A Great Hurdle Cleared: Enric Has Passed His Test, Now It’s Roglič’s Turn!

Why couldn’t Enric Mas reach the top step of the podium for years, what happened on Puerto El Bartolo, how did Pogačar’s departure change the nature of the race, and what is left of Roglič’s cold arithmetic now that the time trial’s asphalt has put everyone in their place?

The Time Trial’s Verdict

For those left face to face with the clock, the asphalt puts everyone in their place!

In an individual race there are no team tactics, the geometry of the peloton no longer works and no one has the luxury of sitting on someone else’s wheel and surviving. Enric, Primož and the rest each had just two rivals on the course: the asphalt and themselves.

And in this brutal, uncompromising test, Enric Mas held on! He defended the red jersey with dignity and took things to the point where the main intrigue of this year’s Vuelta has risen to a completely new level.

We would also like to congratulate the outstanding specialist from Tudor, Switzerland’s Stefan Küng, on his long-awaited stage victory!

The Tudor leader has deserved this triumph for years — how many tenths of a second he has lost at World Championships and Grand Tours, how many unlucky second places and heartbreaks he remembers. Yesterday, the asphalt restored historic justice.

Why Did Mas Stay Short of the Summit?

The hardest thing in sport is not reaching the podium, but crossing the invisible line that separates the eternal runner-up from a true champion. For years Enric Mas stood at that line — three times second at the Vuelta, always close to the leaders, yet something was always missing for him to finally claim the red jersey.

And the reason was never just the time trial.

In the past, Enric’s Achilles’ heel also showed in the mountains: on long, grueling climbs, when the peloton’s “big names” pushed the pace to the limit, Mas could no longer withstand their accelerations at the decisive moment, lost the wheel, and the top step of the podium stayed out of reach.

And let’s face the truth: didn’t this year’s Vuelta start with exactly the same old script? Remember how much Enric was losing to Tadej Pogačar on the very first mountain stages. Fighting the gods really did seem impossible for Enric. Pogačar was racing on another planet, while Mas remained in his usual role of the hopeless chaser.

The Lesson of El Bartolo: When Enric Surprised Pogi

Yet there was one exceptional stage where Enric surprised Pogi himself!

On the brutally hard gravel climb of Puerto El Bartolo, he caught the Slovenian, who had gone ahead, and crested the pass first. True, the stage went to Pogi, who has the sharper sprint, but Enric was with him to the very end! After the finish Tadej himself couldn’t hide his surprise — he even admitted that he was shocked: “He flew past me like a rocket… I really didn’t expect that!”

We won’t speculate whether this was a weakness of a Pogi who had already raced the Tour, him thinking about the third week and the upcoming World Championships, or whether Enric had truly drawn close to the pantheon of the gods. It’s simply that something like this happens very rarely in cycling, and we can’t overlook it.

When the Slovenian phenomenon later left the race after his dramatic crash and the road opened up, it turned out that fighting mere humans was well within Enric’s reach! Since Pogi’s departure, he has been proving every day that no one in the league of mortals is stronger than him today. And yesterday’s time trial became the main seal on this hurdle cleared.

Roglič’s Shattered Arithmetic

After yesterday’s finish, the psychological balance tipped with full weight against Primož Roglič.

The Slovenian’s entire strategy in this year’s race rested on cold, proven arithmetic: maximum energy saving in the mountains, deep defense, minimal losses, and then winning seconds back in the time trial. But when a rival withstands such a blow and keeps the lead, the calculations go out of the window.

Primož knows full well: he will no longer claim a historic fifth red jersey through inertia and his trademark accelerations timed for the final 200 meters. Bonus seconds won’t save him anymore. Roglič’s “bunker” has been shattered!

Now Roglič is the chaser. He will have to forget excessive caution, come out of defense and launch long, risky attacks on those long climbs where any mistake could cost him even his place on the podium.

War Lies Ahead — There Will Be No Madrid Parade This Year!

Enric has passed his hardest test. He has proven that when only mere humans are left on the course, he wears the leader’s jersey fully on merit.

Now it’s Primož Roglič’s turn! Cycling fans have an indescribable third-week drama ahead. What’s more, this year’s Vuelta doesn’t offer the traditional, carefree ceremonial finale — the final stage is a hard, heavy classic, where no one will have any peace and everything can be turned upside down until the very last meter.

When a decorated master is forced to put everything on the line, racing becomes true art and true war.

Will Mas, with the hurdle now behind him, keep his steadiness, or will Roglič prove his legendary character once again?

This article was prepared with Velorbola’s editorial perspective, with the help of modern analytical and digital tools.

Featured image: https://www.lavuelta.es/en/news/2026/stage-18/king-kung-rules-mas-resists/68533