Before the start of the time trial at the Vuelta, Juan Ayuso clearly expressed his expectation to compete for victory in Valladolid, alongside notable names like Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic, and Filippo Ganna.
However, his hopes didn’t materialize as the UAE Team Emirates leader finished with the seventh-fastest time, trailing the stage winner, Filippo Ganna, by 1 minute and 11 seconds.
After the race, Ayuso reflected on his time trial performance on the Eurosport channel. “I saw Ganna accelerating in the time trial and knew then: no one is going to catch him. It was a very long final straight. I’m quite satisfied with my time. I also had a very good feeling.”
Despite this, the 20-year-old Spanish cyclist lost 55 seconds to Evenepoel and 35 seconds to Roglic, for example. “I’m still satisfied with my performance, although, of course, we always hope for a slightly better time. I’m still competing for the overall victory. It wasn’t a disaster either.”
Ayuso also knows that there are some very challenging mountain stages ahead in the second and third weeks. “There are still many mountain stages to come, and a lot will change. I may have lost some time to the favorites, but this is a good result in itself.”