{"id":2119198,"date":"2026-08-29T21:23:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T18:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2119198"},"modified":"2026-08-29T21:23:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T18:23:59","slug":"from-nearly-zero-to-hero-enric-mas-has-had-a-complicated-path-to-vuelta-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2119198","title":{"rendered":"From (Nearly) Zero to Hero: Enric Mas Has Had a Complicated Path to Vuelta Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"
This Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a has marked a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of Enric Mas, and Saturday\u2019s stage 8 has been the most dramatic of all.<\/p>\n
The Spaniard took the first Grand Tour leader\u2019s jersey of his career when Tadej Poga\u010dar crashed to the ground, the Slovenian clipping a rock with approximately 33km to go.<\/p>\n
Mas had previously leaped to second overall when he was runner-up to Poga\u010dar on stage 6, and will be as stunned as anyone else to have ended Saturday as race leader.<\/p>\n
His first thoughts appeared to be for Poga\u010dar and, as a mark of respect, he declined to wear the Maillot Rojo on the podium.<\/p>\n
Instead he held it in his hands, displaying it rather than donning it, but will presumably sport it Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided to make this gesture in honor of Tadej and his team,\u201d he said. \u201cSo here I am here without the jersey.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s a huge shame. First, that there are crashes; then, that it\u2019s a crash like this; and finally, that it happened to Tadej. He was the one wearing the red jersey, and it\u2019s a real shame.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I hope he recovers quickly. We still have a few races left, and I hope he can be in good shape for them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mas stunned Poga\u010dar on stage 6 when he caught and passed him just before the summit of the Puerto el Bartolo. The Slovenian had attacked further down the climb and appeared to be moving away from all of his rivals, but Mas put in a huge recovery and closed up to him.<\/p>\n
Few riders have ever caught a rampaging Poga\u010dar and that was confirmation of Mas\u2019 fine form. But, notwithstanding that, the world champion\u2019s earlier successes in the race mean that the Spaniard ended the day 3:34 back.<\/p>\n
He lost a further 16 seconds the following day and, until the crash, looked very unlikely to threaten for the race leadership.<\/p>\n
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He\u2019s now thrust into red and will have all the dizzying attention that goes with that. He empathizes with the person previously in that position.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimply, he should stay calm,\u201d he said. \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know what he has [in terms of injuries]. I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be in the best hands, with the best doctors, and I hope he recovers as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poga\u010dar has since been diagnosed with concussion and fractures to his neck and collarbone.<\/p>\n
A glittering early career, then issues<\/h2>\nEnric Mas (left) with the-then Vuelta leader Tadej Poga\u010dar prior to stage 7 of the race (Photo: Alexander Hassenstein\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Mas has had a complicated path to leadership of his country\u2019s biggest race. He has long been recognized as one of Spain\u2019s best riders, netting third on a stage in his Vuelta debut back in 2017 and then, one year later, winning a stage and finishing second overall.<\/p>\n
He was also second in 2021 and 2022. The latter season also saw him win the Giro dell\u2019Emilia and finish runner-up in a sprint to Poga\u010dar in Il Lombardia.<\/p>\n
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However that early momentum disappeared in more recent seasons, despite third overall in the 2024 Vuelta. Mas crashed out of the 2023 Tour and was also a non-finisher in 2025, falling on the descent of the M\u00far-de-Bretagne.<\/p>\n
He was subsequently diagnosed with thrombophlebitis, possibly as a result of the crash. This is a condition similar to varicose veins caused by a blood clot, and brought his season to a premature end. He underwent surgery last October to treat it and began rebuilding again.<\/p>\n
However, despite taking second in his debut race this season, he had a relatively anonymous Giro d\u2019Italia. That led to harsh criticism from team management. \u201cThe real tests are in the races and there, unfortunately, the mark he\u2019s got is a fail,\u201d Movistar boss Eusebio Unzu\u00e9 told AS in May.<\/p>\n
He has presumably changed his tune now that his rider is leading the team\u2019s home Grand Tour.<\/p>\n
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\u2018We have to go day by day\u2019<\/h2>\n
The race now continues on Sunday with one of the toughest stages of the race, a six-climb sufferfest to the summit of the Alto de Aitana.<\/p>\n
Mas\u2019 gesture not to wear the leader\u2019s jersey on the podium will presumably be a temporary one, and he will have all eyes on him in the the stage will be the first big test of his ability to hold on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe simply take on the responsibility tomorrow, as you\u2019d expect. We\u2019ll try to keep the jersey,\u201d Mas confirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis changes everything. We have to go day by day and see how things to see if I can take this jersey for real and try to win this Vuelta.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 31 year old will begin the stage a solid one minute ahead of four-time Vuelta winner Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).<\/p>\n
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Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) is at 1:11, while Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike), Onley and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) are between 2:15 and 2:22 behind.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a solid buffer, but it\u2019s still early in the race. He knows he has to just take things one day at a time, and to try to avoid the sort of bad luck which cost Poga\u010dar his own chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to see how the riders react and we will try to do things as we good as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2292588114.jpg”] Shane Stokes Updated August 29, 2026 04:34PM This Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a has marked a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of Enric Mas, and Saturday\u2019s stage 8 has been the most dramatic of all. The Spaniard took the first Grand Tour leader\u2019s jersey of his career when Tadej Poga\u010dar crashed to the ground, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-2119198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2119198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2119198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2119198\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2119198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2119198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2119198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Enric](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2292456890.jpg?width=3840&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")