Ben O'Connor
"I had the feeling I could win the stage".
"I felt like I was alone in the world today. When the first group left, I was a little disappointed not to be there because it was a good opportunity. But when the race restarted, I slipped into the breakaway. I felt it was a day full of great opportunities, and I had the feeling from the start that I could win the stage. It was special to dominate like that, and I loved every moment of it. Before La Vuelta, I looked at the list of three Grand Tour winners, and I'm proud to add my name to that list. Wearing this red jersey is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I'm going to savor every moment of it."
Stéphane Goubert
"A great stage and an excellent team
"It's been a great stage and a great team, the collective has been up to scratch and Ben (O'Connor) has been on top of it all. Today he was untouchable, it was really great Ben. He managed to get into the breakaway just when the peloton needed a breather, which enabled them to get ahead. The front group wasn't getting on very well, so Ben wanted to accelerate and went off on his own, pedaling away, having worn down his rivals one after the other. He joins a very select group of stage winners in the three Grand Tours. On top of that, he takes the leader's jersey, which is a reward for the whole team. Now it's up to us to do everything we can to defend it.
The news
The overall team ranking
After the sixth stage of the Vuelta Ben O'Connor's victorious breakaway, which earned him the red leader's jersey, also the team's first leader's jersey in the Vuelta. The entire team was rewarded by taking the lead in the team classification.
Clément Berthet fourth of the stage
Clément Berthet, who rode alongside Ben O'Connor in the day's breakaway, fought hard right to the end, finishing in a fine fourth place to move up to eleventh overall. Felix Gall remains in the top 10 overall, in ninth place.
A successful day at Tour Poitou-Charentes
The team also performed well on the roads of Tour Poitou-Charentes. At the end of the time trial, Larry Warbasse ranked fifth in the stage and overall. Arthur Blaise, who started early in the day, held the lead for a long time before finishing in sixth place.
3
Key number
The number of stage wins in a Grand Tour Ben O'Connor. After the Giro in 2020 and the Tour France in 2021, Ben joins the exclusive club of triple stage winners in all three Grand Tours with his victory at the summit of Alto de las Abejas in the Vuelta.
