"Ayuso's ambition is so big that it can also get in his way" - Dutch pundits on UAE leader's Giro struggles

Juan Ayuso's course towards the Giro d'Italia was closely followed and due to the circumstances that followed throughout the Corsa Rosa, the Spaniard was in the headlines almost everyday. Laurens Ten Dam and Stefan Bolt have talked about the 22-year old and how his ambition may be his biggest enemy.

On the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast, Bolt has argued that "the freedom that Del Toro has naturally appealed much more to the imagination. Ayuso's ambition is so big that it can also get in his way".

"Sports director Fabio Baldato said something similar: Juan has a big ego. And he didn't mean that in a negative way". Different personalities, however the pressure on Ayuso's shoulders was very big, after the controversy that took place at last year's Tour de France, and the high amount of attention from the lively Spanish media bubble.

After not having been given freedom to race the Giro last year - due to Tadej Pogacar's presence, Ayuso was keen on grabbing this opportunity with both hands. Having dominated Tirreno-Adriatico; at Catalunya he finished second to a Primoz Roglic who had now already abandoned the Giro; and with the absence of riders like Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard, it was the perfect opportunity to finally take a Grand Tour victory. 

However a set of crashes led to a knee injury and the pressure was also high, taking into consideration the team's position with Isaac del Toro in the pink jersey but Ayuso's other rivals right on his heels. There was a lot of pressure, which then physically and mentally took a toll on the Spaniard, who lost considerable time on stage 16. Later on, a bee sting in the face ended up bringing to a close his race.

Ten Dam compared Ayuso to a rider he had raced with in the past and saw similar behaviour: "Robert Gesink may have had that a little bit in his early years. In 2009, Denis Menchov won the Giro d'Italia and then went on to the Tour as lead rider. That was Robert's first Tour, and he was already a world-class rider."

"We went to scout a few stages, and I asked Robert 'suppose Menchov gets dropped somewhere on the first climbs, would you wait for him?' Robert said: no, I wouldn't wait. Whereas Menchov said: in my early years, I always had to ride for others, even though I was wearing the white jersey in the Tour."