“But he hasn’t been at his level, but I don’t think the problem is the pressure”

Patxi Vila attends to this newspaper as soon as the stage is over, from the Movistar car. On the day of his leader’s abandonment, after a disappointing Tour, the Beratarra coach makes no excuses. He admits that Enric Mas has been below his level and acknowledges that the team had no news of his fear of relegation. Movistar’s director of performance is confident that they will be able to reverse the situation before the Vuelta a España, which starts on August 19 in the Netherlands.

– What is the feeling in the Movistar car after the abandonment of its leader?

– No one wants to end like this. Beyond the sporting result, we have come this far fighting as best we could and it is unpleasant to end this way. We wanted to get to Paris, but the balance cannot be positive. It’s hard. Although there are still three stages left, we leave sad. Regardless of the result, which cannot be positive, we have endured as a team trying to compete every day, but in the end we have been left without Erviti and without Mas, after the entire Tour without a previous positive case in the entire race.

– Is the positive for Covid the straw that has broken the camel’s back of a difficult Tour?

– It was a bunch of things. He had a bad time at the Galibier and from then on everything got complicated in a high-level stage. That already forced us to run against the foot since then. In Alpe d’Huez, the next day, he recovered and was with the five in front, which I think is his place. Then in the Pyrenees he has not given his best level.

– In the descent of the Aubisque he was cut off and at the finish line he confessed that he is afraid of descents. Were they aware of the problem?

– The truth is, no. He has suffered three crashes this season that have led to this situation, which we will have to analyze and try to find a solution to. He is not the first cyclist this has happened to, nor will he be the last. I hope we have time before the Tour of Spain to fix it.

– Leaving aside the downhill problem, how would you rate the performance of the Balearic?

– He is a rider with a lot of potential, who has been on the podium in two big tours (Vueltas a España in 2018 and 2021), something that is not within the reach of everyone. Last year, even a high-level Roglic took him on a first-name basis in the Vuelta, but this season, he hasn’t managed to reach that level since the beginning of the season.

– Do you think that being the leader of the only Spanish team on the World Tour creates excessive expectations and puts added pressure on the rider?

– It is clear that being the leader, because Enric is, of Movistar, the only Spanish team in the highest category, is a great responsibility. But I don’t think it’s something that weighs him down. There are other reasons that have influenced why he has not given his level in this Tour. In my opinion, explanations must be sought in factors that are more technical than psychological.

– Do you regret not having taken Alex Aranburu?

– I do not regret. In this Tour there were not so many suitable stages for him, perhaps the last one that Laporte won. But all the others weren’t good for Alex.

– Come back this Saturday to compete. How is the ezkiotarra?

– OK, it’s OK. He is going to race in Wallonia and the Clásica de San Sebastián, which in my opinion are better races for his conditions than this Tour.