YUNQUERA, Spain (AP) — Ben O’Connor turned the Spanish Vuelta on its head Thursday when the Australian rider grabbed a huge lead with a commanding victory of the hilly sixth stage.
O’Connor claimed the red leader’s jersey from Primoz Roglic and jumped 4 minutes, 51 seconds ahead of the three-time Vuelta winner.
“I did feel a little bit like I was in my own world today,” O’Connor said about his fine day on the bike. “I seized my opportunity and laid it all out there. It is pretty special when you can pretty much crush it from the start.”
O’Connor, a rider for Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale Team, dropped his fellow breakaway riders and then powered through the final 28 kilometers (17 miles) on a solo run that took him over two category three climbs under a baking sun. He completed the 185.5-kilometer (115-mile) route from Jerez de la Frontera to Yunquera in southern Spain in 4 hours, 28 minutes.
The next rider, Marco Frigo, crossed over 4:30 minutes later, and the peloton, including Roglic of Red Bull-BORA hansgrohe, finished over 6:30 minutes later.
João Almeida, who is third overall at 4:59 behind, replied “of course” when asked if he’s worried.
“O’Connor is not just any other rider. It is going to be tough to reel in those five minutes he has,” said Almeida of UAE Team Emirates.
The victory gave the 28-year-old O’Connor stage wins at all three Grand Tours. He won a stage at the 2021 Tour de France, when he also finished cycling’s elite race fourth overall, and the 2020 Giro d’Italia.
“It’s an excellent opportunity, and I am just going to savor it is as much as I can,” O’Connor said about his chances of winning the three-week race.
Friday’s seventh stage is a hilly 180.5-kilometer (112-mile) jaunt from Archidona to Cordoba.
The 21-stage race finishes in Madrid on Sept. 8.
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