More: "I trust that quite a few are going to 'fall' in the Pyrenees"

"As long as it's hot in Peyragudes and Hautacam, it's going to be an oven, and I love that," said the Movistar Team leader

   MADRID, 18 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish cyclist of the Movistar Team Enric Mas expressed his confidence in climbing positions from tenth in the general classification of the Tour de France because, according to him, many of the riders who precede him in the classification will give in to the intense heat that they will endure in the ascents to the ports of the Pyrenees.

"I am confident that of those five, six or seven that are ahead of me, quite a few will fall due to the hardness of the Pyrenees. The podium is very far away, but we will trust. If we go looking for it, we will have the opportunity to try to win the stage" , he said at a telematic press conference on the last rest day of the French round.

Enric Mas stressed that the two "strong" teams on the Tour, Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates, "have been left with the same number of riders" after the losses of Primoz Roglic and Kruijswijk, and warned that Pogacar " He loves to have fun." "It will be a real show for you and suffering for us," he told the press.

The main reason that Mas used to keep trying to get on the podium is "all the work behind it" and the investment that the Movistar Team has made in holding concentrations. "I trust that in Peyragudes and Hautacam it will be hot, and if it is hot it will be an oven, and I love that," he celebrated.

In his opinion, the Jumbo, "more weakened", and the UAE "can no longer tie up the race as before", although he regretted the 8 minutes lost in the Granon. "It was a 'bitch' for the team. Afterwards, I recovered sensations, but that day was key. This week has been a disaster, I have come for the podium and we will see what happens in the last one. Hopefully many things will happen. For now, it's not what I expected," he admitted.

Eusebio Unzué's pupil recognized that it is difficult for him to go for the podium and see himself tenth, 7 minutes from the 'drawer' on the Champs-Élysées. "We have to play our cards. We know the Pyrenees and we are going to enjoy it. If the podium is not possible, we will have to try to be 'top five' or look for a stage", he indicated.

Mas explained that in recent days he has tried to enter a breakaway, but that the Jumbo has not let him. "Yesterday everything changed because they lost two pillars like Primoz and Steve. There's only one week left, but it's very tough and, if the peloton wants, they can create a big mess," he stressed.

He said he felt "anger", although he acknowledged that the fainting in the Alps has served as "great learning" for the future. "I arrived very well in this Tour, in the time trial some time had gone... It was a bad moment, but thanks to being with them in Alpe d'Huez I recovered. I have to study what happened so that I don't go back to happen in the future," he said.

The Movistar leader acknowledged having a "muscular hangover" that he will try to improve on the rest day to "regain sensations" before the final stretch of the Tour. "We can benefit from this battle between Pogacar and Vingegaard. Geraint will be thinking about something other than the podium. Pogacar and Vingegaard are two 'cracks', may the best man win. It is true that it is two and a half minutes, but it will be a beautiful duel where we can take advantage", he stressed.

He revealed that he does not consult social networks and that he puts "a lot of pressure" on himself. "Because I am one to ask those who are close to me and, for that, I have to ask myself. The self-demand is quite great, that may weigh me down, but to achieve big goals it has to be like that. I am going to continue asking myself a lot to myself and when I finish my sporting career we'll see what happens", he reflected.