Even this week, when Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) was still carrying the red jersey, he had a clear view of his overarching goal for the Vuelta a España. My main goal is to be on the podium in Madrid,” he said. Whatever place that is, that's my goal.”

Still, it is a funny thing to wear the leader's jersey in a Grand Tour. Some riders are inspired by the experience, while others are inhibited. Few are unfazed, including O'Connor. While serving as race leader, O'Connor was lured into the jersey and continued to put in efforts that he should not have done.

When he finally lost the jersey to Primoš Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) on Friday afternoon in the Alto de Moncalvillo, O'Connor lost any faint hope of winning the Vuelta. Freed from the burden of the maillot rojo, O'Connor raced a slightly different race on the road to Picon Blanco on stage 20.

The final mountains of the Vuelta were brutal and the pace was frighteningly fast, but O'Connor cut the cloth to measure the moment. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]