"I think I can be even better on Saturday, so I also want to make it difficult for Jumbo-Visma" - Juan Ayuso doesn't give up yet

Juan Ayuso, together with Enric Mas and Cian Uijtdebroeks, witnessed the dominance of Jumbo-Visma from the first row. The leader of UAE-Team Emirates felt a lot of frustration during the stage where other co-leaders of his team lost significant amount of time, as he admitted afterwards.

"It was a crazy day. It was incredibly explosive, I've never experienced a ride like this before. It was full steam ahead from the start," Ayuso said as he finished the race. "I talked to Sepp Kuss about it and we agreed that this was a Tour-style stage, although I have never ridden the Tour de France. He told me, but I immediately agreed with him. And that was completely new to me, I have never raced like that before."

"I didn't feel great at first, also because of my fall," Ayuso referred to his crash on Wednesday, of which he still suffered some consequences. "But I got better throughout the stage and finished well, so I'm happy with my recovery. "I think I can be even better on Saturday, so I also want to make it difficult for Jumbo-Visma," the Spaniard said eagerly.

The fact that Jumbo-Visma rode so well up the Tourmalet was sometimes a disappointment for Ayuso and co. "It was a bit frustrating, yellow guys were everywhere, so to speak. They attacked, rode in the wheel. It's difficult to race like this, but we'll do our best," he said. Due to the loss of Remco Evenepoel, Ayuso was left with a prize: the youth jersey. "I am happy with the white jersey. Last year I wore it the entire race, but then Evenepoel received it at the end. Now I really have the white jersey."