Joxean Matxín closes the Juan Ayuso "case": "With 21 years you want a leadership role, but you adapt because Pogacar is the best in the world"
Cycling
Joxean Matxin was asked about Juan Ayuso once again at the Vuelta a España, and it's safe to say that it's case closed for the Spaniard, as the team now move on and focus on his next objectives whilst focusing on Adam Yates in the overall classification.
In words to Relevo, He has made it clear that nothing extraordinary happened in the last Tour de France beyond the normal tensions within a big race and that he will remain with the Emirati squad for sure in 2025 beyond all the rumors that have surfaced in recent weeks.
He makes it clear that there is nothing wrong with him within the team: "What happens is that if you take everything you hear out there, of course.... They are comments, and they have to be seen as just that, comments. It's like if I tell you that I like sparkling water better than still water. That's just an opinion, nothing more".
He also relativizes Almeida's gesture and Yates' statements about the Galibier climb in which the Valencian went back when the team was pulling for Pogacar: "Well, they are circumstances of each moment. When you finish the stage and you have a role in which you consider that, of course there are times when at 200 beats (heartbeat, ed.) you can say something like that, like Almeida made that gesture that day."
On Juan's desire to win, Joxean puts it very normally: "As in life in general. When you are 21 years old, as is the case of Juan Ayuso, you would like to have a better role, possibly a leading role, but obviously you accept that Tadej Pogacar is the best in the world and you adapt to that".
Olympic Games
When Spanish coach Pascual Momparler declared a few days ago that Ayuso was fit for the Games, there were doubts about the theory that Ayuso was not going to the Vuelta because he was not physically fit. Matxín wanted to clarify this by making it clear that it was Ayuso himself who called him after the Games to tell him that he was not feeling well enough to face a three-week Tour:
"Yes, I had lunch with him recently. I have a personal and professional friendship with Juan. He knows that I appreciate him, love him, respect him and value him a lot, just as he knows that, although he retired from the Tour due to an exceptional circumstance, he is 21 years old and bringing him to La Vuelta, to double in two Grand Tours, was not the best of ideas. That's why he was the first reserve. For that reason and also out of respect for my teammates who were already working and preparing to be here. In the end, he called me after the Games and told me, 'Matxo, I'm not even ready to be the first reserve', that is, I'm not here, I don't feel like it. In fact, he couldn't finish the test after the Games".
He doesn't think he will leave: "He has a contract until 2028 and there is a very good feeling, a very very very good feeling. I'm serious".
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- No, it didn't. It has been debunked by the team that there was anything wrong with his feeding. Pogacar went too early and paid the price.maaiikeen31-12-2024
- Strong team around Jonas and pray each day that Tadej forgets to eat in the decisive stages (col du Granon). It also happened this year, stage 11 when Jonas won the sprint (incredible! Tadej was empty).
maria2024202430-12-2024 - Not quite yet I’d say but she could reach and surpass. You probably forgot Vos’ 2 track WC titles that outweigh the total and it has to be said more of PFPs MTB titles are a bit far fetched than Vos but yes they are comparable. It’s strange that with her consistent participation in xc she’s never ever managed to win even one race, Marie Schreiber can at least retire with that achievement ;-)Mistermaumau30-12-2024
- He may be known as “The goat” but I can’t realistically consider him a top ten candidate taking together all forms of cycling. Vos had 28 UCI WC wins, Absalon 33, Schurter 34, MVDP 41 and counting. As far as world championships they are all ahead too Longo, MVDP, PFP, Merckx, de Vlaeminck, TP and at least a half dozen others from long ago are surely higher up, or what criteria are you privileging other than a nickname?Mistermaumau30-12-2024
- and yeah, i’m a ridiculous blowhard for writing THAT MUCH. seriously, f me…OCexile30-12-2024
- this has diverged from being a per se cycling discussion, but that’s cool with me. so i live in the united states. for background, i grew up in southern california, educated at UC Irvine and UC Berkeley, and except for chunks of a 22 year Navy career i’ve lived here most of my life. there are things about this country, the way its social, political, and economic institutions function that IN MY OPINION fail considerably in comparison to other developed democracies. BUT, one thing that i think the US does excel in is that we have an extraordinarily high level of freedom of speech. now, that certainly opens the door for the alex joneses of the world to weaponize/monetize speech in utterly disgusting ways that do actual damage. it also gives freedom to politicians to say that the press is corrupt and should be jailed, like in russia, iran, or venezuela. these are DANGEROUS uses of freedom of speech. but as much as that freedom may imperil the well being of individuals and ideas — like the idea of liberty itself — it’s that freedom that has, over time, marked the SLOW movement toward greater equality and well being. this extreme level of free speech is certainly the primary fundamental right in the united states that has functioned, over time, to actively drive social progress. i mean, quack quack quack, right? the kind of speech that MOST needs protection is UNPOPULAR SPEECH. we KNOW this. but if you can only engage in unpopular speech IN PRIVATE, as you suggested, and be BARRED from a public platform to share those unpopular ideas, then your freedom to speak means very little and the whole project of social change and social progress grinds to a halt. “YES, you can talk about all races being equal to your friends, but you can’t publish any articles making that argument.” “YES, you can say that homosexuality isn’t a dangerous perversion that must be legislated against so long as you ONLY say it to your friends, but you can’t say it on a radio show.” so the problem is, if there’s going to be prior restraint of speech, the only person I’M gonna trust to decide who can say what before they say it is ME. if somebody wants to let me and my friends make all those decisions, then i’m IN. i’d expect a little pushback on that idea though. alex jones would probably like that job, too. lance would love that kind of power i bet. sooooo…. maybe it’s better to just leave things like they are. it’s ugly and messy and people get hurt, but once you SURRENDER that nearly unlimited freedom you’ll never get it back. and yes, society has drawn lines: still can’t threaten to blow up a mosque or share child pornography, etc. — that’s a pretty good idea. but erring on the side of freedom rather than censorship has been critical in preserving valuable free speech rather than seeing it slowly winnowed and legislated away. so yeah, there WILL be another alex jones, neonazis get to deny the holocaust, and lance gets to talk about cycling all he wants. and if you don’t like the source or the content then YOU are free to rail against it, or just not listen. as always, totally appreciate and respect YOUR perspective, brother. and i do get where you’re coming from. there are individuals in the US who have (or are about to have) the biggest platform there is who say things that drive me mad because i find them so dangerous and misleading, but the american version of democracy, with all its notable failings, has survived by preserving freedom of speech in the face of these types, not by limiting it.OCexile30-12-2024
- There is a cyclist, recently retired who raced as a Junior in 1997, and is known as 'The Goat'. Downhill legend, Greg Minnaar......wipperman9530-12-2024
- The road bias of this site shows up as PFP isn't mentioned - who is as successful as Vos, and from memory has more World titles.wipperman9530-12-2024
- his wife was surprisingly accurateabstractengineer30-12-2024
- Its the wrong thing to do the Vuelta after getting exhausted in the TDF. This is going to reduce his career potentialabstractengineer30-12-2024