"Tadej is on another level, but that’s no surprise to anyone" - No Pogacar in sight, but Ayuso keeps Tour podium hopes alive despite crash in the Pyrenees
CyclingFriday, 10 July 2026 at 15:00
Juan Ayuso survived the first major mountain battle of the 2026 Tour de France. Given the circumstances, that alone is excellent news for the Spaniard. On a day shaped by Tadej Pogacar’s exhibition and a fresh show of authority by the Slovenian over Jonas Vingegaard and the rest; the Lidl-Trek rider showed character, grit, and the mental strength to stay fully in the fight for the Paris podium.
The Valencian crossed the finish line in Gavarnie 2:57 minutes down on the winner Pogacar but only 19 seconds behind Vingegaard. He arrived in a third favorites group that also included Isaac del Toro, Remco Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz, Mattias Skjelmose, Lenny Martínez and Paul Seixas. It was a high-caliber group in which Ayuso managed to hold on when the race turned into a selection imposed by UAE’s relentless pace.
The result gains even more weight after learning he had a small crash on the Col d'Aspin. At first, images of the Spaniard at the back of the peloton were a great reason for concern, but they did not tell the full story.
“I had a small crash on the Aspin and, thanks to the team, I was able to get back in. Obviously going that deep isn’t ideal, but I kept it together,” he explained after the stage. The effort to return to the group could have compromised his performance on the decisive climbs, but Ayuso hung tough and avoided a much bigger time loss.
His finish-line image told the story of the day’s brutality. Exhausted, he poured a bottle of water over his helmet and slumped against the barriers, catching his breath before heading to doping control. The toll had been huge, but so was the satisfaction of passing an exam that could have dropped him out of the podium fight. Few riders remain in the fight after only six stages.
“I’d say it wasn’t my best day and, even so, I managed to stay in the podium battle. I’m happy about that and I hope to improve. Tadej is on another level, but that’s no surprise to anyone, and Jonas didn’t take that much from us, so we’re there, in the fight,” the Spaniard said to Diario As.
Juan Ayuso is racing for the podium at the 2026 Tour de France
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Pogacar is operating on a higher level
It has now been three years since Ayuso's last successful attempt at finishing high at a Grand Tour, but thus far the youngster is passing his first all-out Tour test with a spotless note. He goes into stage 7 fifth on the overall classification, a mere 7 seconds from the podium spot occupied by Isaac del Toro, 4 from Remco Evenepoel and ahead of Paul Seixas and Florian Lipowitz.
Ayuso’s words reflect an obvious reality. Pogacar seems to be racing in another dimension and Vingegaard remains the clear favorite for second place. However, the battle for the third step in Paris is wide open, and the Spanish leader of Lidl is still one of the prime contenders.
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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- Ok notedslappers6610-07-2026
- I think Tadej turns boring stages into GC firework. Compare this to Chris Froome era where nothing happens until big mountain stages, we get to see firework even on punchy stages. I doubt a more conservative generation of GC riders will turn stage 6 into firework. They don't attack from that far on GT and the last climb won't make a big gap on GC.
KerisVroom10-07-2026 - Good Point! Maybe A.S.O. should make the stages different..only putting the High Montains (queen stages) in last week or so? They did change Green Jersey points this year because of POGI almost winning last year, so they are making adjustements.... Its a Tough Topic this one... It was cool they made some kind of a pool to know the fans opinio. Are we divided in this?Alexcavalera10-07-2026
- If I may gently remind you, Javier Ares is Spanish. Spanish only care for GC
Rafionain-Glas10-07-2026 - Tom, either say something or say nothing. Why naïve if there’s nothing worth thinking through? Why a comparison to Messi which is about skill and not performances Even if Tadej is unlikely to be a protagonist in unfairness, I certainly do not trust his entourage as much. Doping in whatever form is a technical definition, many other unfair advantages cannot be classified as such and would be impossible to prove without being mistakenly revealed. I do not want to list any for fear of giving ideas (very little open discussion exists on potential methods) but having followed Mauro’s case in detail, I know how far some are willing to go, also to conceal what they want to hide.Jumpyjohn10-07-2026
- That's a bit of an extreme comment. He was tired and frustrated but looked fine at todays start. He was smiling and shook hands with Pogacar, Del Tora and Pederson at the start. Retire out of the tour? I doubt it. I can see him retiring completely soon though. He has won every grand tour and has nothing more to prove.Cyclingsbestfan10-07-2026
- Yes they did! It became monotonous and boring to watch and many comments were made on Indurains style of winning. Pogacars style is more dynamique. That said Pogacar potentially putting the race to bed so early has taken out a lot of the excitement for me. I would bet a lot of people feel the same.Cyclingsbestfan10-07-2026
- Agreed, don’t get the feeling Jonas is the type to give up. He may have been knackered but he recovers well too.Jumpyjohn10-07-2026
- Choose your words more carefully. For sure they are able, if the circumstances called for it they’d even be able to reel in the Pog. No lone rider is going to outrun a team time trialing. It’s the context that decided, 2 riders as saboteurs, 2 with zero interest in helping, one almost self-destructive and a few without a clear plan or incentive, that’s hardly a recipe for chasing. We saw a similar situation in spring when MVDP made the mistake of going with Pog on the climb instead of hanging back with the rest and working together to reel him in after the climb.Jumpyjohn10-07-2026
- Just because you used to be mentally insecure does not mean others are too , Wigansabstractengineer10-07-2026
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