Enric Mas misses the Vuelta a España due to a blood clot in his leg.

Nothing seemed to suggest on the way to the top of Ventoux, the Alpine colossus of cycling myths and legends, that Enric Mas, who had emerged as the front-runner after a powerful attack at the foot of the mountain pass, would abandon the Tour de France just one day later due to phlebitis, which, in the midst of the final hurly-burly of the most important race on the planet, seemed to be nothing more than another obstacle—one more—in the Movistar leader's stormy relationship with the Grande Boucle .

“The pain in my left leg was preventing me from pedaling when I pushed it,” the Balearic native lamented hours after getting off the bike. “Seeing that my initial diagnosis was correct, it was a good decision to withdraw from the Tour de France to try to remedy the situation as quickly as possible and aim to arrive at the next races in the best possible condition.”

Less than two weeks later, before those dates even arrived, the worst news was confirmed. The Movistar team announced this Tuesday that Mas, who was aiming to finish another season with the Vuelta a España —he had asked to be released from the World Championships in Rwanda, as he is expecting his second father around that time—will miss the remainder of the season due to thrombophlebitis, which, according to the team, could be post-traumatic in origin.

"This diagnosis requires specific treatment based on rest and the absence of strenuous physical activity," the Navarrese team stated in its statement. "The medical and technical team will continue to closely monitor his progress with the aim of ensuring a full recovery."

Thus, the 30-year-old Balearic cyclist, third in the last edition of the Spanish Grand Tour behind Primoz Roglic and Ben O'Connor, will rest until at least the start of next season. It will be then, with Mas's return, that another of the peloton's biggest names, Belgian Remco Evenepoel, will debut in the colors of his new team, Red Bull Bora-hansgrohe, which confirmed this Tuesday a deal that various sources had been predicting for months.

While it's true that the condition that has left Enric Mas on the sidelines isn't the most common, it's also not uncommon among elite athletes. Athletes such as Pau Gasol, Serena Williams, and, more recently, Victor Wembanyama have had to take long periods of competitive rest due to blood clots in their joints.

Spanish marathon runner Javier Guerra also went through this experience. In the summer of 2016, he was unable to compete in the Rio Olympic Games after being diagnosed with thrombophlebitis shortly after the opening ceremony.

“I'd been experiencing discomfort on the inside of my leg for months, but it wasn't until the Rio parade, after so many hours on my feet, that I really got scared. The doctors saw a blood clot in my ankle, and I had to return to Spain,” he told EL PAÍS. “The tests determined that it was all due to the organic stress caused by high-level competition. I recovered, and that's the most important thing, but I had to sit out running for nearly two months, wearing compression stockings and taking an anticoagulant that I still use today. Ultimately, it was a tough pill to swallow.”