Enric Mas: "I am only thinking about moving up on GC"

Enric Mas has ridden so far a very strong Vuelta a Espana, and still has his sights on the red jersey, which will only be confirmed in Madrid. Having finished the second week with a top performance, the Spaniard remains a very dangerous threat to Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic.

“Right now I am only thinking about moving up on GC,” Mas said talking to reporters on the final rest day of the race. “My rivals are also thinking the same thing. Let’s see what Eusebio Unzué tells us this week. Remco has it right in front of him. We’ve been able to take a minute out of him in the past two days. We can dream of taking back even more on days like Wednesday or Thursday. Or maybe he takes a minute on us, you never know. I am feeling good and I’m motivated.”

Mas is carrying the home country's ambitions, and although he's showing similar performance to that of last year, he is closer to the red jersey. Remco Evenepoel has put in a dominating opening week, however has been limiting losses on the second week, where both Mas and Primoz Roglic have dealt blows over the past weekend. Mas attacked the summit finish at Sierra Nevada to cross the line as the first of the GC riders, taking almost a minute on the race leader over the two stages.

Now, into the final week, where he has in the past thrived, he will have three more opportunities to attack the race with summit finishes at Monasterio de Tentudía, Alto del Piornal and Puerto de Navacerrada. Although they are not as hard as what the riders faced in the second week, the fatigue will be a key factor. Mas enters it 53 seconds behind Primoz Roglic who defeated him last year, and 2:43 minutes on Remco Evenepoel.

Evenepoel has mentioned the need for Mas and Movistar Team to score UCI points, perhaps in an attempt to psychologically influence the Spaniard to race more conservatively in the final week. On the topic of the rankings, Mas has responded: “Between the riders we never speak about it. We do notice who’s winning and how things are going. What we have to do is have a good Vuelta, and fight to be on the podium or perhaps even win it.

Both Alejandro Valverde and Alex Aranburu are said to be missing the World Championships because of the situation however, in order to race a favourable calendar for the Spanish team - in which Mas can play a crucial role with his Vuelta performance. “As far as the points are concerned, the points will come with the results. We also have riders like Cortina, Aranburu who can earn important points this week in Canada.”