Wave of criticism arises from Vuelta peloton after Ayuso's permanence despite Covid positive - "Let the circus continue"
Cycling
Juan Ayuso has tested positive for Covid-19 this morning at the Vuelta a Espana, but it was decided that the 19-year old would remain in the race despite this. The team has argumented that he is not infectious, similar to what had been said about Rafal Majka at the Tour de France.
Over two dozen riders have abandoned the race with Covid, several of those asymptomatic. José Herrada had that faith as he left the race early on, and he commented this morning in criticism of the situation. "Some go home without knowing viral load. Others running knowing they are positive while waiting for a viral load result. Let the circus continue," he said on a Twitter post.
Despite being posted minutes after the announcement, Herrada later added that "... I'm not talking about Ayuso as someone has already commented. More than anything because I don't know his case in depth enough to talk about it." The comment has sparked Burgos-BH's Manuel Peñalver - who had to forfeit the Vuelta before the initial team time-trial due to an infection to comment aswell.
In a now deleted reply, Peñalver responded: "With a simple antigen testing positive and being asymptomatic, they sent me home a few hours after starting the time trial. Without being able to stop doing pcr and look at viral load. 48 hours later I tested negative at home". With the same procedure being done by UAE Team Emirates at the Tour de France, it has now sparked a debate regarding the difference of means between teams, in which the lower level ones do not seem to have the means to prove their riders are safe to remain in the race.
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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.
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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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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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Unos a casa sin saber carga viral. Otros corriendo sabiendo que son positivos mientras esperan resultado de carga viral. Que siga el circo.
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