"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
Cycling
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."
Results: Tour de Suisse 2024 stage 5
| 1 | YATES Adam | UAE Team Emirates | 60 | 03:54:37 |
| 2 | ALMEIDA Joao | UAE Team Emirates | 40 | + 05 |
| 3 | BERNAL Egan | INEOS Grenadiers | 30 | + 16 |
| 4 | RICCITELLO Matthew | Israel-Premier Tech | 25 | + 18 |
| 5 | MAS Enric | Movistar Team | 20 | + 22 |
| 6 | ONLEY Oscar | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 15 | + 54 |
| 7 | PIDCOCK Tom | INEOS Grenadiers | 10 | + 54 |
| 8 | HIGUITA Sergio | BORA-hansgrohe | 8 | + 01:03 |
| 9 | GALL Felix | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | 5 | + 01:13 |
| 10 | UIJTDEBROEKS Cian | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 2 | + 01:20 |
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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🇨🇭 #TourdeSuisse General tras la 5ª etapa en Carì: 🟡 Adam Yates (UAD) 2️⃣ Joao Almeida (UAD) +35" 3️⃣ Egan Bernal (IGD) +1'11" 4️⃣ @EnricMasNicolau +1'49" 5️⃣ Riccitello (IPT) +1'53" 6️⃣ Skjelmose (LTK) +2'17" 📸 @GettySport
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