Ben O'Connor's Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team have controlled stage 12 of La Vuelta a Espana enabling the Australian rider to complete a week in the leader's red jersey.
The Perth cyclist has been in red since his epic solo breakaway win on stage 6 and his team ensured there would be no repeat of Wednesday's loss of 37 seconds to his nearest pursuer, Primoz Roglic.
Riding for long periods at the head of the peloton they were happy to allow a 10-man breakaway which did not feature any general classification contenders to escape, but kept close tabs on Slovenian Roglic and other threats.
