Vuelta a España leader Enric Mas is famous for liking to race in hot weather, but even he felt that it had been best to reduce stage 15's total distance by 80 kilometres as temperatures soared to over 40ºC in Córdoba.
The decision to modify the Vuelta's stage 15 because of extreme heat, a first in the modern history of the race, was taken after a meeting between the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA) and race organiser on Saturday morning.
Before the heatwave hit the race, Mas had repeatedly said he appreciated warmer weather as he had grown up in Mallorca and was used to Mediterranean summers, even asking - jokingly - that fans bring heaters to the mountain stages of the race.
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However, after temperatures already inched towards 40 degrees on Friday, with riders saying it had felt like they were racing into switched-on hairdryers even on the descents, and it became clear that there would be even hotter weather in Córdoba for stage 15 it was clear something had to be done to protect the riders' health.
Speaking after the stage, Mas said he felt the decision to lop 80 kilometres off the total distance had been a wise one, particularly as it would not have made any difference, he claimed to the final result.
"It's been a very tough day, and they had to cut back the stage length because of these temperatures and that's something we appreciate and are grateful for given the extreme heat" Mas said.
"Even if the stage had been 80 kilometres longer, I think the same rider would have won," Mas said, referring to the way Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) left the opposition reeling to take the day's victory by a clear margin.
Many riders had been pushing for a stage length reduction, Mas said, adding that he had not taken part in the meeting between riders and organisation to cut back the distance because, "I have to concentrate on what's coming up in the race".
Cyclingnews understands that the three original CPA rider representatives for the Vuelta were Mas, Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech), who has since abandoned, and Jacopo Mosca (Lidl-Trek). Mosca remains in that role, with Stephen Kruijswijk (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) taking over from Houle and Mas.
With his lead of 2:06 remaining intact over Gall, Mas said that the stage itself had gone essentially as Movistar had expected and hoped.
"One of the plans in the bus was for a breakaway and for Jumbo and Cofidis to control things until almost the finish, but then when Wout attacked in the intermediate sprint, that was good for us also," Mas said.
"Not absolutely everything has happened as I wanted in the first two weeks of racing, but almost everything is under control. It's all good."
The hot weather is expected to continue at least until Tuesday's flat stage across western Andalucia, so the issue may come up again. In any case, Mas said he was looking forward to taking a break from racing on Monday, and seeing his family. After that, the final battles of the 2026 Vuelta will begin.
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