"Vuelta only really starts now" - Juan Ayuso ready to turn up a gear as race approaches Andorra

Juan Ayuso will start the sixth stage of 2025 Vuelta a Espana in a White jersey for the best young rider. The 22-year-old Spaniard also moved up into a second position overall after his team mates from UAE Team Emirates - XRG flied through the team time trial course in a fastest time of the day. Suddenly there's only 8 seconds separating race leader Jonas Vingegaard and UAE trio Ayuso, Joao Almeida and Marc Soler.

"It's a great victory. It's my first victory in a team time trial," Ayuso looked back at the day in a flash interview. "To succeed together, everyone has their merits, it's really special."

"We did two reconnaissances of the course because the first time we weren't happy, so we started again. Everyone was super optimistic today, and I think it's a victory we deserve. We started working together on this in Italy and we corrected some small mistakes during the reconnaissance," he reveals. "When the work pays off and we manage to win, it's really special."

For the Spanish GC hope, the race only truly begins on Thursday though. The peloton will take on the Pal climb in Andorra - a climb with parameters (9.6km at 6.5%) that could see first gaps open in the general classification. "As I said from the first day, La Vuelta (really) starts tomorrow, but it's great to arrive with a victory, especially a team success. We'll see tomorrow where we stand."