What was Mas' plan in the finale with Narváez? The Spaniard explains

Stage winner Jhonatan Narváez admitted after the finish that Enric Mas was the strongest uphill on Wednesday’s eleventh stage of the Giro d’Italia. Yet the UAE-Ecuadorian rider was able to follow Mas’ accelerations, and ultimately the experienced Movistar rider was beaten in the sprint—despite having done significant work at the front in the finale. Why did this happen?

After a tough opening phase, during which Mas initially missed the move, he eventually joined a break of seventeen riders. In the finale, it was Mas who pushed the pace through several splits, and on the last climb of the day, only Narváez could keep up with the climber from Mallorca.

Heading to the finish as a duo, Mas continued to do some of the pacing work. “It was impossible to drop Narváez today,” the Movistar rider explained after the stage in a CyclingPro interview. “On top of that, my attack from the front was very poorly timed,” he added, showing self-criticism.

“We tried a sprint; I knew he was faster, but we had to take the risk,” the experienced Mallorcan continued. “I couldn’t drop him on the climb.” Mas also commented on a crash during the stage, from which he avoided trouble: “I hope all riders involved are okay, because it was a fast and nasty crash.”

Reflecting on the stage result, Mas said: “Second place is never ideal, but you could say the team is slowly recovering. We’ve had a tough week, with me out of GC contention and a virus affecting almost everyone.”

Regarding his own form, he added: “I’ve had other good days in the legs, but I feel increasingly better. There was only one rider stronger than me today, and that was Jhonny. It was a very hard fight, as this course with short climbs suited him perfectly. On the last climb, I even attacked and took the lead to see if I could drop him, but it was no use.”