"That’s the Vuelta podium" - Bruyneel believes Mas and Roglic will join Tadej Pogacar
CyclingFriday, 28 August 2026 at 12:25
The Vuelta a España was lit up on stage 6 to Castelló as Tadej Pogacar soared to a stage win, but the fight for the podium truly imploded. Enric Mas was the surprise of the day and his performance earned him praise from Johan Bruyneel.
“I heard there was a miscommunication. Pogacar said he had information about Roglic and Gall, but then Mas flew past him. He said he was completely surprised," Bruyneel recalled on The Move podcast together with Spencer Martin.
On the climb to the Puerto el Bartolo, Pogacar took up the pace in the peloton even before the riders reached the hardest part of the climb. A show of confidence, the Slovenian didn't attack the race per say, instead setting his own pace up the climb. Its irregular gradients, frequently going near or above 20%, caught a few riders off guard.
The main GC chasing group saw Primoz Roglic and Enric Mas show good legs, but the Spaniard then looked above his peers. Behind Tadej Pogacar, but the gap would come down as the riders neared the summit. Whilst the red jersey admitted he had no idea Mas was coming, it was still notable that he was caught and overtaken by the Spaniard at the top of the climb.
Mas had effectively dropped his main rivals and joined Pogacar up front. The collaboration between the two benefited the Spaniard immensely, who did not win the stage, but won 46 seconds (plus bonifications) towards his closest rivals - and even more on Oscar Onley and Sepp Kuss.
Mas and Pogacar going over the summit of Puerto El Bartolo
Praise for Enric Mas
“He’s an incredibly talented rider. He’s had a few years where he’s had bad luck, where the season didn’t go according to plan. But if you look back, you’ll see that he’s finished second three times and third once in the Vuelta, and has placed in the top six eight times in a Grand Tour," Bruyneel adds.
After an injury ridden end of 2025, Mas struggled to get up to speed in the first part of 2026. Aside from a second place in one of the Giro d'Italia's stages, his only notable result came only at the Vuelta a Burgos where he was fifth in the overall classification.
But the Movistar leader is back to his best form and has moved up to second in the overall classification. "He gets a lot of criticism from Spain for not attacking, but when you achieve results like that, it’s impressive in itself.”
As for Pogacar, his near-crash on the descent and unusual lack of superiority over the competition on the climb was an odd sight, but nothing that should worry the Slovenian according to Bruyneel.
No worries for Tadej Pogacar
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. If Enric Mas is now Pogacar’s biggest rival in the mountain stages, he just needs to stay with him and gain time in the final kilometer. Mas will keep riding to gain time on the others. That’s ideal for Pogacar.”
As it stands Pogacar leads the race with 3:34 minutes over Mas and 4:21 over Primoz Roglic. “I think that’s the Vuelta podium," the Belgian pundit adds. "I don’t know in what order, but they’ll be on the podium. I think Roglic is only going to get better. He’ll gain more and more confidence. But we can’t count Felix Gall out. He’s a good climber, even though he was out of position. But he had strong legs today.”
“We were missing two riders today: Oscar Onley and Sepp Kuss. They couldn’t keep up on this climb and lost a minute and a half,” he added; with both riders now sitting sixth an seventh in the overall classification, but still well within reach of the final podium.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- So can you... shush... Capish?PogiSloFans28-08-2026
- I'm not that old, and also work out in the gym... they are still pretty hard... my cojones...PogiSloFans28-08-2026
- Hey Yankee, you're actually right, but I still have huge bollocks :))PogiSloFans28-08-2026
- Naesen: "The peloton don't view Pogačar as an opponent anymore." The peleton views Pogi as a half-god of cycling... just like the Greeks viewed Hercules, Perseus or Achilles.PogiSloFans28-08-2026
- I'm a 100% Slovenian. So are my parents and grandparents... yes, but we did live in the US years ago. I'm so happy we left after seeing what's happening there at this moment. The nazi-fascist orange orangutan is destroying the country. Just hope the Democrats win the midterms.PogiSloFans28-08-2026
- Hey Jumpyjohn, stop your blabbering which makes no sense. So “millions” for you can refer to anything from two million upward? Millions of people live in Slovenia.... because 2+ million is indeed millions??? We all know that in everyday speech it can sometimes sound like you're suggesting a much larger number. A reasonable person will never say that millions of people live in Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro. North Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania or even Austria. It's just people like you, who like to fantasize and blabber, just for the sake of blabbering.PogiSloFans28-08-2026
- But you aren’t Slovenian … capish? American yes, Slovenian, not so much.
Andrew28-08-2026 - Completely disagree with the notion that Onley (and Gall for that matter) have been disappointing. They've come to the Vuelta with good form and clearly want to race. Onley admitted he made a mistake, going too deep to follow Pogacar but even trying suggests he's feeling good. Carlos Rodriguez is another matter entirely, obviously struggling for form.PeterC28-08-2026
- How do you know that the people booing were french? Because it’s the Tour de France or was there a french accent or do only French people actually go and watch the TdF.Andrew28-08-2026
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