Juan Ayuso had a strong performance in the 13th stage of the Vuelta a España, finishing fourth at the Col du Tourmalet. Nevertheless, Ayuso found it to be one of the toughest races he has ever done in his career. “I think I’ve never done a race like today,” he said to Eurosport afterward.
“It was a crazy day, very explosive. I spoke with Sepp Kuss on the way, and he said it was like a stage of the Tour de France. Even though I’ve never been in the Tour, I understood what he meant,” he explained. “At first, I didn’t feel well because of the crash yesterday, but as the stage went on, I felt better. I think I’ll be even better tomorrow and can make the race difficult.”
In the final climb, Ayuso had to contend with the Jumbo-Visma battalion, although he indicated that he wasn’t entirely alone. “In the end, I rode with Enric (Mas) and tried to work with him as much as possible against Jumbo-Visma,” he said.