‘I’m still in red’ – Vuelta a España leader Ben O’Connor strikes defiant note despite latest time loss

Vuelta a España race leader Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) struck a defiant note despite his most serious time loss to date to arch-rival Primož Roglič on the lungburstingly-steep Ancares summit finish.

With some four kilometres to go on the final ascent, a searing series of steady accelerations by the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe squad, starting with Dani Martínez, Florian Lipowitz and Aleksandr Vlasov and culminating with Roglič himself, shattered an already fast-disintegrating front group.