'We don't know if he was racing at 100%' – Rival sports director believes Vuelta a España leader Pogačar's failure to finish solo on stage 6 delivers mixed messages

The highly unusual sight of Tadej Pogačar being caught by another rider after the Vuelta a España leader made a trademark late solo breakaway on stage 6 could hardly go unnoticed in the remainder of the peloton.

And even if Enric Mas (Movistar), the rider who tracked down the Slovenian, has warned not to overestimate the importance of what happened on the punishing gravel slopes of Puerto de El Bartolo, it's only natural that his rivals are keen to find out if there are any longer-term implications.

Already the leader since stage 1, Pogačar's devastating display of climbing power at Andorra has powered the UAE Team Emirates-XRG star in a very comfortable position overall, with an unprecedentedly early lead of over three minutes. And if there was a moment of drama on stage 6 after he was caught by Mas, then had a bad scare with a near-fall on the descent of El Bartolo, the Vuelta leader still not only won but also extended that big advantage over all of his GC rivals – thanks to the net four bonus seconds gained on the line over Mas. Hardly a bad day, then.

However, as Netcompany Ineos sports director Imanol Erviti told Cyclingnews after stage 6, if Pogačar's victory says a lot about his condition, being caught by Mas also raises some questions and shows, for once, a more human side to a rider who almost invariably operates on another level to all the rest.

Today's summit finish of Aramón Valdelinares, a little-known 9.8 kilometre Cat. 1 climb last tackled in the 2014 Vuelta, will be an interesting test, then. But also for Netcompany Ineos' leader Oscar Onley, who suffered from cramps and lost time on stage 6, but remains in the GC game in seventh place, and with a narrow advantage at the head of the Best Young Rider classification, too.

"I don't know, It's difficult to interpret what happened to Tadej; we don't know if he was racing at 100% today," Erviti told Cyclingnews, "But we'll find that out in the next few days.

"It's good if we see that Tadej as being a bit more human and we can start to think about a few more things. For some riders it'll be good for the competition.

"It's surprising, because we're not used to it. But we're saying this and he still won today."

As for Mas, a former teammate of Erviti's at Movistar, the Ineos director was full of praise for how the four-time Vuelta a España podium finisher had managed to return to the GC fray after a long spell of illness and injury had made for a very difficult early 2026.

"He had a very difficult start to the season, but maybe that freshness is what's helping him now," Erviti pointed out. "Enric's got a great palmarès in the Vuelta and it was a great day for him."

Onley stays in the fight despite gravel struggles

Onley himself slid to seventh on GC after a difficult but far from disastrous day on the Vuelta a España gravel, finishing in the second chase group behind Pogačar, 1:38 back. Now seventh at 5:37 he holds just three seconds lead in the BYR rankings from Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech).

The British rider admitted to being "overcooked" on the final climb and how cramps saw him get distanced in the final 20km of stage 6. He's still in the striking distance in the race for the podium, though.

"We're still in the fight; it was not an ideal day, but we're up there," Erviti told Cyclingnews.

"Oscar's doing fine, maybe not quite at 100% but definitely at 90. We're just hoping that he can get that little bit back again."

For unbeatable coverage across road, gravel and tech, subscribe to Cyclingnews. You'll get comprehensive race coverage of La Vuelta a España, subscriber-exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.