'A bittersweet feeling' - Mas refuses to wear red on Vuelta podium after Pogacar abandon

After confirmation of Tadej Pogačar’s abandon filtered through, Enric Mas had the bones of 45 minutes to get his head around the idea of being the leader of the Vuelta a España, but the situation still seemed a touch too surreal when he reached the finish of stage 8 in Xeraco.

When Mas was called onto the podium, he preferred not to don the red jersey, which has been the sole possession of Pogačar since the race left Monaco a week ago. Out of deference to the fallen Pogačar, Mas opted simply to hold up the maillot rojo for the photographers massed below the podium.

But even if the jersey isn’t yet on his back, Mas is the new leader of the Vuelta after Pogačar crashed out of the race with 32km remaining on stage 8. When the peloton left the coastal town of Puçol on Saturday morning, Mas was 3:50 off the unassailable Pogačar, who had dominated the opening week of the Vuelta. 

Now, with two weeks of the race to go, Mas finds himself in the overall lead with a buffer of exactly a minute over four-time winner Primoz Roglič. A whole new Vuelta will start on the Alto de Aitana on stage 9, but in Xeraco on Saturday afternoon, all thoughts were for the sudden departure of the seemingly unbeatable favourite.

“It’s a huge shame,” Mas said. “It’s a shame there were crashes, it’s a shame that they were like this and, finally, it’s a shame that it’s Tadej. He was wearing the red jersey, and it’s a real shame.”

Pogačar was transported by ambulance to hospital after suffering a suspected broken collarbone, though the full extent of his injuries has yet to be confirmed.

“Obviously, I hope he gets better quickly. We have a few races left and I hope he can be in good shape for them,” Mas said. “I don’t know exactly what happened to him, but I’m sure he’s in the best hands, with the best doctors, and I hope that he recovers as soon as possible.”

Mas has finished second at the Vuelta on three occasions, but he has endured two years blighted by injury since he placed third overall in 2024. The Movistar rider is now the leader of the Vuelta for the first time in his career, but he confessed that the sensation was an uneasy one.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” Mas said. “I’ll have to assimilate what’s happened. It’s true that sport – and life – is like this, and that we’ll have to move on and get on with things. But for now, first of all, I’m letting what’s happened sink in a bit and, well, bit by bit, I’m just processing it.”

Mas had already shown signs of a return to form at the Vuelta a Burgos earlier in the month, and he confirmed the upward trend by chasing down Pogačar on the Puerto El Bartolo on stage 6. That display confirmed he was in the hunt for a podium spot, but now he finds himself in a surprise contest for overall victory with Roglič, Felix Gall, Sepp Kuss, Oscar Onley and Richard Carapaz, who all lie within 2:22 of his lead.

“The race is a bit tighter now and, to be honest, we have to take it day by day,” Mas said. “Now that we’re leading the race, we’ll have to try and hold on for the rest of the Vuelta.”

Mas demurred when asked how he and his Movistar team would set about defending his maillot rojo. The situation was still too raw to put into words.

“I don’t know, there hasn’t really been time to think about it yet,” Mas said. “We’ll have to focus on ourselves as best we can, and that’s it. There’ll be situations where we’ll have to dictate the race and situations where other teams will have to take the lead themselves.”