Enric Mas refused to give Sepp Kuss freedom despite 10-minute Vuelta deficit: ‘We had to control them’

Enric Mas is one day closer to winning the Vuelta a España. The Movistar climber once again had everything under control on the final ascent to Peñas Blancas, leaving him with just one mountain stage remaining and a huge opportunity to win his home Grand Tour. Even Sepp Kuss, more than ten minutes down in the general classification, was considered too dangerous to give complete freedom.

Movistar had to be particularly alert during the opening phase of the stage, when the battle to make the breakaway was fierce.

“Sepp and Richie [Kuss and Carapaz] really wanted to go for it. I think it was mainly about the stage win. But they are also relatively close to us in the general classification, so we had to control them,” the red jersey wearer continued. Kuss, the 2023 Vuelta winner, began the day tenth overall at 10 minutes and 34 seconds, but Movistar were still unwilling to take any unnecessary risks with the American from Visma | Lease a Bike. “You saw once again that my team did an incredible job. Two days to go.”

Primož Roglič also briefly tried to put Mas under pressure during the stage, although the Spaniard apparently did not consider the move especially memorable. “Well, to be honest, I can’t even remember it anymore. At one point I did have to close a gap, but Primož himself pushing on... I didn’t really notice that,” Mas said.

Once the dangerous moves had been neutralized, Movistar were able to let the breakaway build its advantage and turn their attention toward the final climb. “After Red Bull started pushing on the climb, I felt confident. We moved toward the front and rode at our own pace. Richie and Félix [Gall] also came up, but I stayed calm and confident. I think everyone went to their limit.” Mas also felt comfortable on the long ascent to Peñas Blancas, despite the changing gradients presenting different challenges throughout the climb.

“I felt fine on the final climb. We knew it was a climb with changing gradients: a very steep opening section, then a flatter part in the middle and another very steep section at the end. I felt good and only had to follow the accelerations.” With the Vuelta now entering its decisive final mountain stage, Mas heads into the next test with his confidence intact. “Now I’m really looking forward to the next stage. I’m very confident,” the Movistar leader concluded.