'These questions are ridiculous': Ayuso dismisses talk of Lidl leadership dilemma after strong team time trial

After the team had ridden to fourth place in the team time trial, 32 seconds down on stage winners Visma | Lease a Bike, the Spaniard was asked whether he and Mattias Skjelmose had learned anything about their cooperation and who might be the stronger rider this week.

Ayuso’s response was immediate, confirming no such dilemma. 

“To be honest, these questions are for me ridiculous,” he said to CyclingPro.net. “We are teammates and we are both here to help each other. Whoever is strongest will then get the result. I don’t see any dilemma.”

It was a firm answer after what had been a positive Tuesday for Lidl-Trek. While Visma delivered the benchmark performance, Ayuso’s team limited its losses well and gained time on several direct rivals. 

They took 13 seconds on Decathlon CMA CGM and Paul Seixas, and 28 seconds on UAE Team Emirates-XRG with Isaac Del Toro. They did, however, concede 23 seconds to Netcompany Ineos, who moved well with Oscar Onley and Kévin Vauquelin among their GC cards.

Ayuso still saw enough to be encouraged. Lidl-Trek finished the day with riders sitting fifth (Ayuso) and sixth (Skjelmose) overall, a position he described as a good platform before the decisive final three days.

“We gained time on some rivals and lost on others, so more or less we are there,” Ayuso said. “We are fifth and sixth on GC, so that is already a good sign going into the weekend. But this race is super hard in the last three days. Maybe it makes a difference, but probably it will all be decided there.”

The Spaniard was also pleased with the execution of the time trial itself. Lidl -rek did not have all of the powerful engines it expects to rely on at the Tour de France, but Ayuso praised the commitment of the riders who were on the start line.

“I think we did a really good team time trial,” he said. “Of course, we missed a bit the big guys, you know, Mads [Pedersen], [Mathias] Vacek, all these guys that I think in the Tour are going to make a big difference. But everybody yesterday really committed and did a great job. I think we can be proud of it.”

The course was not a direct rehearsal for the Tour de France team time trial, which is shorter and flatter. This test, by contrast, demanded careful pacing because of the climbing early in the route.

“It is completely different,” Ayuso said. “At the Tour it is much shorter and then it is all flat until the end, so you have to play it completely differently. Yesterday [Tuesday] was pretty tricky because you had the hard part at the beginning, so you had to pace it well, not lose the team, and still have them there for the final.”

Even so, the 23-year-old felt the exercise was valuable. Beyond the result, it gave Lidl-Trek another chance to sharpen the discipline, the rhythm between riders and the communication from the team car.

“Just doing the discipline itself is good,” he said. “You get to know your teammates, how you work together, and also from the car, everything. It was nice, and I think for the Tour we are really prepared after yesterday and after all the training we have done.”

Away from the road, Ayuso also admitted he is following the Spanish football team closely ahead of the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, although he did not stay up to watch last night’s friendly against Peru.

“I watch the highlights and try not to see the result beforehand, so I don’t spoil it and still keep a bit of tension, even if it is only in a ten minute video,” he said. “But no, I don’t stay up late.”