Ben O'Connor was pleased with how his AG2R-Critroën team performed in the pack going into the 2022 season opener at the Vuelta a Andalucía Ruta del Sol, but was puzzled by how the peloton slipped up as the non-favorites kept running all day. I was puzzled by how the peloton slipped.

The eight-man breakaway group, which at one point had a gap of nearly 15 minutes, finished 37 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The stage ended with an unlikely but well-deserved victory for outsider René Hergotts (Sport-Frandellen-Baloise), who fended off a chase by a big-name team.

"The time difference between the peloton and the break group was not a problem.

O'Connor said the indecision of the group was "because everyone was looking at each other. It was a little ridiculous. Everyone was messed up."

Escape arrived in Iznajar with 90 seconds to go, fighting for the stage win on a steep slope with 1,500 meters to go. The remaining six-man breakaway broke away in the last 150 meters, with Helegots winning ahead of Steven Bassett (Human Powered Health) and Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH).

On a personal note, the 26-year-old Helegotz, who finished fourth overall in last year's Tour de France, said he was pleased with his performance in his debut race in 2022. Despite "some bad luck," he finished 22nd.

"I dropped my chain on the descent" -- a fast downhill just before the final climb to Iznajar -- "and lost a position.

"But it was good to come back. It was really good to show the race as a team. But what happened at the start (the break) was a bit tough."