Vuelta stars brace for brutal climb: "It will be one of the toughest days"

O'Connor and his Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team had an easy day on Thursday. When a harmless breakaway of ten riders got away, the team was able to slow the pace. "It was a tough start, but after that, we controlled the race and kept a steady pace on the final climb. It was a fast climb, which wasn't ideal for attackers. So, we did our job well," O'Connor explained in a post-stage interview. Friday will be a different story with a punishing final climb. "I’m confident in my abilities, but Friday's stage has an extremely tough finish. It will be one of the key days of this Vuelta."

Felix Gall, one of O'Connor's domestiques who is also in contention for a strong top-ten finish, agrees. "Many riders are already feeling the fatigue, and the last two days have been demanding. Friday is going to be a really tough day for the GC riders and the most important day of this second week. Our team is focused on protecting Ben and managing the breakaways. It’s not easy, so on a day like this, we might let a break go if it doesn't have any serious threats."

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O'Connor will be keeping a close eye on Primoz Roglic and Enric Mas in stage thirteen, his closest rivals in the general classification. However, there will be plenty of eager climbers looking to make their move as well. Adam Yates is one of them. "There was a big battle for the breakaway, so the start was tough. After that, everyone quickly agreed that big days are coming up, so we could take it easy. Friday will be a big day for the GC riders," said the polka-dot jersey wearer.

UAE-Team Emirates has consistently placed someone in the breakaways during mountain stages, and Marc Soler was the chosen one on Thursday. "Soler has tried many times and has great legs, but we’ll keep trying. I can’t remember Friday’s climb, but for us, every day is an opportunity to try something, whether it’s for the stage win or for the GC. We race without pressure, going all out every day. Sometimes we win, sometimes we don't."

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Potential danger could also come this weekend from Lidl-Trek and Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dutch team has had a relatively quiet presence in the GC stages, aside from a spectacular Wout van Aert. Sepp Kuss hopes to change that when Friday's gradients exceed ten percent. "Tomorrow is another stage for the GC riders. Our goal will be to support Sepp as long as possible," team leader Marc Reef announced in a press release.

Lidl-Trek also aims to climb up the standings with Mattias Skjelmose. Kuss is currently fifteenth in the rankings, while Skjelmose is still only twelfth. The Dane, however, is eager, as he told TV2: "I had hoped to compete for the stage win today. However, it wasn't our role to take the initiative, and we knew it could go either way. Now Carlos (Verona, ed.) has achieved a good result for us, so that's fine. It was actually a very easy stage for us. After two tough days, all the favorites were feeling it in their legs, and we know what's coming. You always have to be ready, but with these steep gradients, it’s hard to do much. I had good legs in the sprint, so that's okay."