The 23-year-old Spaniard finishes the race in fourth place overall at his first participation.
Enric Mas capped off a strong week at the Tour de Suisse by notching up his best ever GC result since turning pro, just eight seconds off the podium of the race created back in 1933, a result that maintained Quick-Step Floors at the top of the World Tour standings, more than 2000 points clear of the closest rival.
The final day of the race consisted of a 34km-long individual time trial taking place over an undulating course in the beautiful medieval setting of Bellinzona, the perfect backdrop for one more battle between the general classification contenders at the 82nd edition of the Swiss race. Fourth in the ranking at the start of the day, Enric was among the last riders to roll down the ramp and the 23-year-old Quick-Step Floors rider got off to a solid start, passing through the first intermediate split just a handful of seconds slower than Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb), the only rider to threaten his green jersey.
As the kilometers ticked down, Mas continued to ride a steady tempo and keep his advantage over the Dutchman, cutting back the deficit and even putting time into his rival, before sealing a well-deserved victory in the best young rider classification. Bumped into fifth position in the virtual classification during the stage by Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), Enric bounced back to jump over Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) thanks to a strong finish and retain his fourth place on the race won by Richie Porte (BMC).
"I am really happy about this result. The Tour de Suisse – which was one of my goals this season – was a tough race with many great riders at the start, so to finish fourth overall, so close to the podium, and to take home a jersey gives me a huge boost of confidence for the second part of the season. I also want to thank to my teammates, because without their help it wouldn't have been possible", said Enric Mas after his second top 10 of the year at World Tour level.
"I know I've improved a lot since joining Quick-Step Floors and seeing that all the hard work paid off motivates me even more for my future appointments. We'll see where I will go from here, but the plan is to carry this form into the next races with the hope of getting other good results for the team", concluded Enric, one of the twelve Quick-Step Floors riders to have won a race this year.
Photo credit: ©Heinz Zwicky/ Getty Images
