Without radio, Juan Ayuso takes Pogacar-like win at Drome Classic - "I never knew the gaps to Skjelmose"
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates - XRG are known for their financial abilities, top-of-the-rankings riders, some of the best talents in the world and now also long-range solo wins. Juan Ayuso started his season only one day ago, and today he went on to win the Drôme Classic with an hour-long attack all alone.
"It was a great race, I'm happy to have won it. It's the longest solo raid I've ever done, so I'm happy to have gone all the way," Ayuso said in a post-race interview. As Tadej Pogacar has done on several occasions, the Spaniard attacked on the day's main climb still far from the finish, knowing it would be the best location to make the difference.
"Even though I was the strongest, I really needed my teammates to get there. Without Isaac Del Toro's attack, it would have been harder for me to isolate myself, he did a great job." However it was still a long way to the finish in Étoile-sur-Rhône, and there was a group of many strong riders prepared to chase on.
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Ayuso rode through the hilly terrain with Mattias Skjelmose chasing by himself as well, but with a peloton that simply couldn't close the gap on neither who were on a super day. Ayuso reveals that he actually had to do this without radio or guidance from the team.
"From halfway through the race, my earbuds stopped working. When I was alone in the lead, I never knew the gaps to Skjelmose, I didn't know anything," he admits. "That's why I kept asking the bike. It told me 50 seconds at one point, then I looked behind me and saw it... That's when I pushed to the maximum to distance him again, and it did it".
Ayuso has given nothing but good signs in his first weekend of racing this year. In the next few days he will be a prime contender to win the Trofeo Laigueglia, before Tirreno-Adriatico where he will have his first key test before the Giro d'Italia.
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🫳🏻🎤 JUAN AYUSO WINS THE #BDA25 WITH A 40KM SOLO ATTACK 🔥
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) March 2, 2025
On just his second race day of the season, @juann_ayuso adds the Faun Drôme Classic to his Faun-Ardèche title from last year 🇫🇷
After a perfect set up from @ISAACDELTOROx1, Juan made his move and would not be caught! 👊🏼… pic.twitter.com/KaLBWErf4r

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)...
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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