Juan Ayuso lands in the Tour de Romandie 2024 in very different conditions than he did in 2023, when it was his first race of the year after a long injury that had kept him out since the 2022 Vuelta a España. Even so, he was able to win the prologue, although he did not perform at a good level in the mountains due to lack of form.
In this article, alongside CiclismoAlDia's Juan Larra, we analyze the reasons why we believe that the young talent of UAE Team Emirates is the great favorite to take the final victory of the Swiss race next Sunday.
1. THE ROUTE
The route of the Tour de Romandie suits him perfectly. Ayuso is one of the best prologue riders in the world and in the short time-trials he performs at a high level. In just 6 days of competition there is a prologue and a 15 km time trial. This is a terrain to take seconds off many rivals that can be decisive. Then, there are two summit finishes that, given how he performed in Tirreno-Adriatico and Itzulia Basque Country, should also suit him to the core.
2. THE RIVALS
The strongest rival at the start of Romandie is his own teammate Adam Yates, who is in poor form and we assume that he will not fight for the final victory. The other big favorite is Jai Hindley, who Ayuso took more than 3 minutes off in the Itzulia and finished ahead at Tirreno-Adriatico. Men like Egan Bernal or Enric Mas should do well, but they will surely lose key seconds in the time trials. His teammate Brandon McNulty in the mountains is inferior to him. Men like Aleksandr Vlasov, Alexey Lutsenko or Lenny Martinez should not be in his league in the mountains.
3. THE TIMING
His time has come. He just won the Itzulia after the withdrawals of Evenepoel, Roglic and Vingegaard. After them (and Pogacar) he should be able to beat anyone. After overcoming a complicated 2023 finishing fourth in the Vuelta a España he has prepared to perfection this campaign and so far he is fulfilling: Great start with victory in Faun-Ardèche Classic and podiums in Andalucía and Laigueglia, second in Tirreno behind Vingegaard and victory in Itzulia. Then he improved his performance in Amstel Gold Race before freezing to death in Flèche Wallonne.
He has never started a season so well and now comes to a race in which he must prove that he is closer than ever to the best in the world. His time has come.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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😱 Juan Ayuso gana la CRI de #TirrenoAdriatico metiéndole 1" a Ganna y 22" a Vingegaard 🥹 Ojo al 2024 que se esta marcando. Como llegue así al Tour, la que pueden montar entre Pogacar y Ayuso
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