At the finish line in Cerler, Ayuso covers his ears. Say whatever you want, I don't want to listen to you.The Spaniard arrived at the Vuelta as the favorite, having replaced Pogacar, almost as if to underline that he will no longer have anything to do with Tadej. Leader with Almeida, difficult to say whether with any right of pre-emptionThe fact is that yesterday in Andorra, on the first uphill arrival not too cruel, Juan returned to the hotel with almost 12 minutes of passive. Short legs or the desire to distance herself from the couple and run her own race despite everything?
Bahrain gives up
Don't speak, I can't hear you. So Ayuso attacked on the first climb and rode alone for an hour, before the other escapees caught up with him.He rode with them, rode with them, shared their fatigue. But with nine kilometers to go and only Marco Frigo at his side, Ayuso shook and left him there.
«I found the worst rider to go in the breakaway with – admits Frigo – we all know what kind of rider Ayuso is. When I saw him and Vine attack, I knew we could get there.. Behind it was clear that the Bahrain Victorious He wouldn't push until the final climb, and then put the victory on the line, knowing that his man in the jersey was vulnerable. This gave us confidence that we could get there. You had to be on the run and I think it was one of the hardest days to be there..To put it in cycling jargon, we cleared out the initial climb well."
500 meters of wasted effort
In the attacking group, when on the penultimate climb Jay Vine tried to break away, Frigo must have thought that the Australian would repeat what he had managed yesterday in Andorra.Attack at the top of the climb, kamikaze descent, and final climb in the lead to the finish.
«In reality it could have been dangerous – confirms the Vicenza native of Israel Premiertech – that he went ahead and a small group remained behind with Ayuso who did not cooperate. So I decided to follow him and in a moment downhill and then in the valley we could have gained a minute. Obviously then we realized he was working for Ayuso and at that moment I also... the frustration of having run 500 meters at full speed to catch him and it was no use».
Five kilos difference
Ayuso attacked and Frigo followed. The final climb continued in steps on which the five kilo difference between Ayuso and Frigo (65 for the Spanish, 70 for the Italian) they risked turning into another difficult step to overcome.
«I'm sincere – explains Frigo – when he attacked at the foot of the climb, I was fine and that's why I managed to get back down. Even when we were shooting, I started to cooperate because I thought I was fine and I had good feelings. But in the end, maybe he bluffed a little, I don't know. The fact is that when he did the second attack, he left me there. I tried to get into my rhythm and for a while I managed to keep him within range, but I was slowly fading awayI saw García coming in and I knew he could give me a hand, but in the meantime Ayuso has become uncatchable. It must be said that probably right there in front, after Pedersen, I was the heaviest oneThere were some spots on the climb where you could breathe, but when it got higher, it got really steep and obviously my weight and height didn't help me..."
The Bitterness of Frigo
He says and emphasizes that he wants to keep his head on the Vuelta, without anything that could rob him of his concentration. The World Championships and European Championships, if they take place, will also be held after the Spanish race. After the team time trial, in which the team was slowed down due to a pro-Palestinian protest, in the evening Marco would have felt like giving upHe said it to Andrea Berton's microphones and he repeats it here with us now.
«Overcoming what happened in the team time trial – he says – It was tough, I'm honest, I haven't gotten over it yet.. Precisely because perhaps it was the escalation of a situation that I had been carrying around for a while and it forced me to face reality as it is. It will take time to put a stop to this or other decisions will have to be made.But in the meantime I have to concentrate and that's what I'm trying to do and what I probably managed to do better today than yesterday. To think that I'm here at the Vuelta and focus on myself, about the sacrifices I made to have this leg and not waste it just because there are people who are unaware of the situation and the fact that our team is a private entity."
We'll try again on Sunday
And if we have to talk about Vuelta, the analysis starts briefly from second place behind AyusoTo understand whether a second place is the biggest joke or just okay.
«I already finished second last year too – Frigo recalls – behind Ben O'Connor who was in amazing form. I know my potential well and finishing second behind Ayuso is still a good result, a sign that he has the legsMaybe I need to play it differently, on a less steep final climb where the gradient doesn't work against me. Today I left behind me many climbers who were in the breakaway, so with a slightly less steep finish or with a flat finish, I could have played it differently."
He just… drew Sunday's stage at Valdezcaray Shopping Station e we can bet that we will find him in front of us once again. For this evening, the time has come to answer the messages from home, after the phone in this valley leading to the hotel was cut off from the world for almost an hour.
