'It's been a dictatorship' - Departing Ayuso hits out at UAE management

Juan Ayuso was never likely to go quietly. His departure from UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the end of this season was surprisingly announced during Monday’s Vuelta a España rest day, and the rider took the step of issuing his own pointed statement later that evening.

Speaking to reporters at the start of stage 10 in Sendaviva on Tuesday, Ayuso went further, likening UAE management to a “dictatorship” and claiming that they had reneged on an agreement not to announce his departure until the end of the Vuelta. 

“I don’t understand why UAE made the announcement without warning me,” Ayuso said, according to Marca. “They want to damage my image. I’ve suffered one lack of respect after another from the team management. It’s been a dictatorship.”

Ayuso claimed that he taken issue with the wording of UAE’s statement, in which the team said they were parting company with the rider due to ‘differences in vision.’

“I was going to leave after the Vuelta so as not to affect anything, but it was all done in half an hour without any prior notice,” Ayuso said. “In the half hour I had, I tried to say that I didn’t agree with what was said in the statement, and the response was that what was in the first statement was worse and that I should be happy with it.”

Ayuso turned professional with UAE midway through the 2021 season, and he placed on the podium of the Vuelta a España the following year at just 19 years of age. He signed a long-term deal that notionally tethered him to the team until the end of 2028, but he had repeatedly been linked with a move elsewhere in the months since a crash and an allergic reaction forced him to abandon this year's Giro d’Italia.

Tadej Pogacar’s decision not to ride the Vuelta handed Ayuso an expected opportunity to compete in his home Grand Tour, and he set out as UAE’s co-leader with João Almeida. Ayuso’s GC aspirations collapsed on the summit finish to Pal on stage 6, but he won from the break the following day at Cerler the next day.

At Valdezcaray on Sunday, however, Ayuso sat up and conceded almost 22 minutes, while Almeida made very pointed and public criticism of the lack of support he had received from his team on the final climb. The polemic only heightened speculation about Ayuso’s imminent departure, with Lidl-Trek reportedly his most likely destination.

“The statement came out around 7pm. We had agreed that the statement would be made public at the end of the Vuelta,” Ayuso said on Tuesday. “The question you have to ask them is why it came out yesterday, and why it was so sudden and without warning. They did it to try to damage my image, a bit like in their statement, which I didn’t agree with. 

“They talk about values ​​and unity. They took advantage of some unfortunate words from Almeida, and I’ve spoken about them with João, and he’s apologised. He agrees a bit with what happened. I want to help. 

“[On Sunday] I wasn’t well, and he understood that. I wasn’t well, and he understood that. But when there’s one disrespectful act after another from the team management, it becomes difficult.”

UAE’s decision to issue the statement on Monday led to speculation over whether Ayuso would continue in the race, but the 22-year-old insisted he would continue until Madrid. 

“Out of respect for my teammates, I’d like to finish well,” said Ayuso. “The relationship with my teammates, including Almeida, is good, despite all the talk. He deserves all the support I can give him. They deserve my support. 

“I would have liked to have finished well with the team, because that’s kind of what we were trying to do throughout the negotiations, but sometimes you can’t. It's more of a dictatorship and something unilateral above you.”