"For me nothing has changed" - Ayuso reveals Vuelta a Espana plans following stage 6 collapse

Juan Ayuso has addressed the press on the morning of Stage 7 at the Vuelta a España, a brutally hard day in the Pyrenees featuring four major climbs and another summit finish. The 22-year-old from Valencia sought to ease the tension after his collapse on Stage 6, where he conceded more than twelve minutes and fell out of overall contention.

Ayuso explained that the setback came as no surprise. "For me nothing has changed, everything the same as yesterday, I knew how I was coming, now it's going to be a different race for me, I've never raced like this. I think to see myself in the breakaway I'll have to lose more time, but I look good."

When asked what it meant to contest his first grand tour without aiming for the general classification, Ayuso deferred judgment. "We'll see how it goes in a few days and I'll tell you," he replied.

Despite the large deficit, Ayuso acknowledged that rivals may still be wary of letting him up the road. "It depends, but I think I'm not that far back in the overall, so I think they're not going to let, although I'm going to try, but if they don't let me I'll work for Joao, we'll see how he is and whatever he wants to do we'll see what we do."

Looking ahead to today’s stage, Ayuso underlined the severity of the challenge. "It is one of the hardest stages with a lot of altitude and chained climbs," he said, signalling that his role may shift between searching for opportunities and supporting João Almeida, who now carries UAE’s GC ambitions.