During the first week of the Vuelta a España, the main protagonists were the Jumbo-Visma team members and Remco Evenepoel. However, it is important to note that Juan Ayuso, the 20-year-old Spaniard, is also demonstrating a remarkable performance. Ayuso has not made any mistakes so far, currently holding the ninth position in the overall classification, and his confidence is clearly high.
During the first rest day of the Vuelta a España, the Spanish rider was able to respond to press inquiries regarding his prospects for the 10th stage and the remainder of the competition.
The time trial in Valladolid appears to be a crucial stage for the overall classification, but the young Spanish rider is not worried and doesn’t hide his ambitions. “It will be a very important day. There are significant mountain stages ahead, but in other Grand Tours, we’ve seen that the differences made in the time trial are often difficult to repair.”
It’s worth noting that Juan Ayuso won this year’s time trial at the Tour de Suisse, precisely against the World Champion, Remco Evenepoel, who finished 8 seconds behind the Spanish rider on that occasion.
“I believe I’ve made significant progress in the time trial compared to last year. So, I start with a lot of confidence, although Evenepoel is the clear favorite. I’ll try to compete with him, Primoz Roglic, and Jonas Vingegaard. The goal is to stay close to their time so that I don’t have to make up time in the mountains. That’s extremely challenging.”
Rumors about an alliance with Evenepoel were also addressed.
Ayuso was also asked about his competitors for the overall victory. Is an alliance with someone like Remco Evenepoel a realistic scenario to break the strong Jumbo-Visma block? “We have the same objectives. If I find myself in a situation where I can work with Remco to distance the Jumbos, of course, I won’t let that opportunity slip by.”