“I never thought I’d see him like this” - Alberto Contador laments Enric Mas' time loss as Giro d'Italia reaches first summit finish

Alberto Contador did not hide his surprise after Enric Mas’s showing on the first major mountain day of the 2026 Giro d’Italia. The Spanish rider suffered a major crisis on the road to Blockhaus and ended up conceding six minutes on GC to Jonas Vingegaard, a gap that completely reshapes his ambitions in the race.

Mas’ bad day began to reveal itself even before the final climb. The Movistar Team rider had admitted on the eve that he was still not at his best physically and hoped to avoid “a strange day”. In the end, that scenario unfolded on an especially demanding stage.

Alberto Contador captured the sense of bewilderment best. He knows Enric Mas well from his time at the Fundación Contador. 'El Pistolero' said he was struck to see the Mallorcan in trouble so early and admitted he never imagined him in such a situation.

“I saw him as I never thought—or expected—I would,” Contador told Eurosport as he analysed the stage. He added there was a moment before the final ascent that already made him suspect something was wrong with the leader of the Spanish team.

“There was a moment on a non-categorised rise before starting the Blockhaus, at the back of the bunch, and I got worried—every alarm bell rang,” said the Tour and Giro winner. For Contador, the image Mas projected was out of character for a rider renowned for his consistency in the Grand Tours.

The former pro also detailed exactly what caught his eye in that phase of the stage: “At that point he was a long way from the finish on a very easy rise, and you could see him leaving two, three metres to the bunch. It was very strange, above all because of the contorted expression on his face.”

At first, Contador thought it might be nothing serious. “Because you could think he’d gone to the car for a rain jacket and some gels, but that’s what his domestiques are for,” he explained. However, the situation was confirmed later on the Blockhaus climb, where Enric Mas ended up completely distanced from the favourites.

The immediate consequence of that collapse is that the Spaniard’s GC hopes are greatly diminished. He finished 31st in the stage, 5:47 minutes back on Jonas Vingegaard. He is now 28th in GC, after Einer Rubio's GC hopes also faded on stage 5. Contador believes the blow was especially hard for both the rider and the Movistar team.

“It’s been a big blow for Enric and Movistar. Six minutes is a lot, and from now on Movistar’s approach changes completely—they now have to go for a stage,” he said.

Even so, the ex-rider does not think Enric Mas is completely out of the running for a top-10 finish at the Giro, although he believes Mas must reset his goals for the rest of the race. “Can he get back in to fight for a place on GC? It’s possible, but then he can’t have any more bad days. The most likely path is to focus on stages for the remainder,” Contador concluded.