🚂🚂 𝙍𝙄𝙄𝙄𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘿 💥 The moment everything EXPLODED! 🔥 ¡El momento en el que todo ha EXPLOTADO! #LaVuelta24
O'Connor under even more pressure: Carapaz wants more than Vuelta podium and calls surprising attack "first move"
CyclingThursday, 05 September 2024 at 19:24
The eighteenth stage in the Vuelta a España didn't particularly lend itself to it, but at EF Education-EasyPost, the team knew we couldn't keep waiting. Richard Carapaz used the steep Puerto de Herrera to attack, even though it was still more than forty kilometers to the finish from the top. The violence produced one unexpected victim, but mostly a lot of confidence to reap in the coming days.
Carapaz let his team go full blast on the day's final climb and went off by himself. That was at the expense of Mikel Landa. He had a bad day and lost more than three minutes to his competitors. Because Landa dropped to number five in the GC, the gap from Carapaz to the new number five (David Gaudu of Groupama-FDJ) suddenly exceeds two minutes. And so eyes can turn to the three places ahead of him.
Ben O'Connor is still in the red, but the Australian of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale had to pass again when there was an attack. However, Carapaz is still 1.48 minutes behind O'Connor, and as the GC leader mended things with his team, they must perform in the final two mountain stages on Friday and Saturday. "This is only the first move," Carapaz said, full of bravado at Eurosport.
Read more below the video
O'Connor calls attack Carapaz "a surprise"
So what's next? First of all, on Friday, the finish atop Alto de Moncalvillo and, on Saturday, another challenging climb to Picón Blanco. "The last categorized climb was tough, so the team did a good job," Carapaz looked back with satisfaction. "We are improving every day, and there is still a lot of Vuelta to go. The wet weather conditions are taking their toll on everyone, but I am confident going into my third week. We want to compete for the overall win, so this was the first move."
O'Connor wore the red jersey for the thirteenth (!) day in a row on Thursday. His five-second lead over Primoz Roglic remained intact, even though he had to make another recovery. "I didn't expect Carapaz's attack. We had to close a gap, and we succeeded. It was a tough ride, but I had to stay calm. In the end, it was a good day."
🇪🇸@lavuelta Toujours leader de la Vuelta après la 18ème étape. 🎙️ Ben O'Connor : "A l'arrivée, ce fut une bonne journée". Ben is still the leader after stage 18 🎙️ Ben O'Connor: "At the end, it was a proper day". #DECATHLONAG2RLAMONDIALETEAM @DecathlonEspana @AG2RLAMONDIALE…
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Latest Comments
- Well explained, thanks for the clarity! Daniel DantasDanieldantas20-12-2024
- This is the kind of 'news' that belongs in a cheap tabloid. No matter how boring the offseason gets, nobody wants to read this.
santiagobenites19-12-2024 - I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024 - hahahaha love this shit! I didnt even watched the race, but reading all the gossip articles of how stupid this is!Zatoichi19-11-2024
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024