‘I was confident and I followed the plan’: Mas takes another second-place finish at Il Lombardia

Enric Mas finished second at Il Lombardia, holding his own rhythm when Seixas attacked on the Civiglio rather than trying to follow the 19-year-old.

It is the second time Mas has stood on the podium at a finish in Como after his prior podium in 2022.

“I really like this final. Another time second here, so yeah, happy,” Mas said to Cyclingpro.net.

He made a decision on the Civiglio and stuck to his prepared plan of not going into the red, which of course, proved to be successful.

“I was confident, maybe somebody like Paul can drop me, but I was confident and I followed the plan. At the end it was super.”

That left him to settle second place against Ciccone, riding his last race for Lidl-Trek after confirming his departure on Friday morning, with Mas able to drop the Italian in the closing part of the race.

“He’s a super fast rider, so I had to try it, and at the end I was lucky,” Mas said.

The result closes a season that turned on three weeks in Spain. Mas won the Vuelta a España in September, the first Spanish winner of his home Grand Tour since Alberto Contador in 2014 and the first Grand Tour victory of a career that had already brought four Vuelta podiums.

He is clear that the year did not start that way he intended and wishes his 2027 season begins with better results.

“I missed some good results in the beginning of the season, because last year I had the operation and I had to stay four months without nothing,” he said. “I hope next season I can start a bit better, and if I can do the same as this year I will be super happy.”