Enric Mas took as many podiums at the Vuelta a España as Primoz Roglic did overall, but the Movistar team leader admitted it was not the result he was looking for.

He was able to distance himself from Roglic on several climbs and mountain finishes, but could only manage third overall, 3:13 behind the Slovenian and 37 seconds behind second place Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R).

Mas started the Vuelta hoping for a win.

“I'm not satisfied, and that's the truth,” Mas said.

“The team sacrificed themselves in the race for me from the beginning to the end.

“I came close to a couple of stage wins, but if I had been able to beat Primorsch in one of them, I would have gone home feeling much better.

In the final time trial, Mass held on to third place overall, but was unable to push O'Connor away, despite a nine-second gap between the two before the final stage. Contrary to expectations, O'Connor had a much better race than Mas in Madrid, and as a result, the Australian's final advantage over the Spaniard increased to 37 seconds. O'Connor said, “Before the TT I felt like I could have done better, but after the first kilometer I quickly realized that this wasn't going to be my stage.”

“Given my light weight and the fact that the time trial was flat, it was my worst day in the Vuelta. But during the race, probably the one I suffered the most in this Vuelta was Ancares, where I was one minute behind Roglic."

Nevertheless, the way Mas pulled away from all competitors in the Hazariñas stage at the end of the first week showed that he was in great shape.

Third place may not have been the result he was looking for, but it helped him regain the Grand Tour momentum he needed after a very difficult Tour de France.

“I don't know what happened in the Tour, but I had a lot of problems. I suffered on the flat and on the climbs, and the first two weeks were very bad,” Mas told Eurosport on Sunday.

“By being patient and keeping my cool, I was able to turn things around in the third week of the Tour. My podium in the Vuelta was thanks to the fact that I got better in the last part of the Tour."

‘I was able to get a podium in the Vuelta,’ he said.

Mas admitted that the Vuelta was more aggressive and attacking than other events. However, the failure to win a stage or finish at the top of the podium meant that he “couldn't capitalize on it.”

After finishing second in 2018, 2021, and 2022, plus third in the Vuelta, the 29-year-old hopes to compete at the world championships in Zurich, where he hopes to compete for the rainbow jersey on the hilly Swiss course.

He then finishes the season at the Italian Classics, which he won at the Giro delle Miglia in October 2022.