'I can see myself in the rainbow jersey' - Ayuso won't settle for silver
Everyone will look first to Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel next Sunday in Kigali, but Juan Ayuso is not afraid to add his own name to the conversation. The 23-year-old spoke before leaving Madrid for Rwanda, where the World Championships road race is seen as Spain’s best opportunity in years to chase the rainbow jersey.
“I arrive at this World Championships with more conviction and more enthusiasm than last year,” Ayuso told reporters, including Eurosport. “In 2024 it cost me a lot after the Tour. I think racing the Vuelta has been good preparation for the Worlds.”
The presence of Pogačar and Evenepoel is an unavoidable reality. They have already fought their duel in the time trial, and they come into the road race as twin favourites. “There are several riders who are much bigger favourites than me. I expect Remco and Tadej will mark each other,” he said.
“About 100 kilometres from the finish everything is going to explode on the climb. Waiting is never good in a race this hard, but I find it hard to believe Remco and Tadej will attack before the climb. There it would be ideal.”
What is striking is not his tactical view but the ambition that colours it. Ayuso refuses to lower his sights or talk like an outsider. “Yes, I do see myself in the rainbow jersey, I would be lying if I said I didn’t, it is a dream,” he said.
“There are many factors, but if I wasn’t convinced, I wouldn’t go. I won’t settle for silver. With the team we have and representing Spain, we have to go all in.”
That Spanish team has spent recent weeks together, with Alejandro Valverde guiding them through a block of training that Ayuso described as both hard and light-hearted. “We did four hours today and all four of them laughing. For a Worlds this tough, that always helps.”
The Vuelta a España underlined his quality with two stage wins, but it also laid bare the tension of his looming departure from UAE Team Emirates. “I would have preferred a Vuelta with less stress away from the sporting side,” he admitted.
Now Ayuso heads to Rwanda with the confidence of a rider who has proved his form and the ambition of one who refuses to settle for silver. The spotlight will shine on Pogačar and Evenepoel, but Ayuso is ready to step into it.
