Enric Mas has been struggling to shorten the time gap between him and
Remco Evenepoel. In the seventeenth stage, he finished in the 15th position, 5 minutes and 11 seconds behind stage winner
Rigoberto Urán.
He paired with
Remco Evenepoel in the final climb and crossed the line together. His goal was to stop Evenepoel from increasing the gap in which he was successful. "We knew this slope suited Evenepoel, but I had to try it to see how he would react. Also, because I have a nice gap on the riders behind me in the general classification, but this wasn't really the terrain to make the difference," said Mas.