Enric Mas may never have led a Grand Tour before last Saturday, but the 31-year-old Spaniard showed no sign of nervousness when he faced the press on Monday with la roja of the Vuelta a España in his possession for the first time.
Nor did he seem troubled by the fact that, as he freely admitted, in terms of terrain, he had no idea what challenges await him in the remaining 12 stages in this year's Vuelta.
However, if Mas does lack precise race knowledge of this year's route, overall it's all but impossible for too many surprises. In his 10 years of racing and eight Vuelta a España appearances, Mas has finished four times on the podium of the Vuelta, but never in the top three of any other Grand Tour.
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True to his consistently good form in the Vuelta, he was running second overall when Tadej Pogačar crashed out of the race on Saturday, and duly 'inherited' the lead, for the first time in his career in any Grand Tour.
However, Sunday's assured display of climbing power and his resulting stage win on the Aitana summit finish both confirmed that Mas could successfully defend the top spot, and confirmed his options on winning the race overall.
Thanks to Mas, Movistar - historically one of the most successful stage racing teams - have found themselves at the centre of a GC battle for the first time since Mas finished third in the Vuelta back in 2024. It also represents a major step back into the GC arena for the rider from Mallorca, who suffered a series of injuries since July 2025, and whose participation in the Giro d'Italia, his first ever, this May, came nowhere near producing the desired results.
"Recently I've been through some difficult times, but they've not been the worst of my career," Mas said on his rest day press conference on Monday, in comments reported by Spanish news agency EFE.
"There are far worse things than a heavy fall or certain physical problems. It's true I've had a tough time of getting out of that situation and regaining form, but I'm happy to be where I am, with the form I have, and to be smiling again in La Vuelta."
Mas said he has not changed anything in particular to hit his current high level of form, although he did miss the Tour de France this summer for the first time since 2018. Nor did he feel any different after having tracked down Pogačar on the stage to Castelló after the Slovenian had attacked.
"I'm the same Enric as ever, although it's true that this was a moment that gave me a lot of confidence."
At the same time, he admitted that he doesn't have a clue abut what stages are left in this year's race: in more ways than one then, given his lack of experience at leading a Grand Tour, the next two weeks for Mas will be a voyage in the dark.
"Shall I tell you the truth [about the upcoming route]? I don't have the slightest idea about it. We still haven't done the team meeting," Mas said.
"There are some stages which I know will be crucial for the overall, but in the last two days I haven't had time for anything, I haven't looked at anything."
While normally before a race begins, he'll work out a general plan, Mas said, "This time round, I haven't looked [at the route] at all."
Mas' overall advantage is a slender one, with a 1:18 gap on Roglič, whilst Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) is at 1:39. While Gall recently took his first Grand Tour podium in the Giro d'Italia, Roglič has four Vueltas to his name, two of them - 2021 and 2024 - ahead of Mas. He also finished third in 2023, three places ahead of Mas.
"I think given his history in the Vuelta, Roglič is the rider who most worries me regarding [the overall victory in Granada]," Mas said. However, he denied that he was scared of trying to win it, whilst trying not to grow obsessed with the idea that for the first time in his ten year career, he was in the best position ever to do precisely that - and conquer the Vuelta at last.
"It's not a question of fear. It's just that if I spend the whole day thinking about it, finally it ends up being a stress-fest which I don't need to have right now," he said.
"I just want to enjoy this moment, enjoy wearing red, enjoy being with the team and we have to concentrate on what's coming up, too. And that's pretty much it."
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