'It could make his career" is how American racer Will Barta (Tudor) views the prospects for Vuelta a España leader Enric Mas if the Spaniard takes the overall victory in his home Grand Tour.
A former teammate of Mas with Movistar for four years from 2021 to 2025, 30-year-old Barta believes the overall is considerably more accessible to Mas following the abandon of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
As for the GC battle, Barta points to Mas' capacity to bounce back from all kinds of setbacks, such as his injury in 2025, as one of the key reasons why the Spaniard can now be fighting as hard as possible to take the overall victory.
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"It's just nice to see him at his best - he works hard, so I'm happy for that," Barta said, referring to Mas' latest bounce back from his lengthy struggle against thrombophlebitis.
Although Movistar's overall lineup in this year's Vuelta is not as strong as that of third-placed Felix Gall's Decathlon CMA CGM outfit - which will also benefit breakaways - Barta points to Movistar's lengthy Grand Tour GC heritage as a key resource when it comes to handling the pressure at the top over the next two weeks.
"As you saw on the Aitana [on stage 9], maybe they don't have the team to set a crazy pace, but I think they'll do it a bit more in the old school way of defending the jersey and riding conservatively.
"Movistar are a team that have the Grand Tour experience to do that well, even if Decathlon will likely take on their own role of setting a hard pace and isolate Enric."
Barta told Cyclingnews, is that for Movistar, leading the Vuelta for the first time since 2019, the stakes could hardly be higher.
"It's super exciting for them. I think the Vuelta is big for everyone, but it's an even bigger race for them.
"Obviously Enric is always really good in the Vuelta, and so I think it's something that they can trust in. It's the end of the season, maybe some guys are good at the beginning, and they fade a bit, but you can see Enric is always good at this time of year."
Barta is currently racing his third Vuelta on the hunt for breakaways. He was feeling under the weather in the first week but is now on the up, and at a very opportune moment.
Pogačar's absence undeniably changes the race, Barta argues, given UAE had a much stronger control on the race than Movistar, and that has now disappeared.
"With UAE they can always count on Pogačar finishing the job. Movistar have Enric, he's super good, but there are three, four or five riders that are super good too. It's not like one stands out so much from the other," he explained.
"So I think it's a little bit less likely that one team really takes on every stage like UAE was doing. Even on the harder mountain stages before, perhaps, it was Pogačar, Pogačar, Pogačar. Now it's more open."
The question of Mas' rollercoaster career and his latest return to form makes fighting for the Vuelta even more important, Barta says, but it's also not so much of a surprise as it could seem.
"It shows that he's human because he has ups and downs like most riders - it's not normal to be like Pogacar, where you're always good," Barta said.
"I think it shows he [Mas] is human, but he's at a super level and he always fights for it. He's in great form, so this should be a good race for him"
"I'm sure he knows that, but he also doesn't want to put too much pressure on himself but I think it's really good for him. It could make his career."
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