'Going to be one of the greats' - Ayuso praises Seixas after narrowly missing out in Algarve showdown

Although he didn’t get the first win with Lidl-Trek that he desired, Juan Ayuso and his Lidl-Trek teammates ignited the race on the lower slopes of the Alto da Fóia, showing a solid connection with one another and strong mentality. 

A stinging acceleration from the Spanish rider shortly followed the demolition of the peloton from the Lidl-Trek train. It was an attack which only João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Seixas could follow initially, before Oscar Onley (Ineos Grenadiers) and Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM) bridged across ahead of the final kilometre. 

“It was really tight, I think I lost by less than a half a wheel, so it’s a pity, but it is what it is. Paul also deserves the win,” Ayuso told the media, including Domestique. “I wanted to get the win to thank the great work of my teammates today, but it was not meant to be today. But we still have tomorrow, and especially also the last day to fight for the win.”

The margin for error was slim at the end of a high-octane finish atop the Alto da Fóia. Ultimately, Ayuso believes he lost the battle for the most crucial section in the finale ahead of the sprint, which was the penultimate corner, and this hindered his chances of success in the sprint.

“It was a difficult sprint, I think I made a mistake because I knew I had to enter the second last corner first,” explained Ayuso, who credited the 19-year-old Frenchman for his race craft.

“Paul was more intelligent than me, and he managed to anticipate. When he started his sprint, he started more than two bike lengths in front of me, and I didn’t have enough time to catch him to the line,” said Ayuso.

Before the start of the Volta ao Algarve at the pre-race press conference, Ayuso had stated that he doesn’t take Seixas’ age into account, and a performance like this is a stark reminder of the talented Frenchman’s ability and potential.

“I said it before the race that he was a big rival, already last year, especially in the Europeans at the end of the season, that he’s also going to be one of the greats, and today he just showed it again,” said Ayuso. 

“It was close, you know, you always think that when you are there that you can win, and I think I timed it a little bit quite badly. I had to get to the final corners first, but I didn’t. So yeah, Paul was smarter and stronger and deserved to win.”

Although he narrowly missed out on the stage win, Ayuso leapfrogged from 5th to 1st in the overall standings and will be the last rider off the ramp for stage 3's 19.5km individual time trial in Vilamoura. 

He sits level on time with Seixas, with Almeida at 0:07 and knows that it's going to be another crucial stage in the battle for the yellow jersey.

"We saw it the other day, it's quite a nice parcours. Quite a lot of left, right, up and down, so it will be hard, and let's see what we can do tomorrow," concluded Ayuso.