"There's always the next race," Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroen) said of his feelings after giving up this summer's Tour de France with a muscle injury. And for him, the Vuelta a España will be his next race this season.

O'Connor went into the Tour de France hoping to improve on his fourth place in 2021. However, a crash early in the second stage and a torn gluteal muscle forced the Australian to leave the race on the second day of rest, close to where he had taken a memorable victory in Tignes the previous year.

The 26-year-old had already told Cycling News earlier this year that he hoped to complete his Grand Tour stage win "set" with a victory at the Vuelta a España. But that would be backed up by his "ambition for GC," he told reporters on Thursday.

"I'm confident I can go up there with the guys and see how we fight," O'Connor said. 'If we're up there, there's always a chance.'

While missing out on the Tour de France is always disappointing, judging from his pre-Vuelta interview, O'Connor has learned to take a more measured approach to the Tour. Focusing on the Tour may be a bit much."

"I think he was a bit too focused on the Tour.

However, O'Connor's usual fighting spirit was also evident as he tackled his second career Vuelta after finishing 25th in 2019.

"I don't want to hang on every day and roll into Madrid in 10th place. And running for the GC is not about giving yourself up for a stage win."

"I've seen the road book, I know the stages in the Sierra Nevada. It's all open."

"My dream is to finish on the podium. But I can also win a stage.

He was undeterred by the team time trial in the season opener and the two flat mass start stages in the Netherlands that followed.

"It can't get any trickier than the Tour or the first week of Paris-Nice," he said. And none of the teams have much practice."

Talking about the TTT, he returned to the "here and now" of the Vuelta, and in his second response stressed that he would not follow the shadow of Tour misfortune into the fall.

"I have to laugh it off. Just because I didn't finish the race doesn't mean I'm going to die."

"You don't always get what you want, and in the end you just have to shrug your shoulders and move on to the next thing.