Ben O’Connor pushes back at critics of Vuelta GC logjam: “No one has the right to comment on how we should race. Every day is full-on to win.”
O’Connor isn’t afraid to say what he thinks. (Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Published August 31, 2025 08:21AM
ALFARO, Spain (Velo) — Ben O’Connor pushed back against armchair sport directors who are calling the opening week and the deadlocked GC battle at the 2025 Vuelta a España “boring.”
The Jayco-AlUla leader hit back Sunday, insisting the uneventful GC fight that’s knotted up after a full week of racing is simply the calm before the storm.
“You can’t expect fireworks every single day,” O’Connor told Velo at Sunday’s start.
“Honestly, I couldn’t care less what people think about how we race. By the end of three weeks, everyone is on their limit.”
The Australian’s blunt words come after an admittedly muted opening week that produced stage drama but no major GC fireworks.
Visma-Lease a Bike is keeping its matches dry, happy to let Bahrain Victorious carry red while UAE Emirates-XRG collected stage wins with Juan Ayuso and Jay Vine.
O’Connor can’t understand where the criticism is coming from.
“No one has the right to comment on how we should race. It’s up to us, and we’re all professionals,” O’Connor told Velo. “Every day is full-on to win.”
Finding space for the GC: ‘There’s no let-up after rest day’
O’Connor is hanging tough so far in the GC. (Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
O’Connor knows how the Vuelta can trick anyone who lets down their guard.
He is bracing for what’s in store in the climb-heavy second and third weeks of the Vuelta. With so many mountains stacked up across northern Spain, there might not be another sprint stage until Madrid.
“There’s no let-up at all from that point,” he said of Monday’s rest day. “The Bilbao stage [Wednesday] will be really tricky, and there’ll be gaps. You’ll probably see a bigger fight for the breakaway.
‘Last year it was the same. It wasn’t until later that the breakaways really got going.”
O’Connor returns to the Vuelta after his breakout 2024 edition, when he won a stage and finished second overall.
A high-profile transfer to Jayco-AlUla saw big pressure piled on O’Connor, who paid back the support with a massive victory in the Alps in stage 18 at the Tour de France to save his Tour after his GC aspirations caved early.
O’Connor said the reason week 1 at this Vuelta might have seemed low-octane is that the closing two weeks will require turbo engines to survive.
“There’s plenty more to come. The nature of the course is pretty straightforward,” O’Connor said.
“I am not complaining,” O’Connor said at Saturday’s start. “It’s nice to do straightforward racing after what was the roughest July. It just sucked that whole Tour de France. It was a constant fight, day in and day out, so it’s nice to have a calmer run.”
Defending Ayuso: ‘Why not rack up stages?’
O’Connor is hanging close on GC and hopes to shine in the harder climbs. (Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
O’Connor’s been watching with interest the tactical slugfest so far between Visma and UAE Emirates-XRG.
UAE’s Juan Ayuso has been catching heat after giving up on GC without much of a fight, only to counter the next day to win Friday’s stage.
O’Connor suggested there might be a method to the madness.
“I think it’s smart. I think it’s almost a good idea. Someone like Ayuso, he’s clearly been able to do GC in the past, and he either can’t be bothered to do it here, or doesn’t think he can race up to his standards,” O’Connor said Saturday. “So why not go for stages and rack them up?
“You’re still a quality bike rider, and you’re going to be able to get a good day out, it just doesn’t mean you need to do GC day in, day out. So I think it’s a good idea.”
O’Connor will try to play off the super teams and find space to move.