Another twist in the Juan Ayuso saga! Spanish national coach refutes UAE claims Ayuso was unfit for La Vuelta: "He told me he was perfect"
Cycling
Juan Ayuso did not go to the 2024 Vuelta a Espana and according to Joxean Matxin, UAE Team Emirates' manager, that was because he was not in the right physical shape after the Tour de France. Was this actually the case though?
Well according to the Spanish national coach, Pascual Momparler, in conversation with Marca, Ayuso was in a more than capable shape and that's exactly why he was taken to the recent Paris Olympic Games. "No, no. Juan Ayuso was perfect. If he came it was because he was perfect. I don't know who he told that he wasn't, but he told me he was perfect. And I don't regret having taken him," the coach explains.
Now of course, Ayuso could have suddenly lost form between the Games and the Vuelta, but it would be surprising if after getting sick at the Tour he arrived in Paris well and then fell off after a day's racing. In any case a Vuelta omission was in turn, good news for the Spanish National Team, which seems to be counting on Ayuso for the upcoming World Championship in Zurich, which is well suited to his characteristics: "From today he is working on having a great World Championship," Momparler reveals. "He is going to Canada. He is testing to do the time trial. Ayuso is one of the riders that, for some time, we have been talking about for him to be in the World Championship".
After seeming discontent within UAE Team Emirates towards Ayuso at the recent Tour de France, where both Joao Almeida and Adam Yates voiced frustrations, we'll see what happens in the coming months. If Pogacar still wants to race 2 Grand Tours a year there is only room for the rest to try to win in the remaining one (for example in the Giro next year if, as it seems, the Slovenian dares to do the Tour-Vuelta double). Right now in the UAE Team Emirates inner rankings, seemingly both Yates and Almeida are ahead of Ayuso in the Grand Tour pecking order.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- 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
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- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
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
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LET’S GO. VAMOS 🇪🇸🔥 #LaVuelta24 #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
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