‘An important day to be good’ – Ben O’Connor braced for Lagos de Covadonga test at Vuelta a España

Two weeks into the Vuelta a España and ten days into his leadership of the race, Ben O’Connor doesn’t appear to be unduly burdened by the red jersey on his back. True, Primož Roglič has steadily shrunk his advantage from almost five minutes to just over one, but O’Connor has never appeared fazed by the demands of his position.

The polemic over Decathlon-AG2R’s blocking manoeuvre on stage 11 was shrugged off amiably. “This was a good excuse to do it,” he smiled after deleting his Twitter account. His worst day, on the Puerto de Ancares, was absorbed swiftly. “I was pretty cooked,” he confessed afterwards. On Sunday, he delivered a defiant display at Cuitu Negru to defend his red jersey when many expected he would lose it. “I’ll hold it for as long as I can,” he said at the finish.