The 13th Vuelta stage to the top of the Puerto de Ancares resulted in a lot of spectacle on Friday. It became a battle on two fronts, with Michael Woods (winner of the day) and Primoz Roglic (time gain on other GC riders) emerging as winners. Leader Ben O'Connor, however, is still in the red.
The Aussie of Decathlon AG2R saw Roglic come nearly two minutes closer but still possesses a 1.21-minute lead on the Slovenian. "I was exhausted; it didn't go well. I'm still in the red, so that's a positive," he assessed in the flash interview immediately after the race.
O'Connor doesn't beat around the bush: it didn't work out for him. "To be honest, I could not keep up when Roglic went. So I didn't even see that. I tried to keep pace, but I didn't have much left. Who knows what's going to happen next? In Granada, I felt excellent, but now not so. There will probably be another day, and then we'll see each other on Sunday," he refers to the next challenging mountain stage.
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Carlos Rodríguez, holder of the white jersey, had a good day. He maintained his sixth spot. "But it was a tough climb, which we already knew from the roadbook. I think I planned my effort well. I knew how hard I could ride and kept that pace until the top."
"I lost some time to Primoz, but I was close to the other GC riders and even gained time on some guys," said the INEOS Grenadiers leader. "That makes me happy, and I hope I can keep this good feeling."