Enric Mas, after his fears on the Tour: "I'm leaving behind that dark pothole"

Enric Mas, upon his arrival at the Les Praeres stage. Javier Lizón (EFE)

On the second day of the Vuelta, when the Movistar team arrived in Den Bosch before facing the stage, Enric Mas (Artá, Mallorca; 27 years old) got behind the wheel and parked the bus with a smile from ear to ear.

He seemed to have forgotten the hardships of the Tour, when his legs and head did not respond and he was unhorsed by covid.

After two weeks, what seemed like is already a reality, third overall, capable of taking a minute off the leader in the last two stages, to the slipstream of Roglic (27s behind) and Evenepoel (2m 01s behind) although screwed up in the third podium drawer.

But, attentive to the press, he almost stopped in front of the media every day at the end of the day and this Monday he held a press conference, something he hadn't done for years.

And, although he does the interview with EL PAÍS with the threatening hourglass after five minutes, he has no problem talking about him, about his fitness and about the trouble he went through on the Tour, also on the descents because he caught him fear, to the point that he took courses to improve.

The results are visible, also the improvement of his mood.

Ask.

Is this Vuelta a vindication that Enric Mas is among the best?

Response.

I think I'm the same as before, but the Enric who was on the Tour wasn't the real one.

After that, I had a difficult month because I had to do a reset and train what I had never done.

Confidence has returned and now the sensations are very good, just like in the last Vuelta —he finished in second position— or the 2020 Tour, which I finished fifth, and I hope they will last me until next week.

Q.

Did you have a really bad time?

R.

Yes, yes, I had a bad time.

It was a very complicated Tour and now, looking back, I realize that before that it was already bad.

But I am gaining the confidence to leave that dark patch behind.

I'm doing.

But that's because I've worked on it.

I have disconnected, professionals have helped me, I have met with the team and the family, and I have reconsidered.

In addition, I have managed to unblock that fear of descents that I had.

Of course, in Andalusia, on those descents with so many olive trees, there are slippery terrains and you get stuck a bit.

But I think I've turned the page.

P.

Although when the road gets steep, you see your best version again, right?

R.

That is, I have the same feelings as last year.

I enjoy cycling and on my terrain.

It is clear that when I don't start and attack it is because I don't have the legs, but also because Roglic and Evenepoel are very good.

P.

_

Did you feel a rush when he saw you leave Roglic and Evenepoel behind in the Sierra Nevada?

R.

No, I didn't think about that but about what lay ahead of me, still 10 kilometers to go.

I don't know if Primoz just wanted to get those seconds out of Remco or it was that he was fairer and he couldn't do more.

But in my head I just wanted to catch Miguel Ángel López before he linked up with his teammate.

Luckily, I made it.

P.

And what did you think when you reached the finish line, already with those seconds cut in the general?

R.

Happy for the work done and for that of the colleagues.

Yesterday, Rojillas [José Joaquín Rojas] fell and I said to myself: 'If he leaves his skin for the team, there is no better way than to reach the finish line ahead'.

P.

And from behind, although fighting, came Juan Ayuso and Carlos Rodríguez.

Deep inside him, when he's with them on the climbs, doesn't he think they're waiting, that it's not his turn yet?

R.

The other way around, the other way around.

Spanish cycling needs reinforcement and they are very good.

They are already there and that is the pear, amazing.

As a fan and as a Spaniard, you can only be happy.

Q.

Are you satisfied with being third in this Vuelta?

A.

It could be a good year to win, but we have to see how others react and how I do.

What is clear is that victories come with confidence.

For me, it is difficult to look for a victory when you do not have confidence, when you know that you arrive at the race without having done your homework well, if something is missing to train... But I think that the one who has it in his face is Evenepoel, because he has only lost one minute in two stages.

Of course he can dream of taking something else away from him, but the important thing is that we are well and motivated, that we are going to try to climb one more step.

Q.

Does Movistar's need for points condition you not to lose the World Tour category?

R.

We have not talked about the points.

We have to focus well on the Vuelta and the points, those that come, will come.

Then there are other races and we have Alex Aranburu, Iván Cortina and others who can get very important points like in the race in Canada.

Let's hope we don't have any problems.

Although it is true that the team needs points, in my head it is about climbing positions, but so will the others.

We will see what happens in Madrid.

La Vuelta, in three mountains

Evenepoel suffers but in a controlled way, irrefutable at the beginning but with weaknesses in the last mountains;

Roglic resists losing his crown after three consecutive gold medals;

and asks for Mas turn, reliable until now like few others, from less to more, with the triumph in the frown.

To do this, to shell the two cyclists ahead of him, he has three chances left, the times in which the road goes uphill.

“Flat days are also important”, remarks Mas;

“Because there can be fans, falls… Seconds can be lost without realizing it.

In addition, the season is beginning to weigh.

But he looks up.

First on Wednesday, when he ends up high, at the Tentudía Monastery (Badajoz), a 10-kilometre ascent with an average gradient of 5% and sections of 12%.

Then on Thursday, when the Alto del Piornal (Cáceres) is chained twice, 13.4 kilometers with an average gradient of 5.6% and sections at 11%.

Although in stage 19 the Puerto de Piélago is trodden twice, the end in Talavera de la Reina is flat and it will be more difficult to surprise.

But on the penultimate day of the Vuelta, from Moralzarzal to Puerto de Navacerrada, there are five mountains that end in Puerto de la Morcuera (9.4 kilometers with an average gradient of 6.9% and a maximum of 12%) and in the de Cotos, last chance, 10.3 kilometers with an average gradient of 6.9% and sections at 10%.

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