Juan Ayuso blew the doors down when he rode to Vuelta a España third on his grand tour debut at the age of 19. And next time round, he’s looking to go two better and top the podium when he returns to race for red in 2023.
It’s a blazing trajectory that if achieved would put the UAE Emirates sensation on a similar pathway to the teammate he made his “reference point,” the Tour de France-topping Tadej Pogačar .
Can Ayuso amass a palmarès to match Pogačar as he pedals through one of the longest contracts in the WorldTour?
The now-20-year-old has certainly got the ambition that will let us find out – starting at next year’s Vuelta.
“I hope to match or improve [finishing third]. The team is going to support me in it, although I know it’s complicated,” Ayuso told Marca this week.
“Winning ‘La Roja’ would be a very big step compared to 2022, but that is the ambition. I will try to win, even if it is not possible later.”
Also read: Pogačar burst into the grand tour landscape in his rookie WorldTour season when he bulldozed the 2019 Vuelta with three stage wins and third overall.One year later, UAE Emirates handed the Slovenian ace co-leadership alongside Fabio Aru for the post-COVID Tour de France. And the rest, as Primož Roglič knows, is history. ‘Ayuso is a major talent for the future’ Ayuso blazed to third in his Vuelta debut. Can Ayuso follow Pogačar’s path as he heads into his […]
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