"It's not normal for someone to be that good" - Juan Ayuso lauds Tadej Pogacar as cycling's Lionel Messi

Tadej Pogacar has earned himself the reputation as the leading the light of his generation, thanks to some epic performances over the last few years. Whether or not the Slovenian is the greatest of all-time is a question that will likely never see a unanimous response from fans, but according to UAE Team Emirates - XRG teammate Juan Ayuso, Pogacar is the cycling equivalent of football genius Lionel Messi.

In a pre-Giro d'Italia interview with Wieler Revue, Ayuso spoke in depth about his goals for the future and working alongside the current world champion at UAE. "I actually see myself more as a climber. Time trials are crucial for a general classification rider, because in the mountains it’s harder to gain back one or two minutes,” the Spaniard says of himself, as he looks to take the next step in 2025 with a potential Maglia Rosa win in Italy. “It’s definitely an advantage, but I also want to become a better climber to close the gap to guys like Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Primoz Roglic."

Notably, Ayuso doesn't mention his teammate there, and that isn't a lapse in memory either. "No, I’m not mentioning Pogacar. If I say I want to be better than him, it turns into a media circus,” jokes the 22-year-old. “But of course, my dream is to become the best rider in the world. To be like him someday. Still, let’s be clear - I don’t see him as a rival. He’s the benchmark, the one every rider wants to reach."

Ayuso and Pogacar haven't raced together all that often compared to some other UAE teammates. At the 2024 Tour de France, when the pair were together, things didn't exactly go to plan for Ayuso either. "Not being able to support him in last year’s Tour de France was tough," he admits. "But our relationship is totally fine. We’ve talked about it privately, and he understood.”

And ultimately, it seems as if there is a lot of respect from Ayuso towards his superstar teammate. “It’s true we’re one of the best teams in the world, and that means I’ve got a lot of strong teammates. If you want an opportunity, you have to prove yourself. If someone else is better, then you help them. That pushes everyone to perform at a higher level. Only Tadej is the undisputed team leader," he explains. "Everything is a little easier for him, haha."

"He’s simply the best rider in the world and he makes it all look so effortless. Friends outside of cycling sometimes ask me if it’s normal for someone to be that good. It’s not," concludes Ayuso. "What he does is like Lionel Messi dribbling past everyone as if they weren’t there. Messi makes it look easy - and in cycling, Tadej is our Messi.”