'I'm super proud' - Ayuso rides to redemption after solo victory at Vuelta
If stage 6 of the Vuelta illustrated Juan Ayuso’s frailties, then stage 7 was all about his strength. At the start of the day he began the action and at the end he made the decisive attack to the win.
After his total capitulation on stage 6, when he lost more than seven minutes to the main GC hopefuls, Juan Ayuso gained redemption on Friday’s seventh stage of the Vuelta a España. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider took his second Grand Tour stage win at the end of a courageous and strong ride, where he instigated and then won from the day’s breakaway.
Ayuso was the first to get a gap at the start of the 180km stage between Andorra La Vella and the mountain top finish at Cerler, attacking at the bottom of the mammoth opening climb and riding its entire 25km before anyone could join him. From there, the 13-man break gained and sustained a lead of four minutes onto the day’s final climb, where Ayuso attacked again, this time riding most of the 12km climb alone, winning the stage by 1:15.
However, though he has gained some places on the general classification, Ayuso remains more than seven minutes off race leader Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorius) and five minutes off Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) in second place overall, and he remains outside the overall reckoning.
Though he took some early-season victories, the 2025 season has not been an easy one for Ayuso. After winning a stage of the Giro d’Italia, he didn’t seem himself, suffering crashes and illness, which forced him to abandon on stage 18. Even his selection for the Vuelta came late after Tadej Pogačar declined the offer to race, meaning his preparation was not what it might otherwise have been.
“It’s amazing,” Ayuso said after the race. “After the Giro, when I won my first Grand Tour stage, to win a stage here in La Vuelta, which for me is my favourite race, and the way especially I won it today is something I think I will remember always. And I’m just super proud.”
The Vuelta so far has been a strong one for his UAE Team Emirates-XRG team. They won the stage 5 team time trial, Jay Vine took the honours the following day, moving into the mountains classification lead, and now Ayuso’s success, making it therein a row for the team.
“Well, it’s super nice. The team time trial was very special because it was a victory for everyone and equal parts. And Jay did yesterday an amazing, amazing stage, winning in front of his wife and his child. So that was super special.
“And today me. We don’t have a sprinter, so tomorrow I think we won’t win. But we hope we can carry on like this.”
