Groves wins his second stage of Spanish Vuelta and O’Connor protects lead over Roglic

VILLABLINO, Spain (AP) — Kaden Groves of Australia won his second stage at the Spanish Vuelta while countryman Ben O’Connor kept his diminished race lead over Primoz Roglic on Saturday.

Groves sprinted to beat Wout Van Aert to claim Stage 14, a hilly 200-kilometer ride from Villafranca del Bierzo to Villablino in northwest Spain, in 4 hours, 21 minutes. The Alpecin Deceuninck rider also won Stage 2.

Groves has six career wins in the Spanish Grand Tour.

Roglic has reduced O’Connor’s lead over recent stages, cutting it from nearly five minutes to 1:21 after making more gains on Friday’s mountain stage.

But the three-time Vuelta winner had to change bikes due to a technical issue while descending a category-one climb shortly before the finish. That ensured no change among the top challengers.

Sunday could be an important day in the three-week race. Riders face a mountainous 143-kilometer (89-mile) jaunt over three peaks to a special-category summit finish atop Cuitu Negru.

The race finishes in Madrid on Sept. 8.

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