"Juan Ayuso only rides for Team Ayuso" - Jan Ullrich analyse Vuelta a Espana chaos at UAE

When Jan Ullrich and Rick Zabel discussed current cycling events in their podcast “Ulle & Rick,” two generations came together, the 1997 Tour de France winner and a long-time sprinter from the WorldTour peloton. Their latest episode focused on Juan Ayuso, the 22-year-old Spanish talent whose relationship with his soon to be former team, UAE Team Emirates – XRG, has become increasingly strained.

“Juan Ayuso rides for one team above all else, and that's Team Ayuso,” Rick Zabel succinctly summarized the perception of many observers. The phrase had taken on a life of its own in the peloton, and Ullrich and Zabel used it to highlight the ongoing tension between individual ambition and team loyalty in professional cycling.

Even in the opening stages of the Vuelta a España, Ayuso’s attitude was clear. He did not act as a traditional helper. On the difficult Andorra stage, Ullrich recalled, he was “the only one of the big favorites to drop out immediately.” A day later he responded with a stage victory, but instead of supporting his teammates in the general classification fight, he largely rode for his own benefit.

Zabel summarised the criticism in the podcast: “Up until now, on the stages where he could have helped Almeida, he simply conserved his energy to then go for stage wins. If it doesn't work for Ayuso, then it won't work for anyone else.”

The conflict escalated further on the rest day when UAE issued a press release announcing that Ayuso and the team would part ways. The Spaniard reacted furiously. He explained that there had been an agreement not to publish anything until after the race, so as not to “compromise the sporting aspect and my teammates.” Instead, he said, the statement was meant only to “damage my image.” Ayuso even went as far as to describe the situation as being “like a dictatorship.”

Jan Ullrich, familiar with the inner workings of the sport, placed Ayuso’s behavior in a wider context. “It's been known internally for some time that Ayuso isn't much of a team player,” said the 51-year-old. “A huge talent who needs to be nurtured. But even at last year's Tour de France, it was clear that he always does his own thing a bit.”

He was especially critical of Ayuso’s withdrawal from the 2025 Giro d’Italia after crashes and even a bee sting. “Many professional cyclists have battled through such problems. He could have made a big difference as a helper in the final stages.”

For Ullrich, the lesson was simple: Ayuso was a winning rider with immense ability, but he had yet to understand that helping the team was also part of greatness. “All great champions do that. Even Tadej Pogacar,” he emphasised. “If Ayuso works hard and Almeida wins the Vuelta as a result, it's also his victory. He still has to learn that.”

Zabel, by contrast, showed more patience, pointing to the rider’s youth. “He's only 22, you have to admit that. You're just predisposed to that. I can say the same thing about myself: At that age, I also thought, I want to sprint for myself, I don't want to sprint. That only came later.”

Still, Zabel was clear about the demands of the sport. “If Ayuso gives interviews in which he seems stubborn, he's standing in his own way. Instead, he could say: 'I've made mistakes, I respect Almeida and I'll help him.' Then the game wouldn't be over yet.”

The debate around Ayuso filled the headlines not only because of his behaviour but also because of how competitive the Vuelta had become. “The entire field has shrunk down brutally,” Ullrich noted after the team time trial. Over 24 kilometers, the difference between the winning UAE Emirates squad and the tenth-placed team was little more than half a minute. “There weren't such close gaps in our time,” he added.