"Every day my legs are hurting a little bit more" - Despite inexperience and Covid, Juan Ayuso remains high in GC at Vuelta a Espana
Cycling
19-year old Juan Ayuso keeps breaking boundaries at the Vuelta a Espana, as he completed the second week of the race in flying form, despite currently being infected with Covid-19.
The UAE Team Emirates rider has been impressing throughout the race so far, and yesterday at Sierra Nevada he faced perhaps the most difficult ascent of his pro career. The Spaniard didn't enter the climb in a great position and was - alongside teammate João Almeida - dropped in it's first meters. He managed to get back to the wheel of Carlos Rodríguez within the ascent, and later on was joined by Almeida.
It was a very long climb at nearly 30km and also with altitude. I climbed at my own rhythm – and joined up with Joao, we rode together and thanks to that we were able to finish well-up on the classification today, not at the very front but very close," he described. With some tactical play, the duo dropped Rodríguez and made good time on him, with Ayuso managing to catch up and overtake Remco Evenepoel in the final kilometers of the stage.
"I’m racing day by day, every day my legs are hurting a little bit more but I’m happy where I am and it’s nice to be so close to the podium," he concluded. Ayuso managed to climb to fourth position on the day overtaking his country's national champion, and will be heading into the unknown at the final week.
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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Día durísimo en @lavuelta! 🥵Gracias @TeamEmiratesUAE por el gran trabajo hoy 🙌🏼 Vamos a darlo todo en la última semana 👊🏼 Teamwork makes the dreamwork! Thanks @TeamEmiratesUAE for your help! Let’s give it all in the last week 👊🏼
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