Juan Ayuso was content after the conclusion of the 6th stage of the Vuelta a España. The Spanish climber couldn’t keep up with Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard, but by the end of the stage, he only conceded seven seconds to the Jumbo-Visma pair. “That’s something to be happy about.”
“It was truly a brutal stage. We were on the attack from the start. Due to the early breakaway, teams immediately had to work hard. You also start to feel the altitude after a while,” Ayuso told the Spanish newspaper AS. “I felt good on the final climb, but when Roglic attacked, I couldn’t close the gap. After Vingegaard’s acceleration, I decided to set my own pace.”
“I’m happy because they didn’t put much time on me. On the other hand, I managed to gain some time compared to other riders, so that’s something to be happy about. I think it was a good day.” The UAE Team Emirates lost Jay Vine, the main domestique of the Ayuso/Almeida duo, during the 6th stage. “That’s unfortunate. With him, we could have competed against Jumbo-Visma.”