"He’s going to have a freedom he didn’t have until now" - Juan Ayuso in a position of great potential for former Spanish national coach

We are at the very start of pre-season for all teams, and it’s also time to unveil various races. Pascual Momparler, former head of the Spanish national team, has spoken about the country's biggest hopes for the World Championships and also tackled the Juan Ayuso topic, an interesting rider who has made the move to Lidl-Trek in search of more success - but will he have it?

Momparler, current organizer of the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior, yesterday presented a new edition of his other race, the Benidorm Cyclo-cross World Cup. In that context, in which it was announced that there is now a bid to host the CX World Championships in 2031, he spoke with Marca and reviewed the latest on top Spanish cyclists he knows so well, such as Carlos Rodríguez, Juan Ayuso, and Enric Mas.

He started out very positive about the level of the Spanish riders and Alejandro Valverde’s first year in the big events as his replacement at the helm of the Spanish National Cycling Team: “I think it’s been a very good season, Spanish cyclists have been at a very high level, I think they’ve shown that yes, you can dream of a medal at a European Championship, that yes, you can dream of a medal at a World Championship, I think that’s been done incredibly well.”

Regarding the rider from Granada at INEOS Grenadiers, he lamented his bad luck with injuries in recent times and wished him a speedy recovery: “With the bad taste of all the injuries that Carlos Rodríguez has had. I hope he comes back much stronger and that luck takes him to the top of the podium, where he had gotten us used to seeing him.”

The most significant change in Spanish cycling has undoubtedly been Juan Ayuso’s signing for Lidl–Trek. Momparler offers a curious analysis of his first year away from UAE Team Emirates - XRG with Tadej Pogacar and company:

“Changes are always good; he’s going to have a freedom he didn’t have until now, but he’ll be up against the best team in the world, it won’t be as easy for him to win as he was used to. If he now truly starts winning week-long stage races, we can dream of something very big.”

About Pello Bilbao and Mikel Landa: “Pello and Mikel are two cyclists who have given us so much that we shouldn’t demand anything more from them. Tell them to enjoy this last year because they’re sure to give us some gem and leave us something there.”

He believes that for Enric Mas, changing his calendar and setting aside the Tour de France for the first time in a long while could be very good for the Movistar Team leader: “Enric is coming off an injury; we need to be patient with him. He’s one of the best cyclists we’ve had in Spain, he’s always a podium contender at the Vuelta a España when he’s raced it. So if he recovers well, with a calendar change to the Giro and the Vuelta, he’s going to give us something good too.”

Finally, he told Marca he is against the possible date swap between the Vuelta a España and the Giro d’Italia: “I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think moving the Vuelta a España to May and pushing the Giro back wouldn’t be good for the Vuelta. I think when the Vuelta runs in August it has incredible audiences, and that month works very well for the Vuelta a España. So if I were Javier Guillén, I’d keep things as they are.”