Juan Ayuso

Juan Ayuso is a young Spanish cyclist who since his beginnings as a professional has shown an impressive level. In his first participation in the Vuelta a España he managed to finish on the podium. 

Name: Juan Ayuso

Birthday: 16 September 2002

Birthplace: Barcelona, Spain

Turned Pro: 2021

Heigth: 1.83m

Ayuso was born in Barcelona on September 16, 2002, although he has lived most of his life in Jávea, in Alicante. Already as a cadet, in 2017, he stood out ahead of his rivals by winning the Spanish road and time trial championships.

That same season he won the Tour of Portugal in his category. In 2018 he repeated his triumph in the Spanish time trial championship and won the queen stage of the Tour de l'Ain. In 2020, already as a junior, he again won the Spanish Nationals both on the road and against the clock and finished second in the Cofidis Junior Spanish Cup.

All these results led Joxean Fernández Matxin to set his sights on him and he will join Tadej Pogacar and company's UAE Team Emirates in June 2021.

Earlier that season, racing for Team Colpack Ballan, he finished 17th in the Settimana Coppi e Bartali, won the Trofeo Piva and the Giro del Belvedere before being crowned the best young cyclist of the moment by winning the Giro Ciclistico d'Italia with great solvency and 3 stages. From there he joined UAE Team Emirates, being touted as one of the great emerging talents in the sport. 

He debuted with a 17th place in the Giro dell'Appennino and an impressive second in the Prueba Villafranca. He was 18th in the Clásica de San Sebastián and 16th in the Getxo circuit. He raced the Tour de l'Avenir, but had to withdraw due to a crash. He was third in the U23 European Championship and finished his season racing the Tour of Luxembourg without finishing the U23 World Championship.

The 2022 campaign started at home finishing 19th in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. He then showed a good level in the Faun-Ardèche Classic (14th), the Drome Classic (4th) and the Trofeo Laigueglia (2nd). He arrived in good shape at the Volta a Cataluna, finishing 5th overall. He came close to the podium at the Tour de Suisse finishing fourth and had to withdraw from the Critérium du Dauphiné. In his approach to the Vuelta a España he was seventh in the National Time Trial, fourth in the road race, fourth in Villafranca and won the Circuito de Getxo.

In the Vuelta a España 2022 he showed an extraordinary level from the start, finishing among the best in most of the mountain stages. In his Grand Tour debut he finished on the podium in Madrid next to Remco Evenepoel and Enric Mas.