“Never this bad before, nor this good now”: Movistar aren’t letting their guard down with Enric Mas six days away from potentially winning La Vuelta

Enric Mas arrives at the last week of La Vuelta in a situation he would likely have signed for before the race began. The Movistar leader wears red, has more than two minutes of advantage over his main rivals, and, above all, has just demonstrated in the mountains that he has the legs for more than just defending himself. But there are still six days left, and among them is a time trial that threatens to compress the overall standings.

"This is perhaps the best moment of my life and I will never forget it": Mas has an advantage, but La Vuelta can still change a lot

Mas will start this last block with 2:06 over Felix Gall and 2:10 over Primoz Roglic. An important margin, although still insufficient to face everything that remains with complete peace of mind. Especially because the time trial in Jerez, at 32.5 kilometers, favors several of his direct rivals on paper.

Before facing this decisive week, the Mallorcan has appeared before the media during the last rest day of La Vuelta. His words reflect the moment of confidence that both he and Movistar are experiencing.

"After two weeks and having gone through such difficult moments in recent months, it is appreciated to be here. It is true that there is a lot of work behind all this. This is perhaps the best moment of my life and I will never forget it", he assured.

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The time trial inevitably appears in any calculation about Mas's possibilities. It is not his most favorable terrain, and especially Roglic represents a significant threat against the clock.

But reducing everything that remains of La Vuelta to those 32.5 kilometers would overlook one of the keys that have brought the Spaniard to the lead. Every time the road has gotten really tough, Mas has managed to take advantage of his form.

That is why the leader does not want to approach the last week as a defensive race until the time trial.

"They talk about the time trial, but first there are two stages that are also very important, there will be two days of significant mountains. The time trial does not benefit me, but every day in the mountains I have been able to gain time, so I do not have to fear the time trial. La Vuelta is 21 days, not just one time trial", he explained.

The remaining mountains can be just as decisive as the fight against the clock. Mas will have opportunities to increase his cushion before Jerez and also terrain later to mark differences again. If he maintains the superiority shown so far in the climbs, Movistar has no reason to limit itself to defending the 2:06 over Gall and the 2:10 over Roglic.

Mas himself is clear that the Slovenian remains a threat regardless of the current difference.

"Primoz recently won a Vuelta. I see him the same as before. He is third in the overall and can never be ruled out. He is showing a great level and knows exactly how to win. He has four Vueltas".

Gall is also not out of his calculations. The Austrian is second, and Mas highlighted that he is in a "great state of form", insisting that Movistar will have to keep an eye on all the important riders in the overall standings.

Movistar is no longer just racing to defend

One of the major differences compared to other grand tours in recent years is the collective behavior of Movistar. The team has not limited itself to surrounding Mas and controlling the peloton, but has used breakaways and early moves to place riders ahead and then bring them back when their leader needed them. La Pandera was possibly the best example.

Raúl García Pierna and Pablo Castrillo entered a breakaway of around 45 riders. None posed a threat to the overall, and Movistar managed to have two men up front for the decisive part of the stage.

First, Jorge Arcas and Iván Romeo worked around the leader. Then Castrillo appeared, and finally García Pierna, who had managed to stay ahead for a good part of the day.

When Mas caught up with the Madrilenian, he began to set the pace in the favorites' group. His work ended up hurting Roglic, who lost contact and ended up conceding another 25 seconds to the red jersey.

"It was pretty much as we had thought, so I’m happy," García Pierna explained later in an interview with the newspaper MARCA.

The Madrilenian also arrives at this final stretch after having raced in the Tour de France, but as long as Mas continues to wear red, he does not expect individual opportunities. In fact, when MARCA asked him if he might have a day to seek his own options, he replied: "I don’t think so. As long as Enric is in red, I hope I don’t have it."

"We were not so bad before, nor are we so good now"

Movistar's performance in this Vuelta has radically changed the narrative around the team. After several seasons in which criticism has been frequent, the Spanish formation is leading a grand tour and chaining some of its best collective performances in recent years. From within, however, García Pierna insists that there has been no sudden transformation.

When MARCA asked him what had changed in the team over the past few months, his first response was direct: "Nothing, basically."

"I just think we train as we always do, and we were neither bad before nor are we so good now," he added.

The methods may be similar, but this time the results are accompanying. Movistar has managed to have different riders appear at key moments, and Mas is taking advantage of that work to increase his lead instead of just conserving it. The leader also highlighted the collective performance during his media appearance.

"Up to today, the team has been a 10. We have always had things under control, so in that aspect, I am confident in myself and in the team." A confidence that will be put to the test from the start of this last week.

Mas expects his rivals to try to break Movistar's control and anticipates much more difficult days to manage: "I think it’s going to be a tough week. In that aspect, I think the teams are going to race a bit crazily and will try to put us between a rock and a hard place."

Movistar will face those attacks with a significant advantage and with the peace of mind of having responded so far every time the race has intensified.

With six days to Granada, Mas is the favorite to place a Spanish cyclist at the top of La Vuelta for the first time since Alberto Contador in 2014.