Enric Mas confirms World Championships absence because of imminent fatherhood: “Life is short – I have to enjoy it too”
Cycling
Stage 9 of the 2025 Tour de France may have ended in a sprint victory for Tim Merlier, but one of the most significant headlines of the day came not from the podium, but from the team buses. After the stage, Enric Mas confirmed that he will not compete in the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda later this year — choosing instead to prioritise a milestone in his personal life.
The Movistar leader, currently aiming for a top-ten finish at the Tour, explained his decision with heartfelt clarity. “I’m going to be a father again,” Mas told reporters. “The due date is the same week as the Worlds. Life is short — and I have to enjoy it on a personal level as well.”
Mas had already requested to be left out of Spain’s Worlds squad, and his absence is now official. National coach Alejandro Valverde will have to look elsewhere for leadership — most likely turning to Carlos Rodríguez or Juan Ayuso, with Mikel Landa also unavailable due to injury.
The decision comes at a moment when Mas is juggling personal priorities with the demands of the Tour. Stage 9, though flat on paper, was far from a rest day for the GC contenders. An early attack by Mathieu van der Poel pushed the peloton into overdrive, and the pace never relented.
“It’s been incredibly fast this year,” said Mas. “Today was especially hard — there was a lot of wind, and both Alpecin riders went all-in. I honestly don’t even know who won. For us, the focus was just staying out of trouble and looking ahead to tomorrow.”
That focus now shifts to the first major mountain test in the Massif Central, where Mas hopes to move back into the top 10 overall. While the Spaniard may not be chasing the rainbow jersey this year, his commitment to the Tour — and to life beyond racing — says plenty about the kind of rider and person he is.
“Cycling is my job, and I give it everything,” Mas added. “But there are things in life that only happen once — or twice, in this case. I didn’t want to miss it.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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