'First real effort since Algarve' - Ayuso takes positives after first Dauphiné mountain test

The Lidl-Trek duo of Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) started stage 6 on the same time in the GC, and the duo remained together on the summit finish to Crest-Voland, cooperating well to limit their losses to Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). 

In the end, the Lidl-Trek pair finished the stage together 22 seconds behind Seixas and Del Toro. This leaves Ayuso in eighth overall and Skjelmose in ninth, 3:15 behind the race leader Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), 41 seconds behind Matteo Jorgenson in fourth and nine seconds adrift from Seixas with two stages remaining.

The GC contenders, including Ayuso and Seixas, had already highlighted how they expect the biggest differences to be made on the final two stages. Saturday’s stage features six categorised climbs, including a summit finish atop the Grand Colombier.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's stage, Ayuso reflected positively on Friday’s effort, noting how injury and illness had previously limited his opportunities to test himself in such a racing environment.

“Of course I'm hoping for a little bit more, but as I said at the beginning of the week I hope I'll keep on improving throughout the race and I hope today I can make a step forward,” Ayuso told media including CyclingPro.net. 

“But to be honest, yesterday I was quite happy. It's my first real effort since [Volta ao] Algarve in competition, and yeah, preparation for the Tour and for this race was not the easiest,” added Ayuso.

While suggesting that he has plenty of scope for improvement, Ayuso was upbeat in his attitude and hopes that his legs will feel even better to try and target victory in the remaining stages. 

“So to not have a super good day and still be more or less there, then I think I have to stay with the positives, and again, I hope today I can keep on improving, and if that's the case, then I hope I can go for the win.”

Ayuso highlighted that he lacked the punch to follow the initial acceleration made by Seixas, but also that he and Skjelmose did a solid job of maintaining their own tempo. 

“Yesterday I think what I was missing was a bit the acceleration they did at the bottom because then at the end more or less we maintained the same speed, the same difference all throughout the climb, but I just missed those first three, four minutes that put me under pressure,” explained Ayuso.

For Ayuso, the bigger picture matters most, and he hopes to keep improving throughout the remainder of this Dauphiné and heading into the Tour de France. 

“And I hope today and tomorrow, you know, with longer climbs will be a bit different, and I just hope I keep on improving overall and yeah, I can be closer and closer to my best level.”