Spanish cycling legend hits at disappointing year for Juan Ayuso and Carlos Rodríguez: "I expected a little more"
Cycling
Pedro Delgado participated yesterday in his native Segovia in the traditional Carrera del Pavo (Turkey Race) and before that he spoke to the media. In statements collected by EFE, the winner of the 1988 Tour de France gave a review of the situation of Spanish cycling and men like Juan Ayuso or Carlos Rodríguez.
Thus, he sees it very complicated for Spanish cyclists to win important races due to the presence of riders "who are at another level, such as Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel or Wou van Aert".
Delgado gives the key to why the aforementioned cyclists are stars who have given another dimension to the sport: "They are true stars, because in modern cycling, where everything is controlled and you always had to attack the last pass, this generation of riders has arrived who attack at 100, 80, 60 kilometers from the finish line".
He equates them to the great classics of epic cycling of the sixties and seventies, where great feats were also the order of the day: "Those of us who are cycling fans are in luck because we have rediscovered epic cycling, from the era of Eddy Merckx, or Luis Ocaña, when everything was more individual. We are grateful that they have such a competitive mentality because it makes the races much more fun".
On the route of the Vuelta a España which was presented last week, 'Perico' was sympathetic: "It's very typical of this Vuelta, with many summit finishes and very nervous stages".
Finally, he spoke about the two most exciting riders for the future of Spanish cycling, Carlos Rodríguez and Juan Ayuso, who, despite achieving important victories in 2024, disappointed him a little: "I expected a little more from them this year".
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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