UAE confirm Juan Ayuso departure due to 'differences in vision'
UAE Team Emirates-XRG announced on Monday evening that Juan Ayuso will depart the team at the end of the 2025 season by mutual agreement. The Spaniard's contract was due to expire in 2028 but he has been heavily linked with a move to Lidl-Trek in recent weeks.
Juan Ayuso will leave UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the end of this season after the rider and team agreed to the early termination of his contract. UAE Team Emirates-XRG announced his departure on Monday evening.
Ayuso had been heavily linked with a possible departure from UAE Team Emirates-XRG in recent months, and Lidl-Trek has been reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport and AS as his most likely destination.
“UAE Team Emirates–XRG and Spanish rider Juan Ayuso have mutually agreed to an early termination of his contract, which was originally set to run until 2028,” read a statement from UAE Team Emirates-XRG on Monday evening.
“Ayuso will now remain on the roster until the end of 2025 after a decision was made following differences in the vision of development plans and in the alignment with the team’s sporting philosophy.”
Ayuso is currently in action at the Vuelta a España, where he has delivered decidedly mixed performances. His GC hopes evaporated on stage 6 to Pal, but he won the summit finish at Cerler the following day.
On Sunday, Ayuso unexpectedly lost 22 minutes on the final climb to Valdezcaray, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader João Almeida pointedly complained afterwards that he had been left isolated by his team.
“Juan has been a valuable talent and we are grateful for what we have built together. At the same time, our sporting project has always been focused on continuity, group harmony, and building a winning team,” team manager Mauro Gianetti said in the UAE statement. “We believe that, in the best interests of both parties, this decision is the most consistent with the values that define our organization. UAE Team Emirates – XRG will continue on its path of growth and development, confident that the team’s identity and strength remain our foundation. We wish Juan every success in the future.”
In the same statement, Ayuso acknowledged that it was time to take a “different path” in his career.
“I would like to thank the team for the support and opportunities they have given me over these years,” Ayuso said. “I have had the chance to grow and to compete alongside the very best, and I know that what I have learned will always remain part of my professional background. I now feel it is time for me to take a different path, with the same enthusiasm and I wish UAE Team Emirates – XRG success for the future.”
Ayuso was barely out of the junior ranks when he joined UAE as a neo-professional midway the 2021 season. He rapidly made an impact and in 2022, he finished third overall in his debut Vuelta a España. At just 19 years of age, he was the youngest man to finish on the podium of a Grand Tour since Henri Cornet won the 1904 Tour de France.
Ayuso placed fourth overall at the 2023 Vuelta, but he endured a setback in his debut Tour de France in 2024, when he abandoned the race after testing positive for COVID-19. Earlier in the race, he had been admonished by Almeida for his apparent reluctance to work for Tadej Pogacar on the Col du Galibier.
Ayuso started 2025 with a string of victories, including the overall title at Tirreno-Adriatico, and he lined up among the favourites for the Giro d’Italia. Although he won stage 7 to Tagliacozzo, he was soon superseded by UAE teammate Isaac del Toro. He abandoned the race after a crash and an allergic reaction to a bee sting.
After the Giro, Ayuso took on Giovanni Lombardi as his agent, fuelling speculation of a possible transfer. He was not initially slated to ride the Vuelta, but he was added to the UAE line-up when Pogacar ruled himself out of the race in late July.
Although Ayuso set out as co-leader with Almeida, he dropped out of the GC running on stage 6. Victory at Cerler underlined his talent, but the opening week of the Vuelta perhaps also underscored that he and UAE were no longer on the same page.
Ayuso in a press release on his social media said "I've spent many wonderful years here with the team and I leave behind many friends and great professionals whom I will never forget. However on a personal level, I feel it's time to find an environment that better aligns with who I am and with my values, a place where I can continue to develop with complete confidence and peace of mind,"
