BENIDORM (Spain) – Before Roglic, Juan Ayuso made his declaration of love to the Giro d'ItaliaIt was Matxin, the chief of the technicians of the UAE Team Emirates to announce his participation, and the Spaniard confirmed it immediately afterwards. He'll be coming to the Giro to try to win it, as he did in 2021 among the under-23s. The knot that remains to be untied concerns the possible presence of Pogacar, who will wait until December 19th and the presentation of the Vuelta to decide. It's clear that everything would change then, but when discussing it, Ayuso downplays it and moves on.
Third place at the 2022 Vuelta seems a long way off. Subsequent knee problems and fourth place in 2023 confirmed that he has plenty of substance, while The withdrawal from the last Tour with some smudges in the relationships with his teammates has left a question mark which the Giro could resolve once and for all.
«I'm going to the Giro – smiles Ayuso – if Tadej comes too, then there will be two of us and it won't be a problem. I'm completely focused on the Giro, it's one of the biggest goals for next seasonIn terms of preparation, nothing changes for me. You always prepare to the best of your ability, in the best possible way. If Tadej were there, we would race in one way; if he isn't, everything would change, but the focus on the Giro doesn't change."
That was the theme of 2024, being on a team with so many leaders and not having your own space. Do you ever feel overwhelmed?
I wouldn't use these terms, but it's true that we are one of the best teams in the world So I have many very high-level teammates. This raises everyone's level, because If you want a chance, you have to prove yourself worthy, you can't just ask for it., because there might be riders better than you. So I think that's also motivation, knowing you have to keep working and you can't relax.
Talking about the Giro with Tadej, were you able to get any advice from him?
I think everything is easier for Tadej than for any of us, so it's quite difficult to get advice. He's the best in the world and everything he does makes it look easier than it actually is.I have a lot of friends outside of cycling who don't watch racing much. Then they see Tadej doing certain things and they think it's normal. And I tell him he's not. Tadej Pogacar is a good guy to have around and it's better to have him on your side than as an adversary.
Can you explain why everything comes so easily to him?
Because it's the best in the world. It's like when you see Messi with the ball and how he spins around everyoneThat might seem easy, but then you see everyone else and realize they can't do it. I think he's like Messi in cycling.
You both have long-term contracts, so you'll have Tadej around for the rest of your career. What do you think will happen in a year or two?
If he is considered the best rider in the world today, I guess to do better I'll have to take his place.But if I were to venture something like that, who knows what you in the press would say. So I'll limit myself to saying that one day I'd like to be better than him, because he's the best rider in the world. I dream of being like him, so to achieve that I would have to beat him. Obviously I don't want this to create a misunderstanding because Tadej is not a rival, but my yardstick. He sets the bar and you have to try to reach it.
After the Tour there were rumours that there was bad blood between you two…
La relationship between us It's perfectly normal. We spent a lot of time together, especially this year, preparing for the Tour. And also last year, when he was training for the Tour and I was training for the Tour de Suisse. We spent a lot of time in retreat and this creates friendshipsIt was difficult for me not to be able to help him at the Tour, mentally I felt unable to show what I was capable of doing. We talked about it privately and I think he understood the situation. I really appreciate him for this, because even though he's a champion, he always takes his time with these details. And as for the contract, I'm happy now and I don't need to think about it.
When did this conversation between you take place?
After leaving the Tour, the next time I saw Tadej was in Canada. I wanted to tell him that what had come out in the press was not true and I wanted him to hear it directly from me. But I also thanked him for a couple of things I was very grateful for, and then we called it a day, because I thought he understood perfectly what I wanted to tell him.
Becoming the best in the world is quite a climb, where do you see you need to improve the most?
For now I think about every little aspect. I would like to improve more in climbing because I consider myself a climber, but if I look at my victories, half of them came on the time trial bike. It's strange, but if you want to win a general classification, you also have to go fast against the clock. Now it's difficult for me to make up a minute or two on climbs, but I can earn them in the time trial and that works in my favorBut if I want to try to close the gap to riders like Vingegaard, Remco, and Roglic, I absolutely have to become a better climber.
Doesn't that mean putting too much pressure on yourself?
The pressure you put on yourself isn't the same as the pressure you get from the environment. When I went to the Tour, I wanted to do my best and Having this kind of motivation is very important because it's what I've been doing since I was littleIt's a plus that motivates me more.
Will you change your preparation?
I can't say the details yet, but maybe there will be more work. So far, also because of my age, I probably didn't train the same number of hours as othersSo one aspect will be to try to increase the overall hours, then intervening with specific work. There are various types of mythology about the types of training, but I prefer to stick to what I think has really worked for me. On the other hand, I think that It would be a mistake to do 20 years of career the same way, so I want to try new things.
You've already won a Giro d'Italia as an U23. What's your relationship with Italy?
The truth is that to do the Giro It brings back so many good memories for me, because I ran for half a year at ColpackFour or five months in Bergamo where I had a great time and the under 23 races I did in Italy allowed me to make a very important leap thanks to which I arrived here with much more confidenceI like running in Italy. Last year Tirreno went well in some ways, but I didn't really enjoy being second, so I hope to go back next year and that Christmas brings me luck and good results.
