Ben O'Connor has difficulty breathing, Martínez and Tiberi take advantage: "Quintana gave me some gels"

"I had difficulty breathing, I seem to be fighting something," O'Connor stated after the seventeenth stage in an interview. When asked what exactly was wrong with him, he could not provide an answer. "It's disappointing, but hopefully my lungs will get some rest tomorrow and I'll be ready for the final mountain stages. I'm not at my best right now, but hopefully, it will get better."

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While O'Connor lost thirteen seconds to Tiberi on Tuesday and finished in the same time as Geraint Thomas, on Wednesday the damage was slightly more significant. The climber suffered a loss of 41 seconds to a group including Tiberi, Thomas and also Martínez. This slowly sees the podium slipping from O'Connor's view, with Tiberi now just three-quarters of a minute behind him in fourth place. "It was a beautiful day for me, the legs were very good. I tried to gain as much time as possible on Arensman and O'Connor," the Italian of Bahrain Victorious says in the mixed zone, also referring to his battle for the young rider classification against Thymen Arensman.

Martínez was also pleased, after a stage in which he vigorously defended his second place. "I wanted to make a difference, but I was somewhat isolated. Nairo Quintana gave me some gels," he says, thanking his compatriot of Movistar for some assistance. "When INEOS raised the pace on the final climb, I thought it was to prevent attacks, but when I heard O'Connor was struggling, I decided to try something."