“We think Enric Mas will always be there, but perhaps he never returns” - Should Movistar Team keep backing the Mallorcan?

The 2026 Giro d’Italia didn’t just leave a disappointing result sheet for Enric Mas. It also sparked a deeper debate about the Spanish rider’s sporting future, his place in elite cycling over the coming years, and, above all, whether Movistar Team can still afford to regard him as a Grand Tour leader.

Juan López and Javier Rampe, Ciclismoaldía reporters, used the end of the race to deliver an analysis that goes far beyond a simple fail in a Grand Tour. Their reflections sketch the portrait of a rider who remains a reference point in Spanish cycling, but whose trajectory raises more and more questions.

Expectations were high. Enric Mas arrived at the Giro insisting a podium challenge was realistic and that he would chase a stage win. The reality proved very different. Movistar Team’s leader dropped out of the general classification fight from the first mountain days and finished the race well below what was expected of him.

Juan López took a relatively moderate line. The journalist gave him 3 out of 10 and explained that, despite the failure in the GC, there were a few details that kept him from going even lower.

“He was close to winning a stage,” López recalled, highlighting the day when only Jonathan Narváez beat him. For the reporter, that ride at least showed a combative attitude once the podium fight was lost.

However, the journalist made it clear that this was not enough to redeem the overall balance of the race.

“Not once was Enric able to stay with the best in the race,” he said in his analysis, a line that neatly sums up the main concern currently surrounding the Balearic rider.

Javier Rampe was far more forceful. He gave a 1 out of 10 and his assessment went beyond the bare results.

“Enric Mas’ target was the podium in Rome and a stage,” the journalist recalled. In his view, the gap between what was promised and what was delivered makes the Mallorcan’s performance one of the major disappointments of the season.

But Rampe’s analysis went deeper still. For him, the problem isn’t just this Giro. The real debate turns on the trend Enric Mas has followed in recent years.

“I think when he hit rock bottom at the Tour de France with that sad, painful crash, from that point on, both psychologically and physically, Enric Mas has been a different rider,” he said.

The claim is especially relevant because it links the present to a broader trajectory. For years, Mas was one of the most reliable Grand Tour riders, stacking podiums at the Vuelta a España and establishing himself as Spanish cycling’s standard-bearer after Alejandro Valverde’s retirement.

Recent seasons, however, have been marked by inconsistency. Big performances have grown rarer and off days more frequent.

Rampe sees a clear contrast between the image some fans still hold and today’s competitive reality.

“I think in the Spanish fan’s mind we still see Enric Mas as a rider who is always there, but that Enric is very unlikely to come back,” he explained.

Even so, not even the harshest critics are closing the door on his chances of big results. Juan López believes there is still a scenario in which the Mallorcan can recover part of his best version: the Vuelta a España.

Both journalists argue that Enric Mas has always been a slow-burn rider, someone who needs racing and kilometres in the legs before reaching top form. That’s why they feel the Giro may have come too early in a season shaped by physical issues and a compromised build-up.

Rampe developed this idea in particular.

“He’s a rider who needs many months of competition to perform well,” he said, before noting that some of his best historical results have come late in the season.

The journalist even recalled the victory at the Giro dell’Emilia against Tadej Pogačar, along with other standout autumn rides, as examples of a pattern repeated over the years.

He therefore considers that 2026 planning contained a major strategic error.

“It was far too hasty to take Enric Mas to the first Grand Tour of the year,” he stated.

Another point both question is the pre-Giro messaging. López and Rampe believe expectations were set too high given the rider’s actual preparation.

“There was a false start by making people believe something was possible that, objectively, was quite complicated,” said Juan López.

Rampe went even further and raised doubts about how the situation was handled internally.

“It’s impossible that Enric Mas didn’t know the numbers he was putting out,” he noted, suggesting the team may have been overly optimistic when assessing its options before the Giro start.

The big question now is what happens next. With a long-term contract at Movistar Team and still years ahead in the pro peloton, Mas faces a decisive phase of his career.

The two writers agree on one key point: he still has the quality to land major results. However, they also believe the time for excuses is starting to run out.

The 2026 Giro d’Italia confirmed that he can no longer live solely on past achievements. He needs to prove again that he can race the best when expectations are highest.

Because, as the reflections of Juan López and Javier Rampe suggest, the real debate is no longer whether Enric Mas had a poor Giro. The debate is whether he can still be the Enric Mas who made the Vuelta a España his territory and for years stood as Spanish cycling’s great hope.