Juan Ayuso: "I have made much progress, but I'd rather not talk about it because people will only remind me if I don't perform well later"
Cycling
Juan Ayuso is one of the best climbers in the world and despite being only 22 years of age, he seems to have already gone by several phases in his career. Despite this, he falls victim to lots of criticism, and knows now he should avoid raising expectations to the outside much. The Spaniard however assures that there have been meaningful improvements.
"Normally, I start training intensively in December; this year, it was only in January. I built my form level more slowly, allowing me to get into shape faster than ever," Ayuso said in an interview with In de Leiderstrui. "I feel better than when I started the Tour last year, and I think I can improve even more towards the Giro."
After winning the Drôme Classic and Trofeo Laigueglia as two of his first three days of racing, there's nothing but good signs for the Spaniard who says he has changed training methods this winter and has also put on some more weight then he used to have. His opening time-trial at Tirreno-Adriatico saw him finish second to Filippo Ganna and put himself in pole position for the overall classification.
This week's race will be very important ahead of his big goal of the season: the Giro d'Italia. "I remain an all-rounder and especially want to prove what I achieved in this Tirreno. I want to show myself that I can win such races. If I succeed, I can start thinking about winning the Giro."
At Tirreno and the Volta a Catalunya he will battle against many of his expected rivals at the Corsa Rosa directly and he is confident after perhaps his best winter so far. "I'd rather not show off, but whereas in other years I could always take one step forward, I took three or four this winter," he states. "I have made much progress, but I'd rather not talk about it because people will only remind me if I don't perform well later. However, I would be lying if I said everything was the same as last year. My winter training has paid off, and the metrics are good."
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Team manager Joxean Matxin was also keen on complementing the Spaniard, and pushing to avoid the unnecessary comparisons that put pressure on him and other riders. "Tadej is Tadej, he is unique. But in my opinion, Juan is, too. In Spain, they compare riders to riders like Contador and Indurain, but Juan Ayuso is Juan Ayuso".
"It isn't useful to compare, and that goes for many young guys. If someone rises to the occasion, it is possible that other riders will follow in their footsteps. The level of cycling is growing every year, so we have to keep up."
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- You are completely wrongvappaxbipmv05-04-2025
- Tadej has a little more chance. It will be an exciting race and the most important thing is that no one gets hurt.
maria2024202405-04-2025 - Whatever happens tomorrow... it'll be a hell of a raceslappers6605-04-2025
- Exactly Tadej, the cancer of modern society. Full of good-for-nothing people who gain visibility and importance on social media mocking, humiliating (and worse things) to earn money. But it's the follower's fault, no followers, no "influencers".maria2024202405-04-2025
- Great commentCaralladas05-04-2025
- i’m such a sucker for those group-hug, happy ending moments between competitors, largely because it’s so WASN’T that way in my younger, stronger days. (on that note, i have this hope that somewhere down the road, maybe fifteen or twenty years, a middle aged wout and mathieu will go for a pleasure ride together in flanders, and reminisce about the days when they were the young, strong monsters that stalked the cobbles.)OCexile05-04-2025
- Just like Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Ronde van Vlaanderen was/is NOT on MAX. Get your facts straight.Ben04-04-2025
- You might bounce more for the same power, but not the same speed. Sending 20 kgs over a jump at 20 kph will fly just as far as 10 kgs at the same speed. Again, Galileo demonstrated this.acem8204-04-2025
- So, you're saying that doing a bunch of small hops on a bike is easier if you're heavier? Why do people buy lighter bikes, then? Why do they generally feel better and faster? An appeal to "rhythm" is not helpful either, as the right "rhythm" might be on the lighter or heavier side of things, and as it varies, it's likely a wash either way. Then we are left with the physics truth that it takes less power to lift lighter things than heavier things.acem8204-04-2025
- No, weight doesn't affect the ability to go into the wind at all. It's all CdA vs power at that point. For example, it's "obvious" that a heavier object falls faster than a lighter one. But, absent wind resistance, it's not true (Galileo demonstrated this). An appeal to "obviousness" doesn't matter when the physics is clear. And yes, you have to be able to hold everything else constant, or you can't determine anything! So, imagine a 300 watt rider at 80 kgs with a CdA of 2.0, then imagine that same rider at 70 kgs with a CdA of 2.0. (Assume ideal tire pressure for both, same bike.) Which one can ride over a bumpy road fastest? The lighter one, as he doesn't have to lift as much. That's also why when they test bikes on 5 star cobbled sectors, the MTB goes faster than even a cobble-build road bike. Even though rolling resistance is higher on a flat road, and the CdA is junk, it smooths out the cobbles, allowing the person to not lift as much as they otherwise would.acem8204-04-2025