Vuelta a España leader Ben O'Connor is upbeat about Sunday's ultra-difficult stage through the mountains of northern Spain, despite missing the finish on the summit of Anchares on Friday.

Over the past week, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondial rider has seen his nearly 5-minute GC advantage over Primoš Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) reduced to just 1:21. [After an uneventful trek to Villabrino on stage 14, he defended himself well on the long, steady climbs of the Sierra Nevada a week earlier, as he noted.

Whether O'Connor performs as well as he did in the Sierra Nevada or on the 25%-slope Quitu Negru like Anchares is the key question that will determine the outcome of the entire Vuelta. It is also a question of how Primoš Roglic, after his devastating performance in Ancares, will race on the long climbs in Asturias.

“It will be a really hard and important day. I'm more tired than I was a week ago, but at least I'm not sick of being in the heat all the time like I was the first week.”

“We'll have to see how I cope on Sunday. I like long climbs, so I'll remain optimistic.”

O'Connor's knowledge of the Galician terrain is limited, but he has plenty of experience riding in Asturias from previous Vueltas. Even if, like most of the riders in this year's race, he has never tackled Cuis Negres, which was last used by the Vuelta in 2012.

“I saw the 2012 climb the other day with Prito [Rodriguez] and Alberto [Contador], and it looked pretty tough. Especially the last part, which is very steep, but also the ski station and the part before the finish.”

“I don't know most of the stages we are facing, but I do know about the race in Asturias. There are super steep, foggy, and super long climbs. It reminds me of the Col de la Rose.”

O'Connor's teammate Felix Gall, also racing in the Vuelta, was the last rider to win La Rosée, the French Alpine climb used in the 2023 Tour.

It remains to be seen whether Gall will enjoy the same freedom he tasted in Ancares, or whether the Austrian, currently running in eighth place, will try to help O'Connor, who was isolated in Ancares, on the Cuis Negres.

In any case, more than the gals, the key to stage 15 will likely be both O'Connor and his nemesis Roglic, who will have to decide how well he can defend the red jersey.

“Everyone is looking at Primorsch. But we can't just watch one guy on the climb, as happened in Granada (stage 9). You have to watch everything.”