Pickering rejects Pogacar asterisk over Mas’ Vuelta win: ‘He was the best’

Finlay Pickering has pushed back on the idea that Enric Mas’ Vuelta a España victory carries an asterisk because Tadej Pogačar abandoned on stage 8.

Pogačar was leading by 3:50 when he crashed on the run to Xeraco and left the race with concussion, a fractured collarbone and a fractured vertebra. Mas inherited the red jersey the following day and has held it since, winning on the Alto de Aitana and extending his advantage at Calar Alto, La Pandera and again on the queen stage to the Collado del Alguacil.

“The fact that Tadej isn’t here should not take away the fact that Enric Mas won the Vuelta. He’s done that. He’s been the strongest guy in the race,” Pickering said on the Domestique Hotseat podcast.

“Crashes, things like this, things that are out of your control, are part of bike racing.”

Pickering pointed to the quality of the riders Mas has beaten on his way to red.

“You still have Roglič in the race, you have Felix Gall in the race, Sepp Kuss in the race, Carapaz in the race,” he said. “He had some pretty tough competition.”

“Tadej had to go home the way he did, but I don’t think that Tadej going home should take away any of the respect, the work that Enric Mas has put in to win the Vuelta.”

He also pointed back to the stage to Castelló, when Mas was dropped by Pogačar on the unpaved section of the Puerto El Bartolo before making his way back.

“You can’t forget on the Benicàssim day when I think Enric Mas bridged back over to Pogačar,” Pickering said. “I don’t think anyone’s done that since Vingegaard in the Tour.”

“So I think you have to look at it like that and really respect what Enric Mas has done. Fair play to him. He was the best.”

Pickering was equally clear when asked what it is like trying to win races in an era increasingly shaped by Pogačar.

“If you’re boxing, you want to fight the world champion. You don’t want to fight some guy who’s 0 and 26,” he said. “You want to take on the big dogs. You can’t live in fear of a guy.”

Rather than accepting Pogačar’s dominance, Pickering believes riders have to keep searching for ways to beat him.

“You have to figure out ways you can win a stage or even win a GC with this guy in the race because, whether you like it or not, he’s here to stay and he’s bloody good at what he does.”

“But that’s him. You don’t have control over what he does. He might have control over what the race does, but it’s up to you as the individual to take the opportunity.”

Pogačar’s absence will also change the picture at the World Championships in Montréal, where Pickering is backing the British contenders.

“I’m a Pom as you lot say, so I’d have to back my own and say Pidcock,” he said. “Yates and Pidders [Pidcock] are pretty hot, so being a Pom I have to back my own.”

Listen to the full Hotseat podcast with Finaly Pickering 👇