“I warned him... He pushed a little harder” - Enric Mas explains how Tadej Pogacar ignored friendly advice moments before a near-disaster at La Vuelta
CyclingThursday, 27 August 2026 at 18:05
Enric Mas became the first rider at this Vuelta a Espana to reel Tadej Pogacar back in after the red jersey had launched a committed attack, producing an impressive response on the gravel slopes of Puerto El Bartolo.
Mas caught Pogacar near the summit, moved ahead to secure the bonus seconds and stayed with the Slovenian through to the finish in Castellon de la Plana.
Pogacar comfortably won their two-rider sprint, but Mas gained 46 seconds on the other leading contenders and climbed above Primoz Roglic into second overall.
“Today we were able to open up gaps that we couldn’t in Andorra,” Mas explained after Stage 6. “I already said that the heat suited me very well and it was very hot today.”
Mas takes confidence without changing expectations
Pogacar had appeared to be riding towards another dominant solo victory after dropping Oscar Onley and passing the remaining breakaway riders. Mas responded from the chasing group, brought the red jersey into sight after the longest gravel section and completed the junction shortly before the summit.
The Movistar leader knew his prospects would be considerably more limited once the pair reached the finish together. “Well, you saw that there wasn’t much I could do in the sprint,” Mas admitted. “Pogi is Pogi and we have to take it day by day. I’m second overall and, little by little, I’m starting to feel good.”
Rather than dwelling on the missed stage victory, Mas focused on his improving condition. After a difficult period, the Spaniard is gradually rediscovering his best level but remains reluctant to draw major conclusions after only six stages. “It has been almost two years since I last rode for the general classification at a Grand Tour,” he said. “We’re at Stage 6 and we have to take it little by little.”
Mas warned Pogacar before descent scare
The tension continued after the summit when Pogacar narrowly avoided crashing on the technical descent. Mas revealed that he had warned the Vuelta leader about the approaching corner before the Slovenian ran off the road.
“I warned him that there was a tight corner coming,” Mas explained. “He pushed a little harder while I was taking it more calmly. It was on asphalt; he simply ran wide.”
Pogacar skidded onto the grass and was forced to unclip while negotiating the edge of a ditch, but remained upright and quickly returned to the road. The pair then worked together to prevent Roglic, Felix Gall, Richard Carapaz, Harold Tejada and Ramses Debruyne from closing the gap.
Summit bonus catches Pogacar by surprise
Mas also knew that bonus seconds were available at the summit of El Bartolo. After catching Pogacar on the final approach, he accelerated past the visibly surprised Slovenian and crossed the line first.
“They told me it was the bonus,” Mas said. “I don’t know whether I caught him by surprise, but I got it.”
Although Pogacar extended his overall lead to 3:34 through the finish-line bonuses, Mas strengthened his own position against the rest of the podium contenders. He now sits 47 seconds ahead of Roglic, having transformed a stage that began with questions about Pogacar’s next attack into his strongest performance at a Grand Tour for almost two years.
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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- Not many million... just a little over two million of Slovenians...PogiSloFans27-08-2026
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- It was very admirable that Josh even started the Vuelta in the first place. I can't begin to imagine what he's had to deal with for the past couple of weeks.
santiagobenites27-08-2026 - Noabstractengineer27-08-2026
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- The same logic would apply to you. He has pro victories, YOU HAVE ZERO. What gives you the right to comment on his comments on Pogi? Everybody has free speech and can comment, whether you like it or not.abstractengineer27-08-2026
- Geraint Thomas is saying: “You’re not going to race Pogi with 50k to go and he’s doing seven watts per kilo, because you know you just can’t do that." Exactly, and Johan Bruyneel is saying the same... and other cycling experts. Everyone gets it except Chris Horner. His analysis how to beat Pogi are becoming BS: "Don't go too fast...don't go too slow...use this tactic, but on the next climb use another tactic... bla bla bla... If you have a rider like Pogi, an alien, you can stuff yout tactics where the sun never shines. If Pogi has his team around him, he has everything under control... if he's isolated he breaks away from the peleton and says... "See you in the douches." Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans27-08-2026
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