"I might skip the Tour and go to the Giro": Enric Mas hints at a major 2026 shake-up for Movistar Team
Cycling
Enric Mas has opened the door to a possible bombshell in 2026 — revealing that he could skip the Tour de France to finally make his long-awaited debut at the Giro d’Italia.
After a frustrating 2025 season cut short by a knee injury sustained at the Tour, the Movistar Team leader didn’t race again for the rest of the year and also missed the Vuelta a Espana. Now, as he focuses on recovery and looks ahead to a fresh start, the Mallorcan has teased a potential change in direction that could reshape Movistar’s Grand Tour strategy.
“I’ll definitely race the Vuelta a Espana next year,” Mas told IB3. “As for the rest, I don’t know whether I’ll take a break from the Tour de France and go to the Giro d’Italia. I’m not sure yet — I haven’t had a meeting with the team directors.”
From Tour stalwart to Giro debutant?
Mas, now 30, has ridden the Tour de France seven times and the Vuelta a España another seven, finishing on the final podium in Spain on four occasions. But the Giro remains unexplored territory — and with the current dominance of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour, the Italian race could represent his best chance yet to fight for a Grand Tour title.
The arrival of Cian Uijtdebroeks from Team Visma | Lease a Bike could also influence Movistar’s 2026 plans. The 22-year-old Belgian prodigy — one of the biggest transfer stories of the off-season — is expected to share leadership duties across the Grand Tours, potentially freeing Mas to shift focus to the Giro or other objectives.
It’s a change that could make sense for both rider and team. The Giro often features a more open field than the Tour de France, where Pogacar and Vingegaard have shared the yellow jersey monopoly for six straight years. The 2025 Giro, won by Simon Yates after an audacious attack on Colle delle Finestre, showed that opportunists can still thrive when the sport’s biggest stars stay away.
2026: A defining season for Mas and Movistar
If Mas does opt for the Giro, it would mark a major change in Movistar’s long-standing Tour-first strategy. The Spanish outfit, once defined by its GC ambitions with riders like Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde, has struggled to break the Pogacar–Vingegaard stranglehold in recent years.
A Giro debut for Mas could therefore offer a realistic shot at victory — and a chance to reassert Movistar’s relevance on the WorldTour stage. With Uijtdebroeks emerging, and the team’s 2026 roster looking deeper than it has in years, Movistar could finally afford to split its Grand Tour ambitions.
Whether Mas heads to Italy, stays loyal to the Tour, or doubles down on another Vuelta campaign remains to be seen — but one thing is certain: his next move will say a lot about Movistar’s evolution in an era dominated by cycling’s superstars.
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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