Enric Mas avoids main downhill crash throughout morale-boosting Vuelta a España assault

On the high-speed, remaining descent of stage 9 of the Vuelta a España, Enric Mas (Movistar) got here inside a whisker of a serious crash because the headwind caught his bike and the Spanish GC contender all however skidded off-course.

In a heart-stopping second for TV viewers, cameras confirmed how Mas wobbled spectacularly to his proper and seemed like he would fall.

But fortunately, the sudden distancing of the continual crash boundaries working parallel alongside the highway working down the facet of the mountain meant the Movistar racer had the house essential to regain management of his bike. 

Fifty metres earlier than or after that time on the descent, a crash at excessive velocity would have been inevitable for Mas. But as a substitute, he might proceed with a breakaway effort began on the Alto de Hazallanas, which noticed him achieve almost a minute at one level on prime general favorite Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

Three occasions a runner-up within the Vuelta a España and second the day earlier than at Cazorla, Mas was lastly reeled in by the Roglič group close to the end in Granada. But whereas he mentioned afterwards the near-crash had seemed worse than it actually was, he recognised he had been extraordinarily fortunate – and that his situation continues to bode nicely, too, for the remainder of the Vuelta.

“I believe on TV it seemed scarier than it actually was, mainly the wind blew me off track,” Mas advised reporters after stage 9.

“But simply as nicely I didn’t fall and that that further house with gravel subsequent to the highway was there, as a result of it might have been a extremely nasty crash. I don’t know if it was the roads or the wind, however I had a couple of scary moments on the descents generally, significantly after I was off the entrance on my own.

“That specific one, I needed to vary my line and I went off track. Just as nicely that little bit of gravel was there. I’m very grateful I didn’t fall.”

Overall, in any case, Mas recognised his Vuelta was going nicely to this point. He was capable of stick to Roglič each on stage 4 to Villuercas and on the second summit end in Cazorla, and is presently working fourth general, 4:35 again of race chief Ben O’Conner (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale).

“I’m happy with the emotions than the rest,” Mas mentioned about his unprecedented capability to drop Roglič in a mountain stage within the Vuelta. ”Finally my transfer was extra attention-grabbing as a spectacle than gaining time, although if we’d had a summit end in the present day, it’d have been a distinct story. I simply hope on finishes like at Lagos de Covadonga issues work out otherwise.”

Mas recognised that with so many switches within the narrative on this 12 months’s Vuelta a España, the race was large open to date, and it was, he argued, “rather more attention-grabbing than the Tour de France”.

“I began the day with the goal of attacking however I didn’t know whether or not to go for it the primary or the second time spherical Hazallanas,” he mentioned.

“When I noticed there was a second of weak point [in the peloton of favourites, I went for it. But the strongest on the climbs today was [stage winner] Adam Yates.”

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