"Enric is the favourite" - Tadej Pogacar's team director backs Mas to win Vuelta a Espana after UAE leader's season-ending crash
Cycling
When Tadej Pogacar left the 2026 Vuelta a España, he left a glaring hole at the top of the general classification. But just over one week after the UAE Team Emirates- XRG leader's departure from the race, Enric Mas has made the red jersey his own.
Joxean Fernández Matxin, Pogacar's sports director at UAE, has named Mas as the favourite to win the race, offering a heavyweight backing of the Movistar leader from inside the rival camp.
"For me, Enric is the favourite," Matxin told Cyclingnews. His assessment carries particular weight: as the director behind cycling's most dominant team, he has no stake in the GC battle following Pogacar's crash on stage 8.
UAE no longer have GC options but continue to follow the classification battle closely, with Matxin noting that Mas has proven himself more than worthy of holding the red jersey since inheriting it.
Matxin acknowledged the danger posed by Primoz Roglic but reckons Mas is in the driving seat. "Roglič is a very important rival, he's won the Vuelta four times, he's got this race dialled, and that's why Enric has so much respect for him," he said.
Joxean Matxin
Matxin believes Mas always had this level
Some believe Mas has transformed into a different rider compared to previous years. Matxin doesn't agree: "He's always been equally good; it's just that some moments are not as good as others," the UAE sports director said.
Rather than crediting a sudden improvement, he sees the 31-year-old's Vuelta dominance as a product of circumstance meeting ability: "We shouldn't think that just because a rider has been a long way out of the running in one race, means he can't be up there in the next."
The days since Matxin's backing have aged well. On stage 14 to Sierra de la Pandera, Mas extended his lead further, finishing 25 seconds ahead of Roglic, who slipped from second to third overall behind Felix Gall. The Spaniard now leads Gall by 2:06 and Roglic by 2:10, with just four seconds separating his two closest pursuers.
Pogacar's recovery from crash
While Matxin watches the GC battle as an outsider, his primary concern remains Pogacar's health. The five-time Tour de France winner crashed out of the Vuelta on stage 8 with a concussion, displaced collarbone fracture and stable C7 vertebra fracture. UAE confirmed on Saturday that Pogacar will miss the rest of the 2026 season.
Matxin claimed the team continues to give priority to "Tadej the person, not Tadej the cyclist," with the focus purely on recovery and no date set for the Slovenian's return.
That message was reinforced on Saturday when UAE announced Pogacar had extended his contract through 2032, putting to bed any suggestions of an early retirement.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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