Enric Mas "gaining more confidence" as he puts time into Evenepoel and Roglic at Sierra Nevada

Enric Mas has been on terrific form at the Vuelta a Espana, and today he put in a dig on the competition, marking his stance in the race and benefiting from the longer ascents where he was expected to be in his comfort zone.

“We have to keep dreaming until Madrid,” Mas told reporters after the end of stage 15. “There are a few seconds in our favor. I’m happy with how I felt today. Yesterday I didn’t manage things well, and I tried to close the gap too soon, and I paid for it. Today I went at my rhythm, and I could create a small gap."

Mas started the day as a pre-race favourite, however the battle for the stage win was in the front of the race. Mas' main goal remains the red jersey, and on the slopes of Sierra Nevada he made his bid for it, after resisting the surge of Jumbo-Visma early on in the climb. Mas jumped clear from the GC group with just under 10 kilometers to go to join Miguel Ángel López, a duo with common interest in taking time on the competition.

“Our interests were exactly lined up, I was riding for the podium and he was going for the stage win, but at the same time, I also wanted to work to take time,” the Spaniard said regarding his cooperation with López, which was at times not perfect, but saw both arriving at the finish together and ahead of the competition. “Maybe we held back a little because perhaps each of us thought the other one was stronger. Cycling’s like that, and sometimes you have to race intelligently. I am enjoying the race, and I am gaining more confidence,”

Mas took 21 seconds on Primoz Roglic and 36 on Remco Evenepoel. It was not perhaps the huge blow to the Belgian that some expected at the beginning of the day, but it has seen the leader of Movistar Team remove essentially a minute on the Belgian during the weekend.

Although the toughest mountains are behind, the third week will feature three complicated stages where differences can be made, and historically Mas has been a rider who has thrived on the closing week of a Grand Tour. Taking the confidence from today, he will be a difficult wildcard to manage for Quick-Step and Jumbo-Visma.