Vuelta a España leader Enric Mas is facing what is quite possibly the most critical week of his entire career to date, but to judge by the calmness with which the Movistar racer is handling it all, you'd never have known it.
Holding a 2:06 advantage over second-placed Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) and 2:10 over four-time Vuelta champion Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Mas looked very relaxed as, for the second time in a week, he once again faced the media as Vuelta a España leader on another race rest day.
Six stages in the Vuelta a España now remain between Mas and the possible coronation of the 31-year-old as overall winner of a Grand Tour for the first time in his career. It follows four podium finishes in his country's biggest race, most recently in 2024 and for the first time way back in 2018.
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The key obstacle would appear to be the 32-kilometre time trial in Jerez de la Frontera, given Mas' relatively poor performances against the clock over the years - and indeed, he was unlucky enough to lose the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in 2021 because of a very late puncture in the race's only time trial.
The question of how much time Mas can lose in the Vuelta's 32-kilometre TT in Jerez de la Frontera - the same city where 40 years ago, Alvaro Pino managed to win the race in a time trial against Philippa York - would seem to be critical, therefore. But in the rest day press conference at least, Mas' determination not to let the prospect of a key battle on hugely unfavourable terrain unsettle him was clear, too.
"This race isn't just about the time trial; the previous two days are very important as well and so are the two big mountain stages that follow," Mas said.
"The mountain stages are in my favour, because each day up to now I've gained time there.
"So I don't need to be scared of the time trial. This race is 21 days long and the time trial is just one; there are another 19 where I've benefited. So I don't think I should be scared of it."
At the same time, he recognised that Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) continued to be his biggest threat in the ITT of all the GC contenders, not just because of his capacity against the clock but also because of his deep experience and success rate, more than any other rider in the peloton, in the Spanish Grand Tour.
"He won a Vuelta just a couple of years ago; he's running third now, not 26th," Mas insisted. "You can't rule him out, and he's showing he's on a great level. What's more, he knows exactly how to win the Vuelta; he's won four of them."
Rather than feel concerned about what's coming up, Mas is simply going to take things as they come, to the point that he even said: "The truth is that nothing worries me" before instantly qualifying it by adding "Well, lots of things can happen in the race still, of course, but there's no point in thinking about that."
"I'm not scared of any stage in particular; all the stages have their dangers, and there can be all kinds of misfortune at any point. But I can't afford to think about that, because otherwise you wouldn't even go out on your bike.
"My team deserves a 10 out of 10 for how they've ridden up to now, too. They've always had everything under control. So as far as that is concerned, I believe in myself and what I can do, and I believe in the team."
Apart from Roglič, Mas recognised that other riders also posed a threat, most notably Felix Gall (Decathlon CGA CMN), but others further down the classification too. However, he insisted that the way his team have been handling La Vuelta up to now gave him a lot of confidence, even if he expected his rivals to throw everything they could at him in the final week.
"We have to reach the Alhambra" - Granada's world-famous monument - "in the same position as we are now and racing the race with that in mind. So if originally we thought about getting in breaks and going for stage wins, now it's all about controlling it as best we can.
"It's going to be a tough week, the opposition are going to race in a 'crazy' way, in inverted commas, and try to put us in a cleft stick. But we're being directed really well, and the riders are all feeling the benefit of that."
Following the Vuelta, too, and regardless of the final result, Mas has more objectives on the table for 2026, most notably the World Championships. He's widely expected to be named as part of the Spanish squad's lineup later today.
"The circuit is not quite as hard as the Gran Prix de Montréal, but it's not the bullet that kills; it's the speed, and I'm fully expecting a very close repeat of how Montréal normally plays out," he explained.
"I hope we have a good lineup to do a great race, and I would love to be part of it."
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