‘One for the ages’: Aussie stuns

Australian Ben O’Connor says he felt like he was “in my own world” after a sensational solo display powered him into the lead of the La Vuelta a Espana as he took out the sixth stage in Spain to put himself on the verge of something special.

O’Connor, Australia’s top-ranked road racer, jumped from 23rd before the bumpy 185.5km sixth stage from Jerez de la Frontera to Yunquera.

He made up nearly two minutes on leader Primoz Roglic to snare the red jersey as overall leader, now an astonishing four minutes 51 seconds clear of Slovenia’s triple Vuelta champion.

“I felt a little bit in my own world today,” beamed O’Connor, looking remarkably fresh and more than a little amazed the peloton had let a rider of his obvious quality and danger off the leash.

“I kind of just went for it. It was just a day to seize an opportunity and I left it all out there. It’s pretty special. To go out there and just crush it like that, I absolutely loved every moment.”

The stage victory puts O’Connor in with a chance of joining Cadel Evans (2011 Tour de France) and Jai Hindley (2022 Giro d’Italia) as an Australian Grand Tour champion.

But he wasn’t getting lost in what could happen.

“Maybe, maybe not,” he said.

“Depends on how I go. It’s an excellent opportunity and I’m just going to savour it as much as I can.

“I was looking at the list of triple Grand Tour stage winners before this race started, so I’m proud to have my name on that list and to wear the red jersey as well.

“It’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime achievement maybe, so I’m going to enjoy every moment.”

In commentary for Eurosport, Australian cycling great Robbie McEwen called the win “one for the ages”.

“There’ll be headshaking and disbelief at how much time they’ve all given up to Ben O’Connor,” he said.