19-year old Juan Ayuso once again narrowly misses on first pro win

Spanish mega-talent Juan Ayuso is drawing closer and closer to his first professional win, and he was within the possibility of obtaining it at the recent Drôme Classic where he finished fourth, after an agressive race that saw him in contention for the win until the final meters of the race.

“The team worked well all day, first to chase the break down and after they put me in a great position when the climbing started. I felt well and I knew I had to try and break the race on the climbs before the final," Ayuso said in a post-race interview. At just 19 years of age Ayuso is one of the most promising riders in the peloton as he is already competitive within strong fields at World Tour level. Last year in the under-23 ranks he dominated the Giro d'Italia and was shortly after hired by UAE Team Emirates who wasted no time in getting him racing with the team, which saw him finished second at the Prueba Villafranca in July behind Luis León Sánchez.

After having a strong start to the season at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana, Ayuso brought his form to France for the weekend and was close to the win at the Drôme Classic. After responding to Jonas Vingegaard's attack that split the race, the Spaniard made his own in the Côte des Roberts which saw the duo heading into the finish to battle between each other for the win.

"At the end I suffered on the flat and arrived empty, but I have no regrets of racing offensively. It was a really strong field so to be up there with those guys and take a result gives me a lot confidence for the next races," he concluded. After having done a lot of work he didn't have the legs in the short hilltop finish at Étoile-sur-Rhône, eventually loosing the wheel of the Dane who went on to win, and also loosing a place in the final podium.

He will return to competition at the Volta a Catalunya, before going on to a supportive role in the Ardennes classics for a stacked UAE Team Emirates.