"You'll probably see some guys explode, hopefully one of them isn't me," was how Ben O'Connor summed up his feelings about Tuesday's first summit finish of the Vuelta a España at Pico Villuercas, and he surely wasn't the only rider in this year's Vuelta peloton to feel that way.
This year all three of the Grand Tours have featured major climbs in the first week, with the Giro d'Italia tackling the Oropa summit finish and the Tour de France the Galibier, and on both occasions the stage winner - one Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) - has gone on to take the overall.
