Carlos Verona on Enric Mas: "Enric has shown that he can lead the team and we will focus on the Tour and La Vuelta"
Cycling
Carlos Verona is currently racing with Movistar Team in the Tour of Oman after debuting this season in the Middle East with a top10 in the Muscat Classic.
The rider from Madrid has given an interview to the colleagues of the newspaper AS in which he talked about how the team is ready to take over from Alejandro Valverde with Enric Mas as the new sole leader: "Already without the Bala (Alejandro Valverde, ed.), Enric has shown that he can lead the team and we will focus on the Tour and La Vuelta with him. There are only three Grand Tours a year, the calendar is very long and we have a well-balanced squad for different fronts."
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Verona makes it very clear that his main objective in 2023 will be to be Enric Mas's luxury teammate in a year in which Movistar Team will go all out in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España with the Mallorcan:
"The main objective will be to be at 200% with Enric Mas. He has to make us think that he can not only opt for a podium in the Tour or in La Vuelta, he has to opt to win it, and we will fight with him for it. In that respect I obviously won't be thinking about myself," he continued.
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Although he admits he will work for Mas in the big races, he also hopes to have opportunities to shine in one-week races. The talented climber talks about the calendar he has in mind to face after the Tour of Oman:
"After Oman I'll be in Andorra doing altitude before Tirreno and then the Volta a Catalunya, a race I've never missed and that I love. Later, we'll see how I feel," he concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
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- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
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- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
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