Enric Mas has been in red for over a week, but the memory of three previous runner-up finishes at his home grand tour has never been far away. On the eve of the decisive final six stages, one of Spanish cycling’s most decorated voices thinks that ghost can finally be laid to rest.

Speaking on the La Montonera analysis show, Alberto Contador said his early worries about Movistar had disappeared after the way the Spanish team defended the jersey on the Calar Alto summit finish.

“Honestly, when Enric first pulled on red, I was worried. I could see Enric had the legs, but I didn’t know to what extent the team did,” Contador told La Montonera.

“The first important test they had was Calar Alto and they handled it very well. I think Movistar’s critical moment is already behind them.”

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Mas keeps two minutes on Gall

Mas takes a lead of 2:06 over Decathlon CMA CGM’s Felix Gall and 2:10 over Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Primož Roglič into Monday’s rest day, with Richard Carapaz and Oscar Onley the next names on the general classification. The margin survived Sunday’s Stage 15, which organisers cut from 189.7km to 110.2km after temperatures nudged 40°C in Andalucía.

Wout van Aert won that shortened stage from a five-rider group for his second victory of this Vuelta. The GC contenders came home 2:44 behind but together, leaving the top of the standings unchanged from the night before.

Contador sees Decathlon becoming an ally

The most striking part of Contador’s read is not about Mas but about the team ranked second. With Gall down another domestique after Sunday, Contador argued that Decathlon’s incentive to attack has quietly shifted.

“Today they lost one of their men and you could see less eagerness to attack, to pull, because Felix Gall is being left short-handed,” Contador said.

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“Now the Decathlon team are going to be an ally.”

With Roglič only four seconds behind Gall in third, the Austrian and his team now have as much reason to police attacks from behind as to launch them at the red jersey.

“When I talk about Decathlon I’m not only referring to the team, but to Gall. Gall is going to be even more of a domestique than he has been so far,” Contador said.

Jerez time trial and Alguacil still to come

The optimism comes with caveats Movistar cannot afford to ignore. Stage 18’s 32.5km individual time trial between El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez de la Frontera on Thursday, 10 September is a coastal, largely flat effort where Roglič in particular can bite into the buffer, with organisers warning that wind will “play a big role, suiting the powerhouses”.

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Two mountain finishes then close the race. Stage 19 on Friday climbs to Peñas Blancas above Estepona, a day organisers describe as one where the red jersey may not be won but can be lost. Stage 20 on Saturday to Collado del Alguacil is the queen stage: five categorised climbs and 5,041m of vertical gain across 187km. The Alguacil averages 9.8% over 8.3km and is the only ascent classed as especial in the entire race.

Mas, runner-up at the Vuelta in 2018, 2021 and 2022, knows better than anyone how quickly two minutes can disappear on that kind of gradient.

Racing resumes on Tuesday, 8 September with Stage 16, a 186km run from Cortegana to La Rábida / Palos de la Frontera that is one of the flattest days on the route and should give Mas another day in red before the time trial reopens the fight.

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