'You know what's at stake' - Mas braced for decisive Vuelta time trial

After two days of relative calm, Enric Mas faces a defining moment of the Vuelta a España on Thursday afternoon when he takes on the 32.1km individual time trial to Jerez de la Frontera.

The Movistar man has held the overall lead since Tadej Pogačar’s abandon on stage 8 in Xeraco, and he has been the strongest rider in the mountains ever since. He will roll down the start ramp on Thursday with a buffer of 2:06 over Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) and 2:10 on Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

The time trial has long been a weak spot in Mas’ armoury, and he is expected to lose ground to Roglič on Thursday, though their head-to-head record suggests the Spaniard should do enough to retain the red jersey ahead of the final two mountain stages.

“In the end, you know what’s at stake, so I’ll have to bring out my best,” Mas said in Seville on Wednesday evening, sounding a bullish note about his prospects in the time trial.

“We have to be focused and confident. I think we’ve done a lot of work for many years, and now we have a good opportunity to try to win the Vuelta.”

The route from El Puerto de Santa María to Jerez is a relatively straightforward one. “It’s quite flat and not a lot of corners, so you have to be concentrated on power and position and that’s it,” said Mas, who was clear about what would constitute a good day: “To keep the jersey, I think we would have to be happy with that.”

Mas was 3:50 off the lead when Pogačar abandoned the Vuelta, though he had already underlined his form by chasing the world champion down on the climb of Puerto El Bartolo on stage 6. 

The Mallorcan won atop the Alto de Aitana on the day after Pogačar’s abandon, and he gained further ground on Roglič on the summit finishes at Calar Alto and La Pandera in the second week. If Mas can hold red in Jerez, he will be strongly favoured to carry the jersey to the finish in Granada on Sunday.

“It’s clear that if I can keep the red jersey, I hope to be able to enjoy the next two stages,” Mas said.