"It is difficult for a Spaniard to win the Vuelta a Espana in the short term" - Race Director Javier Guillén does not believe in Enric Mas

Despite Enric Mas having been the closest Spanish cyclist to winning the Vuelta a Espana in recent years, finishing 2nd on as many as three occasions and 3rd in the most recent edition in 2024, the Movistar Team star doesn't seem to have Vuelta race director Javier Guillén's confidence in winning his home Grand Tour.

The director of the Vuelta a Espana, in an interview conducted for the Joan Seguidor podcast, let it drop like this when asked if he sees any Spaniard who could win in the short term after Contador's 10-year anniversary: "Enric Mas has been there, with a very offensive condition. I wish it could be, but the reality is that we have it difficult. We are not going to fool ourselves," he begins. "There's a lot of foreign talent in the peloton, and the Vuelta is quite a sought-after race in recent years. That's the participation we have. The most relevant figures have not come (Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel), but after them all the best have come. That makes it very difficult for a Spaniard to win."

In addition, during the interview Guillén also provided some updates on the race's work for its 2025 edition route, where it is expected that Primoz Roglic could race again to go for what would be a record-breaking 5th Red Jersey victory.

"The route is quite advanced. It's true that a Vuelta takes months to make. You have to take into account the budgets, everything you have to pay, pay in, everything you have to give to the sponsors? All that has to be analyzed. So there's still a lot to be gathered," Guillén explains. "But it is true that we are well advanced, it is obvious that we want to present the route at the end of the year or early next year. But as it is not a short time process, we are quite advanced. About 70%. We will probably start filtering stages soon," he concludes.