Next Saturday, August 26th, UAE Team Emirates will kick off their participation in the Vuelta a España with the presence of two standout leaders. Both Juan Ayuso and João Almeida have their sights set on securing the overall victory in the final Grand Tour of the year. Alongside them, the team will also feature cyclists like Jay Vine and sprinter Juan Sebastián Molano, among other notable athletes.
Juan Ayuso:
Ayuso made his Grand Tour debut in last year’s Vuelta and immediately clinched the third position. “Last year’s Vuelta was something special,” the Catalan rider shares with the UAE’s official website. “It’s a race I will always remember and it gave me a lot of confidence. We’ve been working really hard as a group in the past months and everything has been going well. The route goes near where I grew up, which makes it even more special.”
“In terms of competition, it will be quite challenging. There are undoubtedly some formidable rivals right from the start. But we feel ready for the challenge. We’re going to employ the same strategy as last year, with two leaders. That proved advantageous, so I believe it’s a good approach. We can’t wait to get racing.”
João Almeida:
Almeida, who secured the fifth position in the 2022 Vuelta a España, is equally eager. “The feeling is good,” the Portuguese rider affirms. “I sense that I’m stronger than I was at this point last year. I think Juan has also improved significantly, so we’re in good shape. Last year, the Vuelta was already a great success for us, so we’re coming back for the same, if not more. We had two cyclists on the Tour podium (Tadej Pogacar and Adam Yates), so why not replicate that in the Vuelta as well? That would be really nice.”
Earlier this year, Almeida secured a third-place finish in the Giro d’Italia. More recently, he clinched the second position in the Tour de Pologne, concluding a mere second behind the overall winner, Matej Mohoric.
UAE Team Emirates Lineup for Vuelta a España 2023:
- João ALMEIDA
- Juan AYUSO
- Rui OLIVEIRA
- Juan Sebastian MOLANO
- Marc SOLER
- Ivo OLIVEIRA
- Finn FISHER-BLACK