"We're going to try to play our cards" - Enric Mas survives another day of attacking from Evenepoel

Movistar have put in some work today towards getting Enric Mas deeper into his podium position, and to try and take time on his rivals. He followed the wheel of Remco Evenepoel at Colláu Fancuaya, but had a strong day with a positive balance. 

"I'm happy. The squad has been a 'ten'," Mas said after the stage. "First with Bala in a coup on the Alto de la Colladona which also included Richard Carapaz. When we saw that the leading group had a bit more lead than we had in mind, we let Rojillas and Nelson lead in the final and they performed very well.”

Movistar have not been focusing on stage wins but instead fully on the overall classification as the Spaniard is showing his best form. Ahead of the final climb they put in some work to try and make things more difficult for his rivals, and the gaps were later created inside the final ten-kilometer climb. “Remco is really strong and today we saw that Primož and Carlitos [Rodríguez] are also very good; they are tough rivals and we will see what happens," he said regarding the riders that have raced at the same pace up it. 

As in Pico Jano, Mas followed Remco Evenepoel who looked to create differences on the competition by pace. He tried a little move in the closing meters, but was met with a strong response from the race leader. Mas sits in second place in the overall classification, but in striking distance of the red jersey.

“Tomorrow is day nine of the Vuelta, and I think both today and tomorrow the wear will be noticeable and it will show," he warns. "As I have emphasized all along, today is today and tomorrow is tomorrow; we look at it day by day. Pico Jano and today were the first two mountain stages and we can't draw any conclusions yet about how the bodies will react in the decisive part of the Vuelta and the last week".

Still on the first week, the Vuelta has taken shape much more quickly than the Tour de France. “At the moment we have seen several rivals who are in very good shape; we're going to try to play our cards and see how they react," Mas concluded. He will have a difficult task tomorrow in the steep gradients of Les Praeres, but he's expected to have another battle with Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic.