"If you want to be a superteam, that’s the way forward" - Juan Ayuso reacts to Mattias Skjelmose's skepticism of Lidl-Trek signing
Cycling
One of the big transfer news of this winter is definitely the move of Juan Ayuso to Lidl-Trek, a signing of great quality for the American team as the 23-year old mutually agreed with UAE Team Emirates - XRG to end his contract. However right away this move was met with some resistance from Mattias Skjelmose whom he will team up with, and the Spaniard has now shared his opinion on the matter.
In an interview after learning of the announcement, Skjelmose wasn't too fond of the news in words said to TV2: "Lidl-Trek told me they believe in me. I don't know how it relates to Ayuso coming in. They've been telling me for a couple of years that they want to build a team around me. But I don't think they brought him in as a domestique [...] I don't know how it will work. We have the same goals. If he has some difficulty helping Tadej, then I don't know if he will want to help me in any way if it comes to that".
Naturally for the Dane it came as a relative surprise as he seeks his individual ambitions, and hopes to have full leadership next year at the Giro d'Italia with the American team, but instead of having Jonathan Milan and Mads Pedersen alongside him now (Giulio Ciccone hints at resigning from his Grand Tour ambitions), he will also have in Juan Ayuso a rider of similar level for the three-week races. This can ultimately end the chances of Skjelmose becoming a leader with a team fully backing him up for the Grand Tours.
Former pro Michael Rasmussen was also not understanding of Skjelmose's words in the current context. “There’s no doubt that Ayuso has more star quality than Mattias Skjelmose. He already has a stronger palmarès, and he’s two years younger. Ayuso is far more likely to be a serious contender for the Tour de France podium than Skjelmose will ever be.”
Ayuso responds to the Dane
Talking to Feltet ahead of the European Championships, Ayuso was asked directly about these statements, to which he answered: “I can understand some parts of his reaction. If the team told him 'you are the leader', then it’s natural to feel some frustration. But it’s normal for a top team to keep bringing in strong riders".
The regular argument within the cycling community seems to be that the transfer is logic and is not necessarily detrimental to the ambitions of neither riders. Taking into consideration, as the Spaniard said, that the sport's top teams currently have multiple big Grand Tour options in their teams, it was only a matter of time before Lidl-Trek (in battle with Visma for the second place in the UCI points this year) would take on the same route, as they have budget for such high-level signings.
Ayuso also sees the two benefiting from each other's presences. "You can’t become one of the best with only a single GC contender. Look at UAE, Visma | Lease a Bike or Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, they all have several GC riders. If you want to be a superteam, that’s the way forward. It’s just the natural evolution of a team that invests and believes in its project.”
The two finished sixth and seventh at the recent European Championships, whilst at the World Championships they were also at a similar level. “I don’t know Mattias personally. I only know him from racing against him, which is always different. We’ll see how it goes once we’re teammates," he concluded.
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