Enric Mas extends his lead in the Vuelta after winning 27 seconds in Calar Alto

Enric Mas feeds the granary for the days of famine. After his exhibition in Calar Alto, the leader of the Vuelta increased his advantage by 27 seconds over his main adversaries: Primoz Roglic and Felix Gall. Now, he beats the Slovenian in 1:45 minutes and the Austrian in 2:06. A notable distance, but insufficient to face the time trial on September 10, starting in El Puerto de Santa María and ending in Jerez de la Frontera. An exercise with a flat route that does not benefit the Spanish cyclist.

Experts predict that Mas needs a margin of two minutes to face this stage calmly. But in the event of a setback, the Movistar leader would have two more mountainous days in which they could make up time. There is still the hardest part of the Vuelta.

Enric's objective is to gain time until that date. The most favorable stage for him is Saturday, ending in the port of La Pandera. We must not lose the habit of adding little by little, that is why at the end of the stage at the Almeria summit, the Spaniard was satisfied with the work done and the 27 seconds gained. "I am very happy with the team and proud of my teammates. If we review the stage, we see that they did it perfectly. Those 27 seconds are important for next week, I am happy about that," he stressed.

Enric jumped 11 kilometers from the finish line and overtook Roglic and Gall. ''I was confident before the attack, and in the end the climb was too long, but hey, I enjoyed it. Five years ago we did it in the other direction and I already had good feelings. We also held two training camps here with the team during the winter, it was very hard and now I enjoyed it a little more," he commented, Efe reports.

"This morning's plan on the bus came out at 10, everything we talked about was executed. At the right moment we planned to attack. I felt confident and attacked," he highlighted. "This result will be good for the future, but there is a lot of Vuelta left, nine stages and three high finishes. We have to enjoy," he stressed.

Mas, who revealed that he has made technical changes regarding his position on the bicycle, highlighted his intention to win the Vuelta after adding three second places and one third. "I'm going to try to win the race. I hope to continue enjoying it because I don't always have these legs. I'm enjoying the Vuelta and I'm enjoying it," he stressed.

Before next week's time trial, the race leader admitted Roglic's superiority, but recalled that he and his team will do their job. ''We have to be aware that Primoz Roglic is an Olympic champion. We have to focus on those who remain," he concluded.