"We already know who is the rival to beat" - Strong Enric Mas matches Primoz Roglic on brutal final climb of stage 4 at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana
CyclingWednesday, 21 August 2024 at 10:51
Enric Mas impressively managed to hold the pace of Primoz Roglic on the very hard ascent to the Villuercas pass in the finale of stage 4 at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana. After finishing fourth, the Mallorcan is now third in the general classification.
After the finish, the Movistar Team leader spoke to the Spanish media confirming that he had felt very strong. He was asked about his feelings. "Very good. Let's hope it continues like this for the whole Vuelta. We've arrived in a small group of 6-7 and the differences are important," Mas reflected honestly.
He managed to hang on to Roglic on the very steepest ramps of Villuercas and Mas did not hide delight to be back competing with the very best after a rough season so far. "That's my place," he insists. "I felt good, I hope to enjoy the whole Vuelta."
He is clear who is the rival to beat to try to win the Vuelta a Espana however. "You have seen, the whole stage has been controlled by Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and Primoz has won at the end," he assesses. "They have raced well, they have taken the victory. The collaboration was that Primoz was going well, I passed him once or twice. We can see the legs he has, we already know who is the rival to beat".
Thus, after the first time trial and the first mountain stage, Enric Mas is third in the general classification, 32 seconds behind Primoz Roglic and 24 seconds behind Joao Almeida, who has given the impression of having one point less than the Spaniard in the mountains. Behind him, he has the surprising Antonio Tiberi, Lennert Van Eetvelt and Felix Gall, but he has managed to take time from dangerous rivals such as Sepp Kuss, Carlos Rodriguez, Matias Skjelmose, Mikel Landa and Adam Yates.
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- I see. From a different perspective, all people are equal. If I was standing beside a cycling "star" and a cycling "public" person, there would be no preference of attention given to one or the other. I appreciate the pro cyclist performances equally with others.itsent29-01-2026
- Mm's comment was nonsensical, thus I offered a nonsensical reply. Nonetheless, the logic tracks. Barriers are not at the zoo to keep "normal public" away from the animals. If they wished to do that, the zoo would just close and release the animals back to their natural habitats. The zoo is there for the public. Similarly, pro cycling exists to entertain the public for the purpose of marketing and entertainment.itsent29-01-2026
- The problem IS Instagram/YouTubers who make these videos; other than the guy in question, theirs an/other guy who lives in Majorca and follows Pro's around.. it's this Pretence' that's caused/ing this problem, Spectacle of the 'super-star' professional riders, in recent yrs also, an upped media awareness and scoping, strangely since Eurosport sport got sold, to the Americans.. + media reporting of Pro even farting is getting airtime, yes it's that stupid, now! It's hard to even read, that style of reporting. Like back in the day, you'd know a rider is training for the coming season, yet now I even know what Pogacar has been, it's just too much now, I'm tiring of this much media attention, no wonder a UK pro scrapped the sport suddenly... the media interest is just TOO MUCH
leedorney28-01-2026 - Personally, I speak to the other end of the leash before approaching. As for barriers, by my logic the exact reason they are there is to STOP normal public approach so please clarify your logic.Mistermaumau28-01-2026
- Don’t get itJumpyjohn28-01-2026
- The guy is working and the amateur should know that, maybe remember that next time someone at work gets a bit too close :-) Was it a technical descent coz I can keep up with just about any pro on a safe downhill thanks to some extra kg, besides from Strava data, it’s obvious pros are rarely pushing their max in training at this stage.Jumpyjohn28-01-2026
- Yates retired because Visma would not let him do the Giro because of Jonas Vingagaard. Plain and simple that's what happens when you become a rigid team like Visma.YJKauf1328-01-2026
- Ah, sorry. Ok, rewind. The first guy annoys JV who decides to “try to get rid of him” (which I doubt he’d do if he’d been asked coz then he would have had the chance to say no and that should have been it). The video (am not going to watch it unless someone tells me there are other important details not mentioned in the story) seems to show distance but this in no way describes the previous episode (at least it seems the guy didn’t pop out his phone while on JVs wheel, which isn’t unknown). I guess we can also safely assume if the distance had been 100-150 all the time, JV would never have noticed or been bothered. Now, though it’s not very clear, it sounds like both riders stopped, the annoyer carrying on before the 2nd guy came? But (and put yourself in the situation of someone who just crashed hard in the middle of nowhere), maybe JV imagines the 2nd rider might be associated with the 1st? It’s not like he would have paid much attention to the number and possible relationship between riders around him in what seems like quite a short period. Interesting though that both amateurs’ versions were so quick to make the rounds to media.Mistermaumau28-01-2026
- Also, this is a pro’s job, training on roads (especially those they will be racing on). Other multimillionaires also drive their cars on the public roads Joe uses and expect not to have hoards of fans driving in convoy behind. Only multibillionaires can almost escape that with private aircraft, not exactly what society should be aiming to emulate. Maybe they should ask for payrises to build their own racing tracks?Mistermaumau28-01-2026
- By your rationale, people should also not be allowed to get close to the animal pen railings at zoos, or to approach a dog on a leash.itsent28-01-2026
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