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Mas and López are in second and third position going into stage 10 and are convinced their teamwork will give them an advantage over Slovenian Roglič when the race resumes after the rest day.
"Both of us have a lot of good options and there’s a lot of racing still to come," López said.
"Racing as a team, though, is critical, because that way for sure we’ll have more chances than if we’re going for it individually.
"We got through the first week in a good place and yesterday [Sunday] there were some big gaps. It was one of those finales that really sets up some key differences. So now we’ll see what lies ahead."
Colombian López finished Sunday’s ninth stage in fifth position, 39 seconds behind teammate Mas who finished in third alongside Roglic who collected second on the stage.
López was unable to match the pace when Mas launched an attack five kilometres out from the finish line but felt it was the best result for the team as he reclaimed third overall in the GC standings.
“We have to work as a team. That’s the only way to work for the red jersey,” López said.
With the second week of racing set to get underway, Movistar will be hoping Mas and Lopez will be able to keep Roglič from stretching his lead at the top.
Mas has warned his team to stay on their game and not focus too much on theories of third-week struggles for the Slovenian.
"We can hope that’d happen, but it’s not just Primož who could have a bad day. We all could have one. When he lost the Tour in 2020 in that final TT he wasn’t really on a bad day - he still beat me by a minute," Mas said.
"Personally, I think he’ll get better in the third week and he’ll still be on top of his game."
Mas says he has never felt so strong in a grand tour and is confident with his form at this stage of the race.
"I’ve never been second in the first rest day of a Grand Tour. I think in the 2019 Tour I was fourth at this point but then I blew. Here my form is different, I’m in great shape," he said.
"And we’ve got to make the most of Miguel Ángel’s good form, too, to try and beat Primož."