When Enric Mas slipped past Tadej Pogacar on the final metres of the climb at the Vuelta a Espana, the Spanish rider raised his hand and gestured to the world champion: take it easy on the descent, it's slippery up here. Pogacar did not listen. What followed was a wobble into the rocks at the side of the road, a heart-stopping moment that somehow ended in yet another victory for the man many call the greatest cyclist alive.
The 27-year-old Slovenian took his third stage win of this year's Vuelta on Thursday, out-sprinting Mas to the line after the pair rode down the mountain together through a headwind. But make no mistake — the home rider made him earn it. After Pogacar attacked on the final climb and built a handsome lead, it looked like another trademark solo romp. Then Movistar's Mas reeled him in, overtook him at the summitholiday and claimed maximum points in the king-of-the-mountains classification Television. When Mas sped past him, Pogacar admitted he was "really surprised" — he had been told on the radio he was 40 seconds clear, and nobody had mentioned his rival. "When he passed me, I was a little bit shocked," he said afterwards. "I was happy to be with him for the last 10 km with headwind. I knew I could beat him in the sprint."
That he did, skipping past Mas on the inside of a corner, overcooking the next bend and brushing the small rocks beside the Tarmac before his superb bike-handling skills scrubbed off enough speed to avoid a serious crash. Content to follow Mas down the rest of the descent, the pair then worked together to bury the chasers, and Pogacar's superior sprint did the rest.
The win means Pogacar, already a five-time Tour de France winner and a Giro d'Italia champion, now leads the general classification by three minutes and 34 seconds, with Mas climbing to second overall and jumping above four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic. Roglic finished 46 seconds back in a group with Ramses Debruyne, Richard Carapaz and Felix Gall conserving energy. With six of the twelve stages decided, Pogacar has won half of them.
But the day belonged as much to a young Welshman's courage as to Pogacar's speed. Josh Tarling, whose brother Finlay died two weeks ago aged 19 after a collision with a vehicle in the Tour of Portugal, abandoned the race with about 120km remaining. "Josh Tarling's brave La Vuelta has come to an end and he has decided to stop. We couldn't be prouder," said his team, Netcompany Ineos. Tarling had finished third behind Pogacar and Ethan Hayter in the opening time trial before stepping away.
On Friday the peloton faces a mountainous 149.8km route from Vall d'Alba to Aramon Valdelinares. For Pogacar, who is chasing the Vuelta crown to complete a career set of all three of cycling's biggest stage races, the path to history grows ever shorter — one thrilling, white-knuckle descent at a time.