11/11/2022

Enric Mas' thoughts on Fernando Gaviria signing: "I think that if he does things well…"

Enric Mas has taken up his climbing quality this year, getting close to important wins at Il Lombardia and the Vuelta a Espana, and will enter 2023 as the main leader at Movistar Team following Alejandro Valverde's retirement. He will be joined by former teammate Fernando Gaviria, who will headline the team's sprint ambitions.

“As for Gaviria, I think that if he does things well… be careful. In 2017, 2018, when I met him, we shared a team in the Quick Step, he earned what he wanted," Mas told Ás in a recent interview. "He was a sprinter who didn't mind starting at 700 meters, he won just the same."

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The two were teammates in their early years in the Quick-Step team. Whilst Gaviria left the team in 2018, Mas left in 2019 and both will now find each other again in the same team. Gaviria is part of a new batch of signings that has been possible due to the budget available from Valverde's retirement.

Mas has commented on two of his new teammates, who have recently been together in a team camp: "[Ivan] Romeo will be training and [Ruben] Guerreiro, these four or five days that he was with us in the concentration, he has already [did teambuilding].”

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“From within me I see that, in terms of form, the numbers until before the Tour were the best of my life. We have to look at that," the Spaniard continued. "The results were not due to the falls, but the physical condition was good. Then came the results and the state of form. There were four or five hard months. Also the mental aspect is very important. (…) [In the end] I felt like the Enric of before, with confidence and enjoying myself," he concluded.

After several races where he either abandoned or saw his GC stints abandoned because of crashes, at the Vuelta he showed his best form and was Remco Evenepoel's biggest rival. He went on to win the Giro dell'Emilia weeks after, and finished second to Tadej Pogacar at Il Lombardia where he once again had an aggressive stance. In 2023 his role will be even more important within the Spanish team.