditions like on that descent?
I actually knew it well, it's actually quite fine, but the roads are just a bit slippery, and then he pedalled a bit too early, and I already fought with him just before, because I wanted to be on Lennert's wheel, but then it was like he wouldn't let go, oh, but I don't want to crash, but then we crash anyway. Now it's my fourth Grand Tour, first crash in a Grand Tour, so I guess it's okay, but I'm in pain and we'll see how it is tomorrow.

 

[Bolder]

Why not Kuss? Isn't he the defending champion? Jumbo did absolutely nothing today.

And give Roglic a hand? Why? This is on Bora 100%

 

[Rackham]

And give Roglic a hand? Why? This is on Bora 100%

I think people are freaking out over a nothingburger.

I'm way, way more concerned about the slippery road surfaces in this Vuelta than I am about Ben O'Connor having a five minute lead in GC.

Sunday in particular could be crazy, i.e. there will be gaps on that final cat 1 climb & I fear the descent (if the roads are dry & dusty) could be very treacherous for the first riders over the summit.

 

[scribers]

Bora relied on others to chase, others relied on Bora, and here we are.

What was brutal was they were at 2.5 minutes and just sat up to over 5 minutes. Unreal.

 

[Samamba]

So is AG2R going to use Gall as a domestique now? For a rider that's leaving the team? Are they gonna drop him back if OConnor drops?

 

[ice&fire]

I think people are freaking out over a nothingburger.

I'm way, way more concerned about the slippery road surfaces in this Vuelta than I am about Ben O'Connor having a five minute lead in GC.

Sunday in particular could be crazy, i.e. there will be gaps on that final cat 1 climb & I fear the descent (if the roads are dry & dusty) could be very treacherous for the first riders over the summit.

They will do a large part of that descent two times and part of it three times, so they can learn how to do it.

 

[noob]

Never mind Roglic can go in the break tomorrow


BTW Ag2R are wining the team classification by alot with 2st, 9th and 11th on GC

UAE probably cares more about that than Almeida losing 5 minutes on GC