Juan Ayuso discussion thread

[red_flanders]

Moderation:

The topic of this thread is Juan Ayuso, not Primoz Roglic.

If you are interested in discussing Roglic, how the design of the Giro affected Roglic, whether Roglic is a good bike handler, how crashes affect the perception of the sport...there are threads for literally all those things. Please take the discussions to those threads.

I'm not suggesting one can't mention Roglic on an Ayuso thread. Of course that's fine, they were competing in the same race and will again. But one cannot derail an Ayuso thread with extended discussions of other riders, with zero content about Ayuso. There's a rule against that.

As you can see, it degenerates into bickering.

Please do not respond to this message. Thank you.

 

[Mako]

I still think he will be riding for Movistar in 2026. Change my mind!

 

[Red Rick]

0 reason for UAE to let him go, 0 reason for anyone to buy him out at inflated price. I don't see why he wouldn't finish his contract.

 

[Mako]

0 reason for UAE to let him go, 0 reason for anyone to buy him out at inflated price. I don't see why he wouldn't finish his contract.

But what good for is a rider that is potentially very unhappy. Why wouldn't he go to a team where he could be the undisputed number#1. Maybe it would be beneficial for both UAE and him to find his luck elsewhere? Pogi is the reigning king and he's no longer the main contender for the usurper, as IDT is the new Wunderkind.

But yeah, it's all just speculation and maybe I'm just looking for the drama.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

But what good for is a rider that is potentially very unhappy. Why wouldn't he go to a team where he could be the undisputed number#1. Maybe it would be beneficial for both UAE and him to find his luck elsewhere? Pogi is the reigning king and he's no longer the main contender for the usurper, as IDT is the new Wunderkind.

But yeah, it's all just speculation and maybe I'm just looking for the drama.

Ayoso isn't a big enough rider to cause any kind of serious issue contractually. If the rider wants to move on, I think it can be easily arranged without too much cash changing hands

 

[Mayomaniac]

Best thing he could do to shut up his detractors is to stay in the race and help Del Toro win the Giro.

 

[Red Rick]

But what good for is a rider that is potentially very unhappy. Why wouldn't he go to a team where he could be the undisputed number#1. Maybe it would be beneficial for both UAE and him to find his luck elsewhere? Pogi is the reigning king and he's no longer the main contender for the usurper, as IDT is the new Wunderkind.

But yeah, it's all just speculation and maybe I'm just looking for the drama.

It seems to me Ayuso gets to lead a GT Pogacar isn't racing every year. Not sure if that's hard coded into their contracts, but if that's the case, I'd feel fine about staying.

Any drama with Del Toro isn't real drama, it's just minor tension and being injured. Again.

Clearly UAE aren't freezing him out of the team. And clearly UAE are still one of the best paying and best performing teams.

I don't see the problem with riding a Pogacar free schedule at all.

 

[Red Rick]

Best thing he could do to shut up his detractors is to stay in the race and help Del Toro win the Giro.

"Best I can do is be injured, get dropped every day and get all the criticism when Del Toro loses the Giro"

 

[theyoungest]

Let's not forget that Broe works for Visma, and before joining its staff.
They have been collaborating with them since 2022.

I feel like they used Ayuso to try to discredit Pogacar.

I remember one of their collaborators saying throughout 2023 that Ayuso should be the leader in 2024 and Pogacar his domestique. Taking out supposed watts to ensure that Ayuso was going to be better in the Tour.

I find it curious that they're criticizing Pogacar's followers here and, on the other hand, praising those in LR who have interests with Visma.
It's clear they've tried to use this to destabilize Pogacar, who is Vingegaard's real rival, not Ayuso.



The big difference is that the Pogacar fans, whom some criticize so much, have no real interests; Broe does have them with Visma, which I find ethically much worse. The rest are fanatical opinions, but we're talking about workers here.

What would you think if a UAE manager or collaborator had been saying that Roglic should be Vingegaard's domestique and using that rivalry to claim that the bad guy isn't Vingegaard, but Rogic it´s a bullye?

That's basically what they've done with the Ayuso-Pogacar situation. They're trying to say how bad Pogacar was, that Ayuso should have been a co-leader, but Ayuso was not because of Pogacar...
That's what happened. Having interests with a team, they've been sowing discord between two riders from another team. They're not fans; they're Visma collaborators.

That's what's worrying, not what anonymous fanatics say.

Yes, it's all been one huge plot by Visma to destabilize Pogacar, by having someone on Lanterne Rouge say Ayuso is better than him. And boy has it worked! Pogacar has been completely destroyed.

 

[Lequack]

A picture is worth a thousand words etc.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

It seems to me Ayuso gets to lead a GT Pogacar isn't racing every year. Not sure if that's hard coded into their contracts, but if that's the case, I'd feel fine about staying.
Any drama with Del Toro isn't real drama, it's just minor tension and being injured. Again.
Clearly UAE aren't freezing him out of the team. And clearly UAE are still one of the best paying and best performing teams.
I don't see the problem with riding a Pogacar free schedule at all.

It's no guarantee that it will stay like this next season. Up until now Ayoso has been the crown prince, being 2nd in line and he got to lead the Pog free Giro. Last year he didnt get to lead a Pog free GT as he did in 2022 and 2023.

If Pogacar wants to go for Tour-Vuelta double next season, I dont see why it should be obvious that Ayoso once again will get leadership in the Giro. I think Almeida will have a stronger case, and maybe even Del Toro (depending on how this Giro ends). If he drops behind Almeida and Del Toro in the hierarchy, there might not be a good GT chance for him next season if Pog wants 2.

I could totally see a scenario for 2026 where Pog do Tour-Vuelta, Del Toro gets to do the Tour with Pog, Almeida gets Giro leadership and Ayoso at best becomes second leader in the Giro and "only" gets to lead a couple of one week races for the rest of the season. For the next Golden Boy that might not be enough.

 

[Tim Cahill]

They should just send exactly the same team to next years Giro because it would be funny, this might be my favourite UAE iteration since Catalunya 2022, maybe include Almeida or of course Mythical Marc for added comedy.

 

[Rackham]

It's no guarantee that it will stay like this next season. Up until now Ayoso has been the crown prince, being 2nd in line and he got to lead the Pog free Giro. Last year he didnt get to lead a Pog free GT as he did in 2022 and 2023.

If Pogacar wants to go for Tour-Vuelta double next season, I dont see why it should be obvious that Ayoso once again will get leadership in the Giro. I think Almeida will have a stronger case, and maybe even Del Toro (depending on how this Giro ends). If he drops behind Almeida and Del Toro in the hierarchy, there might not be a good GT chance for him next season if Pog wants 2.

I could totally see a scenario for 2026 where Pog do Tour-Vuelta, Del Toro gets to do the Tour with Pog, Almeida gets Giro leadership and Ayoso at best becomes second leader in the Giro and "only" gets to lead a couple of one week races for the rest of the season. For the next Golden Boy that might not be enough.

Ayuso is riding with an injury. The gravel stage did a lot of damage to UAE because it also created the false impression than Del Toro was their superior rider here in this Giro. He's not.

But since Ayuso has a bad knee his performance here is not reflective of his actual level. You could also easily extrapolate Almeida's poor performance in last year's Vuelta into something it wasn't because he was sick.

It's up to the teams to understand the how and why when a rider collapses like this and not just go with the various narratives that spawn online whereby people conflate a bad performance with a rider's actual level when there's other factors (like injuries or illness) here.

 

[greyclouds]

They should just send exactly the same team to next years Giro because it would be funny, this might be my favourite UAE iteration since Catalunya 2022, maybe include Almeida or of course Mythical Marc for added comedy.

Almeida, Ayuso and Del Toro as joint leaders. Soler, McNulty and Vine as domestiques + Ivo and Sebas. I would pay good money to watch this.

 

[Offline]

A picture is worth a thousand words etc.

So good

 

[SafeBet]

Stagnation or no stagnation, he has had impressively bad luck in his GTs. Covid in the 2022 Vuelta, completely messed up season hindering him in the 2023 Vuelta, Covid again in last year's Tour and now a knee injury. That's four from four GTs where he has been prevented from performing at 100%. If he was more likeable (and preferably not on UAE) it would have made him a Landa-esque popular underdog.

Not saying you're wrong but if you need everything to go your way to win a GT you're probably destined to win very few of them (or possibly nome). Not getting ill, managing pain, managing bad days, overcoming adversities are all part of the package.

I'm sympathetic toward Ayuso though, he's currently in a tough position being touted as the next big thing, podiuming his first ever GT as a teenager and then never performing at that level again. Must be a nightmare. A change of scenery could probably help him.

 

[Rackham]

A picture is worth a thousand words etc.

 

[HashRouge]

The main problem I see for Ayuso at UAE is that if he has one bad GT in a year, there isn't necessarily a second option for him. On most other teams, his Giro going belly up would be a shame, but at least he'd have another chance in the Tour or Vuelta. We already know Roglic will be at the Tour, for instance, and Landa probably at the Vuelta if he heals well enough.

 

[Netserk]

They should just send exactly the same team to next years Giro because it would be funny, this might be my favourite UAE iteration since Catalunya 2022, maybe include Almeida or of course Mythical Marc for added comedy.

Almeida and Soler instead of Yates and Majka.

 

[SHAD0W93]

If Majka and McNulty finish above, he has no choice but to change teams. I don’t think UAE would give him much besides weak races.

 

[solo80k]

If Majka and McNulty finish above, he has no choice but to change teams. I don’t think UAE would give him much besides weak races.

I bet the mighty Ayuso will become the stage hunter during the remaining stages of this Giro and won't care about GC for his teammate.

 

[bNator]

Best thing he could do to shut up his detractors is to stay in the race and help Del Toro win the Giro.

Yes but he is not going to do that. Because his detractors are right...

 

[noob]

A picture is worth a thousand words etc.

The way Gianetti looks there is quite terrifying

 

[Rou]

It depends on him and his character now if he ruins his career or not. I expect donkey work from him today and the following stages. No stage wins, no trying to stay with the big guns, only helping del Toro. If he is not a loyal teammate he will not get another opportunity from Dracula. His options will be leaving the team or water carrier duties until his contract expires.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Gianetti and Maxtin looking like two high ranking members of the politburo glaring ominously over the ramparts of the Kremlin at a young bureaucrat who failed to meet this months wheat quota. I fear for his future.