Enric Mas will be again the leader of Movistar at the Tour de France, despite his lack of shape at the Criterium du Dauphine.
Mas was only seventeenth in the final standings, almost nine minutes behind overall winner Jonas Vingegaard. However, Leonardo Piepoli who currently works as a coach at Movistar, has an explanation for this.
“In the beginning there was some nervousness, but eventually we discovered that something was wrong,” the Italian says. “Enric suffered from dysentery, but he didn’t tell us before because he feared that he would look like making excuses.”
“At least we now have a plausible explanation and can work in the right direction again,” says Piepoli. “We don’t make a drama out of it, although we shouldn’t look for excuses now either. We’re all convinced it was because of his gut. We now have to remember the positive things.”
“Dauphine was necessary to take the next step towards the Tour. Enric has never ridden well at the Dauphine, but has always done well at the Tour. It is better for this to happen now than in the Tour.”
