Movistar Team analysis in Tirreno Adriatico and Paris-Nice: Enric Mas' return doesn't solve anything
Cycling
Movistar Team is the only Spanish WorldTour team and right now its position is not in danger for the end of the current cycle in 2025. However, we can't say that 2024 is looking like a great year for the team.
This has been confirmed with a very poor performance at Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice, something that leaves many doubts for the rest of the campaign.
Tirreno-Adriatico
Enric Mas made his debut in Tirreno and he did it finishing 12th in the general classification, going completely unnoticed and looking light years behind his rivals in the two mountain stages of the race.
It was his first race of the year, yes, but in 2023 in his first race in Andalusia, he fought with Tadej Pogacar and gave very good impressions. Then he finished sixth in a Tirreno with a stronger overall participation than in the current one. It's worrying that Enric will come back like that, although it's true that we have to give him the benefit of the doubt and start judging him from the next race.
Of the rest, it's almost better not to talk about. Nothing at all for Davide Formolo (26th overall), Iván Sosa (nobody expects him at this stage of his career) and Iván García Cortina (what was he doing racing this race and not the French classics last weekend?) The best of the week, by far, the third place of Davide Cimolai in the last stage that gives good UCI points.
Paris-Nice
We can say little about Paris-Nice, to be honest. Movistar didn't have a team to do too much and even more after the loss of Oier Lazkano. Beyond the fact that former rider Matteo Jorgenson ended up winning the race (something that always hurts) little to add with the rest beyond the poor performance in the team time trial despite having specialists like Rémi Cavagna or Will Barta.
In these races you can understand why EF Education-EasyPost did not bet on the continuity of Rúben Guerreiro and that at WorldTour level riders like Will Barta or Mathias Norsgaard, no matter how much desire they put into them, have a hard time winning stages.
In short, Movistar Team must try to make a leap forward in strategy and choice of riders to achieve good results in Itzulia and Volta a Catalunya, home races in which there will be no excuses if the performance continues to be so poor.
Juan LarraCycling Journalist
Juan Larra is a writer for Cyclinguptodate and editor-in-chief of Ciclismoaldia, where he has played a central role since its inception. Under his leadership, the website has become a trusted source for professional cycling coverage, offering in-depth analysis, news, and feature stories.
A sports journalist with over 20 years of experience, Juan earned his degree in Journalism from the University of Seville in 2007. He began his career covering a wide range of sports—including football, basketball, Formula 1, MotoGP, tennis, and cycling—for platforms such as the official La Liga app, Vodafone and Movistar websites, NBA Blogdebasket, and Cadena Cope, honing his skills in writing and editorial management.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Juan contributes to Cyclinguptodate and serves as editor-in-chief for the tennis-focused site Tenisaldia. Throughout his career, he has conducted exclusive interviews with cyclists and sports figures, provided detailed analysis of competitions ranging from local Spanish races to major international events, and acted as a special correspondent at prestigious races including Paris-Roubaix, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España.
Juan’s combination of experience, expertise, and direct access to athletes has established him—and the platforms he leads—as authoritative voices in professional cycling.
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- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026
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En Italia se corre la Tirreno-Adriático, la vuelta del tridente de Neptuno. Enric Mas debuta, en un año clave, con @Movistar_Team #TirrenoAdriatico 👇👇
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