Juan Ayuso set for quiet second half of 2025 after Giro d’Italia heartbreak

What began as a season of great promise for Juan Ayuso has quickly unravelled into a long and cautious road to recovery. The 23-year-old Spanish talent entered the 2025 Giro d’Italia as one of the pre-race favourites, but his campaign was derailed by a crash, a young teammate, and eventually, an unusual sting that forced him out of the race altogether.

Now, with UAE Team Emirates – XRG shifting its focus to Tadej Pogacar, Ayuso faces a quiet remainder of the season, and a rebuilding process after what he hoped would be a defining year.

Ayuso showed strong form in the opening week, taking a stage win and sitting well within the GC picture. But it all began to fall apart during the gravel stage to Siena. A crash on the treacherous surface left him with lingering knee pain that would become a constant issue throughout the race. While he initially battled on, the momentum shifted within UAE Team Emirates as young Mexican sensation Isaac Del Toro emerged as the new GC leader.

The symbolic passing of the torch came quietly, but decisively. Ayuso went from protected rider to support act, and eventually to the sidelines altogether after suffering a bizarre bee sting that caused his eye to swell shut. His Giro ended with a DNF and questions about what comes next.

According to AS, Ayuso is now expected to spend several weeks off the bike as he recovers from the inflammation and knee injury that plagued his final days at the Giro. He had prepared solely for the Italian Grand Tour, a race that was meant to be his chance to lead the team without Pogacar in the mix. But with Pogacar now confirmed to lead UAE’s Tour de France campaign, and quite possibly the Vuelta a España too, Ayuso’s role in 2025’s remaining Grand Tours is officially off the table.

Instead, Ayuso will aim to return gradually, with the Spanish National Championships in Sierra Nevada from 26 to 29 June likely to mark his first race back, albeit with low expectations regarding form.

From there, he will line up at the Clasica San Sebastián, a race that historically suits climbers, and build towards what could be his most important goal in the back half of the year: the 2025 World Championships. This year’s Worlds feature a mountainous course that could play into Ayuso’s strengths, assuming he can regain condition.

The autumn calendar may also offer a path to redemption. He is pencilled in to ride key one-day Italian classics such as the Giro dell’Emilia and Tre Valli Varesine, although at present, his participation in Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the season, is uncertain.