"The team told me not to start" - Juan Ayuso riding blind in one eye at the Giro d'Italia after bee sting
Cycling
Juan Ayuso is enduring a tough ordeal at the Giro d’Italia, with the latest setback being a wasp sting. The Spanish cyclist started Stage 18, but it’s uncertain whether he’ll be able to finish, as he had no vision in his right eye, as he explained to Eurosport before the stage:
“It’s been really tough — I’ve been feeling really bad. Yesterday during the stage, I was stung by a wasp or a hornet, and people can see how my eye looks. I can’t see out of my right eye. I’m here because I want to support the team. The team told me not to start, but I wanted to at least try, to test myself in the first few kilometres.”
“When you’re winning, you have to know how to manage that, and now that things aren’t going well, you have to manage that too. You’ve got to take it philosophically — there’s another Giro next year, more opportunities ahead, and life goes on. You just have to keep going and not let it get to you,” Ayuso concluded.
Given is problems with vision, it seems only a matter of time until the news of his abandonment comes through sadly.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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