"Little by little we're finding the form we were looking for" - Enric Mas silences some doubters with much improved performance on stage 5 of Tour de Suisse

Enric Mas has been far from his best in 2024, leading to some criticism of the Movistar Team leader ahead of the upcoming Tour de France. On the stage 5 summit finish of the Tour de Suisse however, the Spaniard showed a much improved performance.

"I'm not super happy, but little by little we're finding the form we were looking for here," reflected the 29-year-old in a post-stage interview with the Movistar Team's official social media, having crossed the line in 5th behind UAE Team Emirates duo Adam Yates and Joao Almeida, plus Egan Bernal and Matthew Riccitello. "I didn't arrive here super in terms of condition, but we're growing."

Following the drama of the day, Mas has risen in the general classification to 4th and although the 1:49 time gap to race leader Yates may be a bit too far, the former Vuelta a Espana podium finisher is just 38 seconds off adding a Tour de Suisse podium to his palmares.

"I tried to follow Yates' last push and see if I could get a little bit more and go for the stage win, but in the last kilometre, I couldn't keep up with him. That's all," Mas concludes. "We're going day by day, we'll try between now and Sunday to keep making progress and be satisfied with our form so that we can rest next week and face the Tour de France."