Juan Ayuso discussion thread

[Ilmaestro99]

I haven't seen a more Guangxi-bound man since Sam Bennett in the old Quickstep days!

Abandoned by the team

 

[Cycling111]

How many riders under 25 do two GTs in a year?
Last year, Carlos Rodriguez and Tiberi and they were exhausted at the Vuelta.

It's not typical for other teams either.

 

[noob]

How many riders under 25 do two GTs in a year?
Last year, Carlos Rodriguez and Tiberi and they were exhausted at the Vuelta.

It's not typical for other teams either.

Almeida did. Even against his own wish. But it also meant he became ill a lot.

 

[houtdffan]

as I said last year, the only races he should do for the remainder of his contract are local crits and an occasional 1.3 race

He needs to be severely punished for his attitude

 

[scribers]

Disastrous season for Ayuso, it looks like. I know he's young, but this feels like a mistake for the team unless he is truly cancerous behind the scenes.

It’s bad in front of the scenes

 

[Krzysztof_O]

as I said last year, the only races he should do for the remainder of his contract are local crits and an occasional 1.3 race

He needs to be severely punished for his attitude

I don't even like Ayuso but what wrong did he do during the Giro? (except crashing and getting stung by a bee)

 

[Berniece]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1930343323132408208

View: https://x.com/laflammerouge16/status/1930343323132408208?t=ei44FHiq8G5wBGZduPS-4Q&s=19

He wants to go for WC. Would be very funny if he actually wins that. He won't of course, but I would be amused.

 

[SafeBet]

I don't even like Ayuso but what wrong did he do during the Giro? (except crashing and getting stung by a bee)

Narratives are more powerful than reality.
He's perceived as the new villain in cycling. At some point fans will probably forget and / or focus on somebody else.

 

[Faserr]

I think it's wrong to comment about the character of Ayuso from a cycling fan perspective. We don't really now.

But its pretty clear for me that Ayuso isn't really liked within the UAE team riders. I also heard this from the cycling magazine podcast. Wegmann and/or Geschke talked to riders within the UAE team and they were happy that Ayuso was out of the Tour to focus on the win of Pog.
It's just not a match anymore. He had his shot at the Giro but it looks like one crashed ruined it. He also doesn't want to be in a role where he solely has to rider for another rider. So there is nothing left for him in this season in a team like UAE. The only climbing tours left are TDS, Dauphine, Tour and Vuelta.

 

[Berniece]

So there is nothing left for him in this season in a team like UAE.

Hopefully both parties understand this and he is able to leave.

 

[Red Rick]

I doubt it. UAE hold all the cards. All they have to lose by keeping Ayuso is rider on GT rider money who only races on GT a year.

UAE don't give a crap about money.

Nobody has leverage to get him out.

 

[Netserk]

How many riders under 25 do two GTs in a year?
Last year, Carlos Rodriguez and Tiberi and they were exhausted at the Vuelta.

It's not typical for other teams either.

Tiberi wasn't exhausted.

 

[Red Rick]

The issue isn't age, the issue is not being good enough to do 2 in a season.

I also am pretty convinced many riders decompress too much after the Giro and so they don't race enough before the Vuelta which makes the Vuelta performance be very high variance.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Tiberi wasn't exhausted.

He was definitely exhausted when he had a heat stroke

 

[scribers]

I don't even like Ayuso but what wrong did he do during the Giro? (except crashing and getting stung by a bee)

Even Bruyneel says sit in the gruppeto a couple of days to recover and help the team retain the overall GC win.

 

[noob]

Even Bruyneel says sit in the gruppeto a couple of days to recover and help the team retain the overall GC win.

Even Brunyel is sometimes wrong...

 

[pastronef]

It also shows a weakness in the calendar. There should be another one week WT hilly race in September or October.

Guangxi?

 

[houtdffan]

maybe the tour of Timbuktu is a good race for him

Last year at the TDF, he was even worse than SVA was in 2021. That is why he should never ride a high level race for the remainder of his contract

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I don't like the Ayuso hate, not one bit. Sure, he doesn't give the "team player" vibes, but he doesn't deserve the level of vitriol he gets from online bullies like mou.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

I think so far Ayuso is 0/1 for teamwork because he rode one mountain stage for Pogačar where he was sandbagging (and he was not there on Stage 2 last year I guess). This Giro he was just the clear leader and they didn‘t want to give up on him, I don‘t think he did anything wrong. People talk like he‘s abandoned his team 100 times.

 

[yaco]

Guangxi?

In Europe. And Guangxi is at the end of the season.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Obvious that he needs to leave, but does UAE want that? I doubt it, but I really hope to see him on Movistar. Already at this point saying that he can't ride the two biggest races left on the calender for a rider like him must be tough. There's literally nothing left outside of the smaller Italians classics, Pologne (lol), I guess Burgos, Canada and then obiovusly Worlds which UAE can't tell him not to take part in, lol.

 

[scribers]

Even Brunyel is sometimes wrong...

Rarely. His take on it is enough considering he’s championed the Ayuso excuse making in the past. Even he knows the inevitable is for Ayuso to lead a team that can fit him exclusively into situations that suit his mentality.

 

[Cycling111]

Rarely. His take on it is enough considering he’s championed the Ayuso excuse making in the past. Even he knows the inevitable is for Ayuso to lead a team that can fit him exclusively into situations that suit his mentality.

That team would be INEOS or Movistar.

I've read some comments on X suggesting LIDL, but I don't think I'd fit in at all.

At LIDL, everyone works for everyone. We've seen Ciccone work for Pedersen. Ayuso would never do that, he wouldn't even throw Molano around like Pogacar did at last year's Giro.

Ayuso needs a team dedicated to him but one that doesn't demand any work in return, and that's the complete opposite of LIDL.

Astana is a team of free spirits. Someone like Almeida would fit in there, not Ayuso.

INEOS has changed its racing style because they don't have a solid leader. We'll see Carlos Rodriguez at TDF, but Bernal and Arensman aren't solid leaders today, which is why they're riding the generals differently. But INEOS is a team that feels more comfortable with riding for a leader.

Movistar would be the other team. They're already riding like this for Enric Mas, who only performs in the Vuelta.

 

[Mako]

Isn't EF claiming they like to work with the difficult characters? Maybe that's the place for him. Wonder why they are never mentioned as possible destination.

Still it feels like the obvious one would be Movistar. I don't get the INEOS vibe from him.