A third runner’s up place in your home Grand Tour might be frustrating for some riders, but given the deeply stressful build-up for Enric Mas (Movistar), finishing second this Sunday in the Vuelta a Espana represents what he calls a "deeply satisfying moment."
Two months ago Mas was forced to abandon the Tour de France with COVID-19 and suffering from what he described as a mental block after having several crashes in succession when descending.
“When I quit the Tour, I didn’t think this would be possible,” Mas, second in the Vuelta in 2018 and 2021 and set to occupy the same place on the final podium, told reporters on Saturday evening.
“It’s not a victory, but it’s an important podium, because I’ve gone through some difficult moments in the last few months, and the team is having a tough time fighting for UCI points. So I haven’t won, but we have to be satisfied.”
“When I recovered from COVID-19, I worked with professionals to try and get my self-confidence and my morale back. I felt I could do something.”
“I came to the Vuelta thinking that if it all worked out well, then great. But even if it didn’t I was going to enjoy myself in any case."
Mas pointed out that thanks to his second place in Madrid, he had helped Movistar gain a hefty total of UCI points that, partly as a result of his crashing out of various races, the team had not been able to amass before.
“Now we will have a lot of important ones for the classification and to keep fighting for more sponsors in the future to help the team keep growing,” he said.
Mas and Movistar tried to turn the tables on Vuelta winner-in-waiting Remco Evenepoel (Quick Step-AlphaVinyl) in the last mountain stage in Madrid. But after placing two teammates Gregor Mulhberger and Alejandro Valverde in the early break, Mas found he was lacking something to go on the attack more than once.
Evenepoel reeled in his move on the Morcuera climb, the hardest ascent of the day, with relative ease, and as the Belgian himself said afterwards, “once we reached the summit, it was clear that for the GC the race was over.”
“I started the day feeling ambitious and wanted to do something,” Mas said, “but when push came to shove, I didn’t have the legs, I don’t know why.”
Fifth on the line just ahead of Evenepoel, barring last-minute surprises, the Spaniard will complete the Vuelta 2:05 down on the Belgian.
But despite the struggles, both mental and physical, to be back in top shape in the 2022 Vuelta, Mas said his third Vuelta podium finish didn't mean more to him than the previous two.
Above all else, he wanted to dedicate his second place “to my family, my team and to those who helped me in the tougher moments. Now we can all enjoy it in Madrid.”
