UAE Team Emirates makes no secret of the fact that its main objective for 2024 is to recover the Maillot Jaune in the Tour de France, for which the team will take what is being called the “Dream Team” to the competition.
Juan Ayuso, one of UAE Team Emirates’ top cyclists in France, revealed his excitement about his debut in the Tour. In an interview with Belgian website In de Leiderstrui, the Spaniard stated: “I asked the team to participate in the Tour. I’m excited for my debut, a dream come true.”
Childhood dream
“For the last two years, I have focused on the Vuelta a España, but the Tour de France is something I have always dreamed of since childhood. Now is the right time to try.”
“I believe I took a step in 2023 and I hope to do it again in 2024, to be ready for my debut. I’ve seen Contador, Valverde, Rodriguez at the Tour… Racing there and racing against the best gives a lot of motivation, emotion and hope.”
Change of role in the Tour de France
When asked if he finds it difficult to race, with Pogacar now as leader, after two Vueltas, where he was leader, the Spaniard shakes his head. “Of course, Tadej is the leader, but we already saw in the 2023 Vuelta that it is more difficult to compete against three than against one.”
“Vingegaard, Roglic and Kuss had a bizarre level there, but if they had raced without each other we would have had a different race. We have to remember this for the Tour: Tadej is our leader, but we can play other cards to put pressure on other teams”, concludes the Spaniard.
Very strong team
And so UAE-Team Emirates will send a strong team to the Tour de France. Yates, Almeida, Ayuso, but also Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler, Tim Wellens and Nils Politt will support Pogacar.
“It’s a very strong team. I’m even shocked at how strong we can be. Everyone knows that the competition is also very strong, so we have to work together and try to win the Tour.”
“With Tadej, Adam, João and I, we probably have one of the strongest teams on the Tour, ever and if we work well and help each other, we can use that as a big advantage.”