"It's good to win here in France, before the Tour" - Juan Ayuso's confidence boosted by Faun-Ardèche Classic victory
Cycling
2024 could be a defining year in the career of UAE Team Emirates' Juan Ayuso. The 21-year-old Spaniard had already started brightly and can now add a Faun-Ardèche Classic victory to his palmares.
The reason why this is such a big year in the career of the prodigious Spanish talent... For the first time in his career, Ayuso takes on the Tour de France later this summer as part of an all-star UAE Team Emirates lineup alongside the likes of Tadej Pogacar, Adam Yates and Joao Almeida.
Therefore, some early season success on French soil is understandably a big confidence booster for Ayuso at this early stage of the campaign. “I like this race. I did it a few years ago and my teammate won (Brandon McNulty in 2022 ed.)," reflected Ayuso in his post-race interview.
Coming into the finale in a top quality, four-man group with Romain Gregoire, Mattias Skjelmose and Felix Gall, with the peloton chasing hard, Ayuso managed to hold off all his rivals for the 5th win of his career. "I’m happy, my teammates did a great job all day," he concludes. "It's good to win here, in France, before the Tour."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
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💥🔥 Felicidades @juann_ayuso 🤩! Well done Juan! #WeAreUAE #BDA24
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