When Ben O’Connor left the field behind on stage 6, he didn’t foresee the sizeable grasp on the maillot rojo and overall race lead that he carried into the Vuelta a España’s first rest day, and neither did his rivals.
Sitting 3:53 ahead of race favourite Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), O’Connor’s margin was considered a gap left to get “out of hand” on stage 6, but with his strong defence of the jersey on Sunday’s stage 9 the Australian rider suddenly seems like a major threat to the overall win.
