🎥 Enric Mas pulls off a Van der Poelt-style move and single-handedly clears a rock from the road

Enric Mas heads into the final rest day of the Vuelta a España with a comfortable lead in the general classification. The Spaniard from Movistar has defended his red jersey with flair during the second week and seems to be in complete control. He briefly demonstrated this in the fifteenth stage with a ride that was reminiscent of Mathieu van der Poel.

Mas had already shown his top form in the Vuelta with a second-place finish behind Tadej Pogacar in Stage 6, but when the Slovenian was forced to withdraw two days later after crashing over a rock in the road, the Movistar team leader took over the red jersey. He immediately made his mark with a spectacular stage victory on the Alto de Aitana, allowing Mas to enter the second week with confidence.

There, he once again demonstrated that he’s in a class of his own on the climbs. On the way to Calar Alto, he extended his lead over his rivals even further, and on the Sierra de la Pandera, only Felix Gall was able to keep up with him. His jersey was never in danger during the fifteenth stage, so he heads into the final week with a 2:06 lead over the Austrian and a 2:10 lead over third-place Primož Roglič.

"Our plan was to let the breakaway go and for Visma | Lease a Bike to maintain control until the finish," Mas told the official Vuelta media about that stage. “That was until Wout van Aert attacked. Not everything has gone according to plan since last Sunday, but almost everything is under control, so I’m very happy. And to be honest, I love racing in Spain. I feel a lot of support from the people, and I hope it continues that way all the way to Granada.”

Mas shows his confidence on the bike primarily through his climbing ability. But in the fifteenth stage, ihe also demonstrated his handling skills. There was a rock on the road, and to prevent the peloton from riding over it, the red jersey wearer used his front wheel to flick it off the road. It’s something Mathieu van der Poel also did seven years ago at Nokere Koerse. If only Pogacar had done that...