After several years of internal squabbling, suddenly Movistar are getting their tactics right as La Vuelta heats up – Philippa York analysis

That’s the middle week done at the 59th La Vuelta a España, and the signs are lighting up more clearly for the movers and shakers still involved in the daily and overall battles.

Firstly, Enric Mas and Movistar look comfortably in control of the GC situation despite the best efforts of Felix Gall to gain a few seconds back. Decathlon CMA CGM losing Gregor Muhlberger on stage 13 has drastically reduced their firepower when the road heads uphill. It has left Gall in the awkward position of trying to distance his main rivals, Primož Roglič and Mas, but not possessing a long enough acceleration to put either of them in real difficulty at the beginning of the mountain top finishes. After a few attempts, the Austrian needs some recovery time, and that’s when Movistar’s better race craft has paid off: either Mas places his own attack and extends his lead or the Spanish squad has a teammate that they’ve placed in the day’s escape drop back to help.

I can barely believe I’m writing that, but after the last few years of internal squabbling and incomprehensible tactics, suddenly Movistar are the ones with the right tactics, and they are delivering the helpers that the maillot rojo wearer needs at the right times too. Of course, Decathlon CMA CGM and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have made things easier for them by not placing the same number of satellite riders in the large breakaway groups we’ve seen in the second week, which has turned out to be rather costly for them. Stage 12 was the perfect example of teamwork for Movistar, with Mas countering the accelerations of Gall just outside of 10km to go. Picking up Pablo Castrillo, who sat up in the breakaway almost immediately; he had time to recover, then another push to the 5km point, where Raúl García Pierna did the same on the flatter section where drafting matters.

Meanwhile, Gall could only rely on a broken Léo Bisiaux to attempt something similar as he struggled with a non-cooperative Roglič on his wheel and Richard Carapaz attacking him if he slowed to force Roglič to the front. The case of Bisiaux on this day was indicative of Decathlon missing the bigger picture.

At first the Frenchman looked to be racing for the stage with Jakob Omrzel, but when his lights went out the young Slovenian dropped him. Instead of reassessing his utility to the team, someone made the decision that he keep riding, presumably for a stage placing, so when Gall finally caught up with him he was cooked and not as useful as he could have been on the flatter section of Calar Alto. If it hadn’t been for Luke Tuckwell riding for Roglič and the return of Muhlberger, things would have been catastrophic for Gall. As it was, the Austrian lost only 20 seconds or so due to a good final 1.5 km, but psychologically he had been schooled by Movistar and Enric Mas.

Then Movistar did the same thing again two days later on Sierra de la Pandera, Castrillo and García Pierna in the big escape; they waited for Mas at the strategic points on the final climb, and that’s another day when Felix Gall might have gained some seconds neutralised. For the race leader, it was probably his most feared day since the time he’d been dropped by Roglič in 2022 and in an ironic twist of fate, it was the four-time winner Roglič who couldn’t follow his rivals this time around. Same spot, similar loss, but a huge boost for the confidence of the Movistar leader.

The general consensus is that Mas needs two minutes on Roglič heading into the stage 18 time trial, and now he has more than that. More importantly, he knows he can out-climb all the other GC challengers, so even if Roglič does a super ITT and takes the red jersey, it won’t be by much, and with the remaining summit finishes there’s ample opportunity to distance the Slovenian.

The overall victory isn’t in the bag yet; however, it’s looking increasingly good for Mas, and it’ll be down to the excellent use of the team's riders by the management as much as it is to the great form the man from Mallorca is holding.

The heat encountered now that the race is in the southern part of Spain has produced a few noticeable trends. The day’s breakaway group has to be large to survive, not the usual 15-20 riders, but double that has become the norm. It’s a situation usually only seen in the final week of the Grand Tours, so the constant sun beating of over 30℃ – even 40℃℃ at times – is taking its toll on the peloton. When it’s an escape of 40-plus riders, though, it might seem quite complicated tactically; it’s also quite clear that on each occasion half of them are damaged by the process of making the split.

Then there’s the added problem of trying to outride Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan as Visma-Lease a Bike continue to dominate the stage hunting days. WVA is blowing the escape apart with displays of power, and the young Brit is the fastest if the group comes back together in any numbers. The surprise of Bastien Tronchon winning a bunch sprint for Groupama-FDJ United hasn’t been allowed to repeat itself, but Cofidis still believe in Bryan Coquard, which is why they’ve been working with Visma to ensure a sprint of sorts. On paper, they have three more chances before the end; however, those stages could be for the 40-plus escapees too.

In the King of the Mountains classification, Santiago Buitrago is doing what he needs to do to make sure the blue polka dot jersey is his, but he wants a stage win too. That has complicated things when he’s come up against some of the rising stars. Being outmanoeuvred by Marco Brenner after being outlasted by Jakob Omrzel a couple of days earlier was frustrating. The latter did a remarkable ride to move back into contention for the white jersey, and with Oscar Onley’s crash on stage 12 affecting his race, then we might have another Slovenian heading home with a classification. There’s only 30 seconds between them at the moment, and given the TT and then the two mountain days afterwards, recovery, or lack of it, is going to be crucial.

Still, Movistar and Enric Mas are in control, looking confident, making the right decisions, and there are no dramas to be seen anywhere. It’s hardly believable, but it’s happening, and it’s enjoyable.