Pogacar stunned by Mas comeback: 'He flew past me like a rocket'

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) admitted he was caught by surprise when Enric Mas (Movistar) came flying past him at the summit of the Puerto El Bartolo during stage 6 of the Vuelta a España. 

Pogačar had attacked around 4km from the summit of the climb, and quickly opened an advantage on his rivals, seemingly on his way to a routine stage victory.

However, Mas had other ideas, as the Spaniard produced a stellar climb, and closed in on the red jersey inside the final kilometre of the ascent, before passing him over the top.

Pogačar explained that he was not aware that Mas was so close, and was surprised when he was passed by him.

“Yeah, but I was just really surprised at the top. He flew past me like a rocket. I was not expecting it, because I heard on the radio that I was leading, I don't know, by 40 seconds to the second chasers, and there was no mention of Enric.”

Pogačar looked to put Mas under pressure on the technical descent, but nearly suffered a crash with 19km remaining as he veered off-road, before fixing the situation.

The duo cooperated well on the flat run-in to the finish in Castelló, and Pogačar appreciated the extra firepower, as the duo extended their advantage on the chasers behind.

“And then I was just happy to be with him in the last 10 kilometres into the headwind, because I had no water, but nice to have a companion next to me.”

The world champion led out the final sprint, confident about winning, having previously beaten Mas in a sprint at Il Lombardia in 2022, and he duly completed a hat-trick of stage victories after just five completed stages.

"And then in the end, I knew that I could beat him in the sprint, but I still, yeah, appreciate that he committed fully, and I also committed fully to the finish line, so chapeau to him and it was a great race.”

Pogačar has now extended his lead in the overall standings to 3:34 as Mas moved up to second overall, while Primož Roglič slipped to third at 4:21.