Mas on Pogacar's descent: 'I warned him that a sharp turn was coming up'

Yes, Tadej Pogacar won the sixth stage of the Vuelta a España, completing his hat trick very early on. But did anyone think the Slovenian wouldn’t cross the finish line solo? Enric Mas was even able to close the gap on the red jersey wearer. A stage win wasn’t in the cards, but the Spaniard from Movistar proved to be incredibly strong.

After the breakaway didn’t form until late in the race, UAE Team Emirates-XRG decided to go for the stage win anyway. The final climb was grueling and even included gravel sections: perfect, right? The Slovenian made his move on the steep sections and seemed to be starting another massive solo breakaway. But on the climb, Mas pulled away from his rivals and suddenly closed in on Pogacar.

He caught sight of the red jersey wearer and closed in on the leader. In the final meters of the climb, he made an unexpected move to catch up, and even went one step further: he overtook Pogacar, snatching away mountain points and bonus seconds right from under the red jersey wearer’s nose.

But a win was no longer in the cards. The pair worked well together on the flat final stretch, pulling further away from their competitors. Mas gave it a shot, but stood no chance against the explosive Slovenian. “I couldn’t do much in the sprint,” Mas told Eurosport afterward. “Pogi is Pogi.”

But there was absolutely no disappointment. Mas finished second, earned a total of 12 bonus seconds, and pulled away by 46 seconds from riders like Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), while gaining even more on Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS). Above all, catching up to Pogacar was the highlight of the day. “Today we achieved something we couldn’t manage in Andorra.”

No one could have predicted beforehand that Mas Pogacar would catch up. The Spaniard finished sixth on the stage to Andorra, but lost 2.39 minutes to the world champion there. On top of that, the time bonuses at the front served as extra motivation. “My team directors kept telling me there was a bonus. When I caught up to him, I thought: well, I might as well take that bonus.”

Something else remarkable happened on the descent. Pogacar seemed frustrated that Mas had caught up to him and tried to break away. That nearly cost him dearly: the Slovenian veered off the road but managed to avoid a crash. And this despite the fact that Mas had warned him earlier. “I warned him that a sharp turn was coming up.” Fortunately, Pogacar then decided to stay on the Spaniard’s wheel.

He knew the roads, after all. Thanks to his knowledge of the course—but especially his excellent legs—Mas is now in second place in the general classification. He’s 3.34 minutes behind, but the gap to third-place Roglic is now nearly a minute. The level-headed Spaniard remains calm. “As I said yesterday, or the day before, we have to take it day by day. I’m currently in second place and I’m feeling better and better.”