The Kigali 2025 World Championships is gradually approaching its grand finale. The Rwandan edition of the worlds will culminate with the main course, the elite men's road race. There, Juan Ayuso will be the Spanish leader in Alejandro Valverde's team. But will he be able to aspire to the gold medal, and therefore defeat Tadej Pogacar?
At the moment, despite Pogacar's heavy defeat against Remco Evenepoel in the time-trial (he was doubled by the Belgian and fell 1 second short of the medals), the Slovenian is still the big favorite for victory. For the UAE Team Emirates XRG star, there is no other possible scenario than to revalidate his title as world road champion.
But there is no other than the gold medal for Juan Ayuso himself. This is how clear he made it in his first statements to the media in Kigali: "Yes I see myself in the rainbow, I would be lying if I said no, it is a dream. There are many factors, but if I were not convinced, I would not go. Here I do not sign the silver medal. With the team we have and representing Spain, we have to go for everything".
Is it possible to dream that the soon-to-be Lidl-Trek rider (the team he will join after leaving UAE at the end of 2025) can beat Tadej Pogacar? There are 3 strong reasons to believe so.
1. The "wow" factor
First of all, it is clear that Juan Ayuso is not Tadej Pogacar's main threat. The Slovenian will be thinking primarily of Remco Evenepoel whilst the likes of Richard Carapaz and Isaac del Toro loom as the most obvious threats. It may not be easy to control a race where so many have ambitions, the roads are hard to chase and even within Slovenia it's not clear what the tactics will be.
2. Pogacar is not at his best
The current situation of Tadej Pogacar must also be taken into account. The Slovenian does not seem to be at the same level as last year, when he won the World Championships in Zurich with a historic attack with more than 100 kilometers to go that ultimately succeeded.
The UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader revealed after the GP de Montréal that he finished the Canadian classics of the World Tour with minor discomfort. Then, in the World Championships time-trial, it became clear that he hadn't landed in Kigali as he would have liked. He missed out on the medals by a second and left an image for history when he was even overtaken by Remco Evenepoel on the road, something unthinkable at the start of the day.
He may then amaze the world with one of his typical solo rides, but there is reason to believe that, given his form, the race will be tighter than expected. And there Juan Ayuso will have plenty of chances to fight for the gold, specially if it becomes very tactical.
3. Juan Ayuso prepared for the World Championships at La Vuelta
Lastly, and perhaps the most important, is the one that has to do with Juan Ayuso's preparation for the World Championships. The Spaniard rode with UAE Team Emirates XRG in the Vuelta a España, but did not contest for the overall classification and took it easy on several days. He focused on himself, looking for his stage victories in the mountains to regain sensations, and thus arrive at the Kigali event saving a lot of energy.
In addition, Jay Vine made it very clear at the World Time Trial (where he was 2nd and, therefore, silver medalist) that the Vuelta a España is a great preparation for the world championships. Juan Ayuso is expected to take the start on Sunday at 100% of his capabilities...
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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