López responds to Mas Giro GC criticism: 'I’d give our critics a bike and see if they last ten minutes’

Enric Mas started the Giro with an element of uncertainty. His 2025 season had been cut short after the Tour de France, followed by surgery last October to treat thrombophlebitis.

Mas confirmed pre-race that he had felt confident in training, but things didn't go to plan on the slopes of Blockhaus and Corno alle Scale, where the Spaniard quickly dropped out of podium contention.

Mas had spoken before the race about targeting the podium, and Movistar team manager Eusebio Unzué later admitted the team’s expectations had not matched reality.

“We knew there was uncertainty around Enric because after such a long time away from racing, there are always doubts, even if he had trained very well before the Giro,” Unzué told AS. 

“But the real tests are the races, and unfortunately, when the decisive moments arrived, he was not at the level we expected," said Unzué.

Despite the criticism surrounding the Spanish team and Mas, López has defended both Mas and Movistar’s efforts throughout the race.

“It’s always been said that it’s good or bad publicity, as long as they’re talking,” López told AS. “If they’re talking about you, it’s because they’re paying attention to you. We’re the only Spanish World Tour team, and we receive a lot of criticism.”

López highlighted the extreme demands of racing a Grand Tour and insisted that Mas and the team have given their maximum throughout. 

“I’d give those who criticise us a bike so they could do not just one stage, but ten minutes like we do,” López said. “We try to defend our colours one hundred per cent, for ourselves, for the team, and for the fans.”

While Mas’s general classification ambitions haven't gone to plan, Movistar have remained among the most aggressive teams in the race. 

The Spanish squad have been present and active in plenty of breakaways and have come close to their first Giro stage win since Pelayo Sánchez upset Julian Alaphilippe in 2024.

On stage 4, the team took control of the final 50km, distancing the sprinters for Venezuelan champion Orluis Aular (Movistar) before Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) denied them in the sprint. 

Mas himself later came close to a stage win from the breakaway on stage 11, only to again be beaten by Narváez.

López said the team had regrouped after their GC setback and was fully focused on hunting stages from the breakaway.

“After the Blockhaus stage, we managed to turn things around and find a new objective: to go for a stage win,” López said. “We’re working on it, fighting, and sticking to our plan. We haven’t had all the luck we could have hoped for, but the important thing is that we keep fighting.”

The third and final week features multiple mountain stages, giving Mas and co plenty of encouragement to keep fighting for that desired stage victory.