We can't say it's been a brilliant 2023 for Spanish riders. Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert are so superior to the rest of the riders in the current peloton that it is very difficult to stand out.
Thus, the two theoretically best Spanish riders of the moment, Enric Mas and Mikel Landa, both of whom don't typically have the explosivity to battle for the classics but both there and in the stage-races they've looked quite sharp this spring.
For both riders it is very complicated to win races, so the objectives are measured more by sensations and by their ability to hang with the best stage-racers. So far in the 2023 season, so far, if we have to compare them, the Bahrain Victorious rider is ahead of the Movistar Team's Mallorcan in terms of performance.
In the last race in which both have competed, yesterday at the Flèche Wallonne, Landa finished third and Mas 17th, as Landa continues a very strong run of form that saw him as the closest rival to Jonas Vingegaard at Itzulia Basque Country.
VUELTA A ANDALUCÍA
They have met in 3 races this year and in 2 of them Landa has been superior to Enric. In the Vuelta a Andalucía Mikel finished second overall behind Tadej Pogacar and Mas fifth. However, it must be said that the sensations of the Mallorcan in this race were better and a mechanical on the opening day damaged his battle for the GC.
TIRRENO ADRIATICO
Primoz Roglic dominated a race not at all suited to Mikel and Enric's way of riding, where the only mountain stage saw a strong headwind block attacks. Neither of them shone. Mikel finished seventh and Mas sixth.
ITZULIA BASQUE COUNTRY
In the Itzulia Vingegaard gave them no choice, but Mikel Landa attacked, fought for stage wins and finished second overall. Enric was only fifth.
So far the season is going better for Mikel Landa than for Enric Mas, although they will both be focusing on the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España where bigger goals will lie and they have potential to further perform. So far, they are still early races. We'll see how they finish their respective seasons.
🇧🇪 #FlecheWallonne 🗣️ @MikelLandaMeana about his 3rd place at @flechewallonne : "I didn't have the confidence all through the day. I was not feeling super, but in the end, the race became hard, and I had good enough legs at the final." #RideAsOne 🔗 bit.ly/41m5kRQ
