When it comes to being on the same finisher’s podium as Tadej Pogačar, but in a completely different league, even before this year’s Volta a Catalunya, Mikel Landa knew the feeling only too well.
In last year’s Flèche Wallonne, when Landa claimed third behind a triumphant Pogačar and second-placed Mattias Skjelmose, the Basque already coined the phrase – at least where the Slovenian was concerned – as being “among the first of the mortals” to finish behind Pogačar.
Fast forward 11 months and Landa is currently running strongly as “first mortal” behind Pogačar again, having placed second on both Pyrenean summit finishes, and lying second overall.
The Basque was even courageous enough to put his Soudal-QuickStep teammates on the front on the lower slopes of the Port Ainé and launch his first attack at 7.5 kilometres to go – only for Pogačar not only to match his move, but better it.
That said, in his long lone drive to the summit behind Pogačar, Landa then fended off a counter-attack by Sepp Kuss (Visma-Landa) and crossed the line solo to buttress his second place overall by a further 28 seconds on Alexandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe).
Not a bad day at the office, then, even if Pogačar remains unassailable. And as Landa told reporters afterwards, after three stages of seven, he was all but convinced second overall and “first mortal” was going to be as good as it could get this week in Catalunya.
“I’m happy, the objective is to gain time on whoever’s running third and I did that. Unfortunately, Pogačar is here, and that means victory will be really difficult,” Landa with his usual refreshing unwillingness to beat around the bush, said at the line.
Landa was not, he said, trying to make the most of being in great form when he put his teammates to work ahead of Pogačar and then attacked himself. Rather after Tuesday’s fine climbing performance, he felt morally rather than physically obliged to give it a go.
“Whether I felt good or not wasn’t the point,” Landa said. “It was more that after yesterday, I had to try. If we didn’t do it, I don’t know who could have and it was better to take the initiative.
“I knew Pogačar would react immediately, and I hoped to stay with him until closer to the finish, and maybe hold on for long for longer. But right from the start, I couldn’t.”
Asked directly if Pogačar was impossible to follow, Landa did not hesitate before agreeing, albeit with a bit of qualification.
“That’s particularly the case when there are eight kilometres to go. Maybe it’s possible when there are three kilometres to go, or you can try at least. But not with eight.”
Landa was not, he said, thinking about using the Volta a Catalunya to build for the Itzulia Basque Country, his home race which has always been one of his goals and where he took second last year behind another major star who was also seemingly impossible to beat: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike). Rather he was looking to make the most of his good form to go for a top result in the here and now.
“First let’s finish here. There’s still a long way to Barcelona, and then I’ll plan for Itzulia. But first, I want to defend my second place overall.”
